The only rooms I decorated for kids were the kids bedrooms (they helped choose when they got older). I did however have a cupboard in the kitchen/dinning room with books and toys that they could play with. Until they were 2 I did baby proof by not having breakables in easy reach less need to say no after that they learned.

When we moved into our house when I was seven, I had a room with Ethan Allen room plan, and berber carpet, with antique prints of astronomy devices on the wall. Each of our bedrooms had a large bulletin board where we could get creative, and we didn't have "accessories" on the furniture tops, but the rooms were not at all juvenile. Neither was the basement where we played, and the living room was very formal and we were allowed to play board games in there, just not eat or do anything rough.

I don't know that kids are that sensitive to decor in a visual sense as much as they may be to how it may restrict their activities. Our basement was adult-looking as soon as it was finished, because my parents also used to for entertaining. but the materials and finishes were sturdy enough that we were allowed to used it as a play room, as were all the grandchildren. We were just expected not to be destructive and I think some people take it for granted that kids are destructive, and thats just how it is.

My childhood (and my son's as well) were much as Pal stated. The family room (basement) decoration included adult furniture, pool/ping-pong tables and built-in storage for my parents and our books, toys and games. We learned the hard way (confiscation) and used the storage. We were always delighted to be included in adult conversations there, as well. It was not decorated in primary colors.

Decorated for kids? 2 Bedrooms (for 3 kids) and one room of the basement. But realistically - they have "stuff" in virtually every room of the house. Only the master bedroom is exempt - not even the master bath, since lazy housekeeper that I am, I make everyone shower in the master bath shower to keep the scrubbing of showers/tubs to a minimum. I ooh and ahh over the neighborhood new construction with en suites for every bedroom, but then think to myself - why would I want to clean 5-6 toilets every week? Three is enough, thank you very much.

I had to laugh seeing the title of your post. Kids stuff is everywhere in my house! Only my dining room lacks kids items and even that sometimes get hijacked by school projects and an alternate place to do homework.

After reading your post, I see you are referring to children's decor in the home. I guess if you live in a mansion, you can paint several rooms the colors of the rainbow. But I think IRL, most homes are multi functional. I decorate to my taste and my intended use of each room. I incorporate children's items by having a basket of Barbies tucked in the corner of my living room. Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of space to decorate for only children's use, beyond their bedrooms.

We are currently in a house with 7 rooms. We have two kids. Each had a bedroom.

My nine year old son's room is decorated in SF Giants stuff, per his request. My nearly three year old daughter's room has a crib and does have frilly little girl curtains. Otherwise it is pretty plain because I am waiting for her to be done with the crib and then we will buy her furniture and let her help decide how to decorate it. Both kid's toys are stored in their rooms though they do bring them out into the dining and living rooms to play. Our bedroom space has two distinct areas, one will be my husband's office (we moved recently and are still furniture shopping). The master space is ours and decorated for us, with no toys.

The remainder of our house is decorated in an adult style. We choose finishes that are relatively sturdy and easy to clean. But they are not primary colors or childish in design. The kids are welcome to bring their toys out into these spaces to play with them, but at the end of the day I expect the toys to go back to the kids' rooms.

I have had dedicated play rooms in other houses where the space made sense for that, but I didn't decorate those in bright or primary colors. I decorated them to go with the rest of the house.

My kids are slightly older now (four kids ages 8-13) so we don't have a lot of toys anymore. The boys share a room and the girls each have their own rooms. None really play in their bedrooms except my youngest - she has a few toys up there in her room. All are decorated in tasteful yet youthful way with a few posters and such.

Our house is relatively small given the size of our family. The main floor has three separate rooms but no doors - just large entryways b/w them. You can see front to back when you come in the front door. When they were younger, I did have a few toys in the family room - dollhouse, bookcase with loads of books, exersaucer, at one point a play kitchen. We have a basement "playroom" that stored most of their toys but they never wanted to be down there! So I'd allow things to come upstairs but was always having to send them downstairs to put things away. Ideally, it would have been nice to have a playroom on the main floor that was totally a kids room, but since we didn't, I did my best to keep things relatively orderly though I wasn't about to decorate in primary colors! I wouldn't have even done a playroom that way.

As for how much real estate they own, LOL, as someone else said, their stuff can be found all over the house. My formal dining table currently has a large poster board project my oldest is working on for school, the family room coffee table has a project my youngest is working on for school. The kitchen counter often has school papers and such in piles though I do my best to keep that organized and put away. There is always a stray lacrosse stick somewhere (currently one on the chair in the family room that my son is restringing and one by the front door that his friend brought over today as they are off for a snow day). I'm not super strict as I don't like to live that way, but I do insist that at the end of the day, they have made reasonable attempts to put their things away, even in their own rooms.

