How to Create a Multi-Functional Play Space for Your Kids

Giving our kids a dedicated space to play and store their toys is the ultimate goal for many parents, but let’s be honest here — kids take up a lot of space, and don’t always spend their time in the playroom. Instead of dedicating a whole room to toys, why not take one of your already existing rooms and turn it into a multi-functional play space for kids? If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few tips and tricks to help you create a multi-functional space both you and your kids will love.

Spare Bedroom

Spare bedrooms often do double duty as play rooms in homes with children, but that often leaves you scrambling to find hiding spaces for all the toys when guests come to visit and need to use that spare bed.

Instead, of stashing stray toys in the closet or under the bed, look into hidden storage solutions — under bed shelves, floor compartments, storage ottomans and more can all make your spare room look great while providing your kids with a place to neatly store their toys. You don’t want to discourage your kids from playing or enjoying their toys — just give them a clever place to put them away when they’re done so you can still utilize your spare room for guests without scrambling like a crazy person to hide all the toys!

The nice thing about most of these storage solutions is that they’re fairly simple to install and use — even adding shelves or storage under the bed doesn’t require any fancy tools or carpentry knowledge. Once you’ve got your room organized, keeping it that way is a breeze.

Garage

Garages are technically designed for storing cars, but for most of us they end up being additional storage and overflow from the house. It ends up being massively underutilized, mostly because it’s usually not as comfortable as the rest of the house — garages traditionally don’t come with insulation or air conditioning and heat installed, so they’re hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

The first step in tuning your garage into a multi-function space is to organize it. If you’re planning on turning your garage into a play space, look into storage solutions that will get your clutter off the ground. Wall shelves, hanging storage from the ceiling, and other ideas can clear up your garage.

Second, look into insulating your garage — specifically your garage door. In addition to making your garage door stronger and more durable, it helps to keep your garage warmer or cooler, depending on the season, and improve your overall energy cost.

Finally, look into some nice rugs or mats to cover up those hard stone floors. Not only do they make your garage look nicer, they make it safer for little kids who might be prone to falling.

Exterior Building

If you’ve got a shed or other exterior building, it’s probably full of lawn equipment and tools, but depending on the size you could also turn it into a multi-function playroom for your kid’s outdoor adventures. A shed can easily become an outdoor base of operations for your kids and their adventures, but they can be hazardous if not prepared correctly.

First, similar to the garage, its’ important to organize the clutter — keep tools and storage off the floor, and keep any dangerous chemicals like paint or pesticide out either out of the shed or above the reach of little curious hands. You could even separate the tool side of the shed from the kid’s side by using a partition.

A shed can also be a great alternative if you live in an area without good trees for tree houses, or in areas where tree houses aren’t allowed because of zoning or permitting problems. It gives them an outdoor base of operations — you may find that your backyard becomes ‘the place to be’ for neighborhood kids to plan their adventures!

Don’t let yourself be buried in toys just because you’ve got kids. Take some time to make your kid’s playroom a multi-function room — not only will it give your kids a great place to play, it will keep you from drowning in toys in every room of your house.

 

Kacey is a lifestyle blogger for The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Kacey graduated with a degree in Communications while working for a lifestyle magazine. She has been able to fully embrace herself with the knowledge of nature, the power of exploring other locations and cultures, all while portraying her love for the world around her through her visually pleasing, culturally embracing and inspiring posts.

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