Hi qwibbled--We are still working on our house plan and I appreciate this question. We have kids ages 3, 6, and 8 and currently live in a 1200 square foot apartment. Despite bedrooms full of toys, the kids bring toys out into the living room and play near me (stay at home mom) as I cook etc. When friends are over, they all want more private space and tend to play in the bedrooms. At bedtime, they bring toys back to the bedroom and pick out a book to read. I like to think they are learning to clean up at the end of the day. Still, there is that risk of tripping over castles and rockets until bedtime.

We're trying to come up with an open floor plan that has play space near the kitchen as well as more private space in the basement. Good luck with your home design. We'll stay posted for any other responses.

Where they play depends on your parenting!

My sister permitted playtime for her two daughters only in the basement playroom.

We're evidently more lenient. Or more tired. They started out in the 600 sf playroom in the basement. When our eldest left, they took over his apartment, then my office because the computer connections are better and mrs. worthy's bedroom because they like her TV and bubble air better than theirs. Only the formal dining room, living room, library and garage are off bounds. For now.

My kids are 6, 8, and 10. They like to play near me also. We use what would have been the formal dining area as their playroom. It will also function as the game room as they get older.

We added a "gathering room"/sunroom open to the kitchen and my kids(2.5 and 5) play in there. 90% of their toys are in there and my rule is that the toys stay there and do not migrate to the adjacent family room or kitchen(works about 85% of the time). The room is messy during the day, but there is a 2 level kitchen peninsula that hides most of the mess. I have toy bins up against the wall of the peninsula. Eventually we'll add a playroom in the basement and convert he sunroom to a nice seating area.

The playroom is the one in he distance(you can see the top of the play kitchen against the wall on the right.

These are the toy bins I have (Land of nod). I have them in antique white and they match the kitchen cabs pretty well. I have 3 sets of 2 stacked lined up against the peninsula. Another option would have been to have kitchen cabs on that side of the peninsula for storage of toys. We'll eventually put barstools there when the toys are moved out.

We are empty nesters, but we have ... dogs. :) Same clutter, I just need to train them to pick up their toys better!

Our kids definitely played wherever we were when they were young. Our livingroom was often a "fort" of some variety. We had big baskets (more like the size of a coffee table) in the livingroom where everything got put away at night.

As they got older, there were less "toys" and more electronics, which were mostly stored in their bedrooms at night. Their bedrooms were their havens, but we also had a converted recroom that had a lot of video games and such. That was a great place when they wanted to be with each other but not around the parents. It was also a great place for slumber parties.

Now that they are gone, I once again have big baskets where I throw toys at night. Dog toys, that is. I think they have more toys than the kids had!

Somebody just had a plan posted that showed a dining room doubling as a kids' playroom that could be seen from the kitchen, but could be closed off, I think. It had a large toy closet, and the dining room table could be moved to the side when the kids were playing. I don't remember the rest of the plan, but thought that part of it was very well done. Whose was it, anybody remember?

If at all possible, it has always seemed to me that there should be a fourth "public" room on the main floor that is not a bedroom, regardless of what's in the basement or on the 2nd floor. It can be a possible formal dining room, or study/den/office/computer room, kids' playroom, or whatever. Ideally, it would be easily seen from the kitchen, but could be entirely closed off. That way, whether it's young kids' toys, teenagers stuff, or a getaway for the parents who may want some peace and quiet while the kids are in the family room doing whatever, everyone is in proximity to the rest of the family when that is desired, but there's still a way to avoid noise and mess when necessary.

My daughter and her 3 children (all under 7) live with us most of the time. They have the lower level walkout, and the 2nd floor bedrooms. The lower level setup is L-shaped, with the kitchen in the corner of the L. The TV sitting area (no windows) is on the short leg of the L, and the eating area and windowed seating area and computer are on the long end. Toys, art projects, building block construction, dinosaurs, castles, cars, puzzles, etc. are all over all areas every day. It works very well to have 2 different main play areas, since they all want to be near Mommy, but don't always want to play with each other or be on the same project. The guest bedroom is makes a square out of the L, and can be closed off if someone needs quiet.

