Creating a playroom children will love

Creating a playroom has been so important to me in our interior renovation project. Try as I might I can’t seem to stop toys covering our entire house. Even our bathroom is not sacred, I’ve got an armless, plastic baby sat on the edge of the bath and I’m tripping over tiny toy cars in the hallway!

In my pre-baby life I remember saying to someone ‘my children will only have wooden toys, not horrible plasticey rubbish’. Ha, what a loon! Try telling my mini-headstrong twins that they can’t have that hideous, brightly coloured plastic toy that all their friends have.

Designing a playroom

Having a playroom in our renovated house was high on my priority list and was part of our initial design conversations with the Architect. We want a designated space in the house for the children to have as their own. We also want to minimise ‘toy creep’, therefore our design plans incorporate masses of storage space throughout the rest of the house. By choosing to designate an area specifically for them to play in, which I hope to furnish in a fun and inviting style, this will be a space where the children will happily spend time.

The area we’ve picked is currently the space that is the dining room in the original house layout. This room is just off the hall and features the original serving hatch in to the kitchen. This room will therefore have a huge transformation. The serving hatch will be removed and this wall will be knocked through, so this it flows into the kitchen. I didn’t want this space to be closed off as I know the children wouldn’t play in it as much if they felt disconnected from us.

With storage so important to me I intend to opt for some bespoke joinery along one wall – therefore recommendations for great carpenters in Bristol would be welcomed.

I’ve scoured the internet reviewing all the toy storage options available and found there is a huge selection to suit every taste. I was surprised that one of the biggest selections of children’s furniture and storage can be found on the Wayfair website, they have a large selection of products, across storage, rugs, toys, decor and lighting.

Toy storage

Currently we have two large wicker baskets in the lounge, filled with toys. Eventually these baskets will move to the playroom as their new home. I also have a number of quilted, round storage baskets from TK Maxx in the chuldren’s bedrooms, perfect for their soft toys. Wayfair sell very similar quilted baskets, this Wrigglebox Star Toy basket , £25.99.

Have you heard of Oskoe? I hadn’t until recently but with their stylish, family products, based on simple, clean lined design, they have children’s items that are gorgeous. I’m loving the Playpa Paper Activity Roll – it’s sold out at the moment so I’m keeping an eye out for it coming back in stock.

I also discovered the brand, Happy Little Folks. Plastic boxes are pretty ugly for storage, although practical. If you have the budget then HLF sell these geometric wooden toy boxes.

Another suggestion for instant room storage is to include a peg rail in your playroom. This is a painted wooden shelf with hooks, and is a simple way to display a few favourite toys and hang dressing up clothes.

Image credit: Pinterest

For storing crayons, craft items or even Lego, then consider these brilliant ‘Piki’ baskets by Olli Ella UK. Being a lover of neutral tones, I’ll be sticking with the white basket but the range is available in pink, blue, natural or yellow. They are fairly small, so you’ll need more than one and I’d use them to compliment larger storage items, not in isolation.

I really love this doll’s house-shaped shelving unit, it’s fun and a change from regular shelving. Argos sell a similar one to this.

Image credit: Polly Wreford

Decorative Accessories

I was very surprised to discover that the Sofa retailer, Lofa.com, sell a range of brilliant kids homewares, including storage, shelves and lighting. I particularly loved all the squishy bits they have, including large cushions, bunting and rugs. Mabel the bear (below), will be coming to live on the playroom wall for starters!

This wooden height chart ruler is from Smallable (£24), although you can also pick these up from the Great Little Trading Company or ETSY. Whilst you can measure your family by drawing on a door frame, given our house is being totally renovated I chose a ruler from the GLTC – saving the walls from being scribbled on in the process!

Seating / Lounging

I’m going to include a sofa in the playroom. In addition I want to include some smaller, casual seats which can be pulled around the room (and jumped on). For comfy seating, Smallable have this 100% cotton pouffe. Available in white, green or pink for £53.00

Finally, if you want to include a hideaway in your playroom, this monochrome play teepee will do a brilliant job. Pop some cushions inside it, ideal for them to curl up with a book and be undisturbed. This teepee is from the Modern Nursery.

So, that will give you a flavour of the items I’ll be looking at when we get to design the playroom. A large, fun, comfortable space – fast forward to this time next year and I’ll be sharing photos of the finished thing but for now here’s my mood board for how it will look.

Are there other amazing playroom items you love? How have you organised your children’s toys? Do let me know, I’d love to hear your ideas. You can keep up to date with our final playroom design by keeping an eye on my Instagram or Facebook page.