I'm of the camp that "kids live here and the house should be comfortable for them too" but that doesn't mean that they don't have to be respectful of everyone else. I have fragile things in the house and they have been expected and taught how to be respectful of those (yes, we use fine china and crystal with them for special dinners too). But by the same token, I've chosen fabrics that are kid and pet friendly, relatively easy to keep clean, etc.

I have 4 kids, ages 14, 11, 9 and 6. The 11-year-old is a girl and she has her own room. The 14, 9 and 6 year old boys share a room. There is a bathroom upstairs that is mainly for their use. Those 2 bedrooms and that bathroom are decorated in a way to reflect that the people who mainly use them are kids. They have a say, but not free reign in the color choices and decor of those rooms (they also have the responsibility for maintaining them, including toilet, tub, etc).

In the living room, we do have a small table for the younger ones to do homework at and an easel that takes up way too much room for drawing, etc. Right now, it is just the best place for those things. The colors for the room are colors that I like, same goes for the dining room. I can use it somewhat educationally to draw their attention to the way colors play together.

For furnishings, the kids do play a part in it. I try to choose fabrics that stand up to all of us but that includes me he is likely to drop some coffee on the sofa as well. I need leather because I may come in from the garden rather dirty and just need to sit. My next sofa will have a tight back (our current has a plush type pillow that is attached but the seams cannot take the pressure and separate from the back).

I think more importantly for my kids is the fact that there is a circle for them to run through the hall and living room that allows them to burn energy during inclement weather. We also have areas set up for the use, like one low counter in the kitchen and cabinet where their everyday plastic plates are stored and spot that is easy for them to make sandwiches, but that is also to benefit me.

I feel like I am rambling (a head cold coming on) but overall our approach is that the kids are part of the family, not the end all be all. The house should accomodate their needs but also the needs of the parents as well. Not all kids even like primary colors and as long as they have a place to do the things that kids do, your kids will be fine. My daughter has a table that she can paint at in her room. On occasion, the kids can bring toys downstairs for an elaborate set up, as long as they take them back, designated spots to use glue in, etc.

I don't think this is what you mean, but our *kids*, 27 & 23, have a tremendous amount of real estate - in our basement!!! Their lives are in boxes, on shelf after shelf. They are too far away to ship, never come home in cars to take things back with them, still live transient lives dependent on job availability and need to be able to travel light. So we are the gatekeepers for the things they can't part with but also can't yet take. It could be worse.

But when they were young, they each had their bedroom and a connected shared space that segued from playroom to computer/study room to gym as they grew. As teens they carved out a boy cave in our unfinished basement that had futons, tv and video games and a refrigerator. The rest of the house they were free to use as they pleased but it was decorated for adults.

Dlm, it took me years to get all the stuff out of my parents' house - well after I was married!

Dh's mom just moved out of the family home of 45 years and it was incredible how much stuff *she* had saved for him on his behalf. All kinds of knick knack stuff that had memories but was of no real use. We went to visit shortly before her move (we live on opposite coasts) and dh spent hours going through boxes that contained things like mugs from Germany that his father had given him, old school reports, uniform shirts from his youth sports teams. It was CRAZY. On the one hand, it was fun for him to see everything after all these years, but um, some was 30+ years old and hadn't seen the light of day. He tossed most of it. I almost CROAKED when months later, two big boxes came in the mail. More boxes of crap that his brother found during the move. Dh went through one box and tossed the other in the basement. I just came across it the other day and it was all falling apart. So *I* went through it. Things like an old ID from the swim club they belonged to - really??? I ended up sticking it in a big folder and put it in his closet. I'm so not that sentimental with my own kids. Her pack rat ways, which are the extreme opposite of my anal parents, made such an impression on me that I don't save much at all for my kids.

Thank you I feel better about our lack of primary colors :). My house is too small to have off limit rooms so I, too, have toy creep happening. I also have non important fragile items kept on tables for I want kids to learn how to live among breakables for we have many friends and family that do not have young children and I want mine to be respectful of other's things.

I only did three things to baby proof my home and one was because it is required when adopting a child under 4, which we hope to do. I put outlet covers in all outlets, a cab lock on the cleaning supply cabinet and one gate at the top of our stairs. I have been to "playdates", sorry I do not like that word either, where I need to leave early because I have had too much coffee and I can not figure out how to open the lid to their toilet :) and than I can not open their front door with that funny handle thingamagig on it!Yikes!