They also have more "quiet time" toys and ones that have pieces that could be easily lost elsewhere in their bedrooms, which is where they play after dinner as bedtime approaches, and where they can be separated from each other as they get tired.

In your plan, could you add another multi-use room to the right of the foyer, and move the bedrooms further back to where the deck/patio(?) area is?

Anne

she plays in the living room. we built a small cubby for her toys.

Check out the ceiling thread from today. Someone posted a picture of a small pocket door office with a coffered ceiling that they called playroom/future office.

That would work well I think and would be a great addition that could grow with your kids (could become homework room with built in desks down the road, or a small office with a little TV, etc.). I have also seen sunporches in existing houses converted into playrooms, and don't know why you couldn't do the reverse (although I do think an office might be a more useful room!).

I would also strongly suggest a large downstairs closet. We do not have a play room but there is a closet under our stairs where most everything can go at night (the boys also have good sized closets to store a few things).

Adding to athensmomof3- besides using the rec room for their play area, we also have a large room/closet for all their games. The door is a secret door that looks like a bookshelf. You don't know the room is behind it. Basically, it is a cool door to hide away the storage of their games/toys. Everyone loves this component of the house. We ordered our door from www.hideadoor.com. Didn't you always want a secret room or passageway when you were a kid? I did!

coloradomom - haven't checked your link but saw something similar earlier. It is SOOO cool! Lucky you for having such a neat thing in your house!

We have one child, age 10. He plays outside, in his room, or in the living room. We don't have a "playroom" per se. He's required to remove his toys from the living room upon request. Honestly, though, that only happens about once a week or when we know someone's coming over. The rest of the time, my coffee table is likely to be covered with Bionicles and Star Wars Lego sets in various states of completion. Anything that strays onto the floor or other furniture (shoes, sports equipment, Nerf blasters, etc.) has to go back to his room as soon as he's done with it.

Dh and I are empty nesters too and thanks for "taking me back" to those days of little ones!! We lived in a 1200sq.ft. ranch house when our kids were toddlers. We just had the bare necessities; living room, kitchen & dining, one bath and 3 bedrooms! During the day ( I was a stay at home mom) the toys and kids were out in the living room or kitchen; wherever I was! We taught our kids to "clean up" every night and all the toys went back to their rooms. We also did this when we had family or friends come to visit. I don't think they "suffered" not having a play room!! I, personally, don't like it when you go to someone's home and as soon as you walk in all you can see is toys throughout the whole house!! The basement sounds like a good plan for when they are a little older.
Good Luck!

We have an office/small formal living space but planned it for use as a playroom for now (my picture is on the ceilings thread that athensmom referred to). It can be closed off by the french doors that lead to the foyer and the solid pocket doors that lead to the dining room. I can see them (mostly) while standing at the cooktop which is very nice. My children are 4, 3 and a newborn. We also don't have a dining room table yet (ran out of money and the energy to search for one more thing!!) so there toys and games tend to spread into that room. The kids definitely will bring there toys into the kitchen/family room area. I love having the designated space for the toys on the main living area. I think it helps to keep on top of the stuff and make sure they are putting away items continually throughout the day. They also have select items in their rooms. We will eventually finish the basement, and will have to keep toys there as well I'm assuming. I'm planning a nice large closet with lots of shelving for puzzles and games. And I have been dreaming up a playhouse area for under the stairs (how timely as this is a thread today!).

In the words of my dear mother: "Go play outside!!"

Whatever happened to good ole fresh air?

We used to play outside as well for the most part....but I do not let me 10 year old play outside for I just don't feel like that is such a good idea in this day and age.
I tried to have a playroom when she was little...never got used unless I was up there. I tried to put toys in the bedroom, and that didn't work either. I relaized that little ones like to be around us and know that she is 10, she still enjoys being around others. I asked her why the other day and she said that it doens't feel comfy upstairs without anyone. Even when she has friends over, they always end up downstairs. We have taught her to always pick up when she is done and that I shouldn't have to ask...things that get left - oops, they may appear in the trash ;) What we did is to allocate one bottom cabinet in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the tv armoire, and a basket upstairs.....kind of like a basket of toys for each area where my husaband and I were so she wouldn't have to drag toys all over the place. It worked well for us. Now that she is 10, all baskets, plastic carrying bins are stacking in her closet and she will bring them down to play. Good luck!!

