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redshoegirl
member
s/o play areas - what do you think of this?
redshoegirl
member
OK so - this is what I'm thinking of doing for a play area in our house.
This space runs between the dining room and the living room and shares a wall with the kitchen. (I suppose it might have originally been intended to be a dining area but you'd need a fairly small table to fit in the space and still be able to comfortably walk around it.)
Yes, it will be right in the middle of everything, but we actually LiKE that we'll be able to observe them from any downstairs room in the house. And yeah, I know it might be kind of cheesy to have an overtly kids area smack in the middle of the rest of our decor, but my house isn't a museum so I'm cool with it.
I'm a little concerned about safety with the big window, but all of our windows are like that so it's not like it's avoidable by choosing a different room - not sure what to do about it.
What the space looks like now (clicky for larger):
I want it to be a bright, fun, kid friendly area - here's what I'm working with so far (clicky for larger):
Everything except the decals, photo canvas and baby gates are from Ikea - not because I'm an Ikea groupie, but because they're one of the few stores in Australia with all of their stock pictured online so I can actually get images to work with. 
Questions...
* Is it a bad idea to have a bookshelf in there, lest one of them decides tearing paper is fun?
* Do I need more storage space?
* What do you think of the B&W canvas print on the wall? (Just the general concept of a B&W canvas print in that area - I'm not deadset on that particular picture.)
* Other thoughts/tips/ideas?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: s/o play areas - what do you think of this?
Sounds awesome! I wonder how enjoyable it is for children who live in a home where you can't even tell there are children in the home?! And I can't see how it would be enjoyable for the parents to live in a home with childrens things everywhere. What you describe sounds perfect to me. A place where they can be kids and you can keep an eye on them from anywhere is a good thing and that means you can still enjoy the other parts of your home without KIDS being screamed at you from every corner.
About the bookshelf- as long as the bookshelf is anchored to the wall, it's a good thing. The baby whisperer says not to make your home too childproof, that children need to learn to respect things so books in there sound like a good place to start teaching them that. Also, you can always put the hardbooks on the lower shelf.
Yes, I think you will need more storage space
I love the canvas print idea. Now I want to do that too! :-)
Only question I have is, is that a rug or those kushie floor mat thingies? I'm liking the floor mat things idea.
That's a good point about learning to respect things! When I mentioned this concern to Ben, he basically said the same thing, so you guys are on the same page.
I'm debating about what to do for more storage space...I could ditch the small bookshelf (but it's so cuuuuute!) and get a larger one with baskets on some of the shelves, maybe?
It's a floor rug from Ikea. I like the idea of the kushie floor mat thingies but I'm not sure how well they'd hold up in a super high traffic area? We'll be constantly walking across that pathway between the dining and living areas.
One thing you might want to consider is the flooring and the table there - do you plan to have them eating things there? If so, cleanup might be easier if the table/chairs are on the hardwood. Also, paints, etc. Not sure what that flooring is made of - rug?
Love the bookshelf idea - ditto on attaching it to the wall. In the beginning I'd put board books on the lower shelves so that's what they can reach and they won't be able to tear them.
Love the decals! Love the wall print! Love the cut out kitchen wall/window!
Oh and when they start pulling up to standing, they will probably topple the table and chairs onto themselves - we're going through this right now.
I like it!
I love the canvas and the decals are cute too.
I also think you might want to hold off on the table/chairs until they are a little older. Jack keeps trying to use his larger toys for leverage and last night he pulled his little sports toy down on himself.
Will some small storage baskets fit under the first shelf of the one you already have picked out? Maybe just get some large baskets - we have some of these and I love them and plan to buy a few of the smaller size that will fit on a bookshelf.
and my all time favorite (but too expensive)
although they have the plans here if you know anyone that can DIY - I'm thinking about doing the DIY version with some help from my gramps.
also since you like the tile look - have you ever looked at FLOR (do they have sometime similar in Aus?)
I researched them last year when I was trying to figure out something that would work in our long, narrow dining/seating area. I never ended up purchasing (still flip flopping) but I liked the idea.
Looks great, I loved having my daughter's toys downstairs where she could play with everything she wanted yet still be within eyeshot of what I was doing. Definitely agree with pp that said to get storage cubby. We have several of them and use them to this day. The kids will know what goes where and will put it there which makes it easier for everyone; cleaning and playing.
Only other thing I might consider is a comfy place for you and Ben to sit when you are hanging out with them in there. The floor is a drag as we get older!
i don't have any useful advice/experience. just wanted to say that i love it! super cute, and i think will and dash will really enjoy the space.
and thanks Robbi for the reminder about FLOR! I started looking at it for our living room (which is tile, and I wanted to replace with hardwood but too much $$ right now) and then forgot all about it. great idea to use it for a play area!
Good point about them pulling the table and chairs over when they're trying to stand up - I hadn't thought about that. (They'd only be used for coloring, etc by the way, not for eating at.)
I think some storage baskets would fit on that little bookshelf - if not, we can just get a larger bookshelf.
No, we don't have FLOR, unfortunately - they were my first thought too!
A comfy place for us to sit is a good idea too! It's always the obvious things that are easy to overlook, isn't it?!?
Chiming in late...my other post I linked to the place we got the floor mats pictured in my siggy...LOVE them! www.getrung.com
I agree about having a place for you and Ben...maybe bean bag type "chairs"...they'd be fun for the boys too. J and I use pillows on the floor when we're playing with Libby.
Love the decals, wall print, etc. The gates are a great idea too...that way it can be kid-proof and safe for them to be contained if you need to be in the kitchen, etc. You can always add things like a play kitchen or toy table (train table?) as they get older and develop those interests. I saw a cute easel type thing that it two-sided so each boy could be doing art work at the same time.
https://www.easelsource.com/educational-&-childrens-easels/multi-use/deluxestandingeasel.cfm
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Oooo, I really like it
Love the canvas print too...you should totally do it! I also agree with pps about keeping the bookshelf and books there...I guess the only thing is that you have to keep an eye on them when they start getting interested in the books so that you can teach them to respect them instead of picking up that paper-ripping habit =P
As for the window, they're probably too small to have the window be a real threat for now, but when they're like 5 or something, I can see how it may be a bit dangerous if they accidentally run into it really hard. Going off pp's idea of having a place for you guys to sit, maybe you can put a long sofa along the window where you guys can sit and so they won't run into the window? I don't really have any good ideas =P
I love it! I wish we had a space like that on our main living floor.
I'm not sure why you don't think you're a good decorator (from your bedroom post), I love all the rooms in your house that I've seen.
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LOL well if I make a mock up like this, I can keep adding and removing things until I think it goes. But I have a total inability to just walk into a store and go, "Yep, this and this and this will look great!" I invariably get the wrong color or size or it just doesn't work in the space.
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
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