My youngest's toys are still in her room. My oldest (7) had his toys in his room until he turned 4. Then they went to a dedicated playroom. (It's also a library and office, so not dedicated to JUST being a playroom.) Until then, he took out individual toys and mostly played in whatever room I was in, but since we moved to where he has tons of friends, he's matured more, and his sister has gotten old enough to really play with, he's really benefited from the larger space. Only fragile toys stay in the bedroom now.

The playroom's nice because there are frequently up to 5 kids in it. They play, in order of frequency:

1) Outside;
2) Playroom;
3) Basement ballroom, which is treated by them as a kind of gym, too;
4) His bedroom

Inside toys are NOT allowed to be taken outside. When his friends sneak them out, I have them doing push ups and laps around the house in punishment, as they always ruin or lose his toys. He's learned to say "no " firmly, finally.

The last place is my least favorite place, since the other kids have a tendency to break things. :-( My son builds models, etc., so someone can wreak a lot of havoc in a short period of time, and not all children are very well behaved. Plus, with the books, there really isn't room for all the toys even in a fairly large room--it's floorspace more than wall space that's the problem, because by the time the 4th kid gets in there, they're hanging from the bunks.

A LOW bin system has been the most effective here--two bins high is as high as littles can reach. My eldest could now reach to 3 bins, if he need to. We used to use open baskets for storage, but as he got more dexterous and the youngest got more troublesome, we switched to modular plastic containers that work very well. They also do not collect dust the way open baskets, even ones that fit pretty well into a case, do.

Colleen--"not a good idea in this day and age" as opposed to WHEN, exactly? Do you have any idea what the rate of non-familial abductions actually is? You are exposing her to thousands of times the risk with every car ride. And childhood obesity will kill hundreds of thousands more kids prematurely as they age, and it's rooted in the sedentary lifestyles of the new "outside is a SCARY PLACE, children!" generation.

(As an amusing aside.... What's the chance that a child could get injured at home unsupervised versus injured or killed in a car accident? Looking at it from a simple standpoint of risk calculation, it'd be safer to leave a *TWO-year-old* locked in a childproofed bedroom than to take him anywhere in a car. The real basis for these kinds of laws isn't to make people safe but to make them FEEL safe, which are two very, very different things. I may follow such laws, but it's with a knowledge that they are stupid.)

Good point about the floor space. I was thinking of that this morning with respect to your plan. Be sure and allow plenty of floor space in the bedrooms . . . you will be amazed at all the creations that will occupy it! We have had trains under the chest, around the nightstand, across the bed, behind the beanbag, etc.

And when there are multiple kids playing in there they need room to spread out.

My youngest has a 12 x 12 bedroom. It only has a twin bed. There is a chest, train table with drawers underneath, a large toybox at foot of bed, a small nightstand, a beanbag chair, and a large (20 x 28) french market basket packed with books. That leaves enough floor space for him and a friend to play.

My sis-in-law had a unique set up. There was a small sunroom just off the living/kitchen area of her home which became the playroom. It was especially nice when they had guests because the room's glass doors could be shut for noise reduction, but the parent's could still monitor through the glass. Cool set up.

Our sons played in their rooms some, but mostly they played in our main living area. When we had guests, the boys retreated to the bedrooms or outside.

I, too, am a huge proponent of 'go play outside.' Some research I ran across a year or two ago suggested that the rate of abductions was exactly the same today as twenty or thirty years ago. Just more publicized these days. Interesting. Still, as a parent, it's hard to get past the news reports playing in your head when you send the kiddoes out to play.

A basketball goal on the driveway is excellent addition to any home. (No glass on the garage doors.)