I have to say the worst damage to my fabric pieces is due to cats and hubby and not usually children:). Pal, I think you are right, kids live up to expectations and people need to have higher expectations of them:). I think children, by nature, are actually very ordered and gentle rather than destructive. We are all born sorters that is why that 6m/o month toy with the shapes that we had as children is still a favorite today.

My boys are 8 and 6. They each have a smallish (12x12) room. The rooms are nicely decorated and have decent art. They also have a playroom in the basement where the toys live. If they bring something upstairs, they must return it to the playroom when they're finished with it. I display a lot of their artwork in my kitchen, and during the week, there are backpacks and lunch boxes on the counter, but generally their stuff stays in the playroom. I like my house to be tidy, and toys everywhere would drive me nuts!

I think real estate might depend on age of kids and how much time they spend at home. If they are out of the house 5 days a week all day, I would think less real estate would be needed. But of course I could be wrong about that :)

Our older boys are here only part time - and they keep their "toys" in their rooms. Our younger boys do not have rooms and their toys, clothes and supplies are in what used to be the DR and is now a play room and the family room.

Before we had the play room we had overflow or on deck toys in the LR - they were things that were used just for Early intervention so they didn't get old and were geared towards speech or crafts activities.

They also have a bin of bath toys in two bathrooms and a small basket and drawer in our shared bedroom.

Currently my almost 4 year old goes to school 5 hours a day, but it will most likely be dropping to 2.5 hours next year.

I imagine next year when my almost 1 year old is older and playing with more of the same toys that it will all move in to the playroom besides the bath toys.

I like the idea of transitioning the play room to a homework/tv area for the kids as they get older, and I don't like the idea of their things up in their room away from the rest of us till they are much older.

Maybe some decisions have to do with type of house too :) one story vs two stories.

Our play area growing up was the attic, full of boxes and odds and ends. We never noticed any of that, we just played and made our own envirement. We thought we were Broadway actors, lol. We had art lessons, I gave them lol seven years old etc. I don't think where kids play has to be geared to them. The rest of the house was all antiques which we learned to respect very early on.

When I was growing up, your toys stayed in your room and that's where you played if you weren't playing outside. I'm amazed when I visit friends and see toys and kid gear everywhere. I don't have a particular problem with it. I'm just amazed because it's so different from my childhood.

In answer to your question, Roarah, most of my friends couldn't care less about decorating, so their rooms are mostly neutral with Pottery Barn style decor underneath the layer of kid stuff. That's not to say their houses are untidy or unclean. They aren't, but there are play kitchens, riding toys, train tables, baby swings, book shelves full of children's books, bins full of Legos, etc. in every room. So, basically, the rooms are decorated for adults, but used and abused by children.

Roarah - I think the comments you received were rude, whether they were intended to be or not.

I don't have kids, but I can comment on my upbringing. We spent many days of the week visiting either my grandma's house or great-grandma's house. Both had homes decorated to their taste with mature furniture, antiques, breakables, etc. Those homes were traditional and there were absolutely no "primary colors" in the design; however, I remember them being absolute wonderlands to us..... an antique record player to discover, a tree trunk coffee table that was the temporary hide out for Barbie and GI Joe, etc. As far as I can remember, my siblings and I were careful and never broke anything. We knew better; I can still remember what exactly was off limits. However, we loved going to those homes and used our imaginations to make the decor work for our adventures.

Fun, did you have more than one living space growing up? We had a formal living room and a family room so the family room is where our toys were kept. However, we didn't have nearly the same amount of toys as kids do nowadays! The way our family room was laid out, there was a corner where all the toys were kept. I shared an average size room with my sister, so we didn't have much room for playing in there. I'm sure we did a bit but for the most part, we were in the family room when we were young or outside.

I also can't imagine having kids' toys in every room. That would drive me nuts! Most of the houses around here have basements or more than one living area so the basements store the bulk of the toys and then the family room, which is typically open to or next to the kitchen is where the main floor toys are stashed.

Having four kids has relaxed my anal tendencies but I still go a little nuts with crap laying around. The peninsula in my kitchen becomes the drop zone but I can't stand having that clutter. And dh is the worst b/c he will leave his stuff there and never come back for it but then get annoyed if I move it or ask him to. He's used to clutter from his childhood. I used to have complete order in the house b/f I went to bed, but now I'm so exhausted by then that I have slacked off a bit and then get all stressed when I come downstairs the next morning to clutter and have to clean up b/f I can function. I'm like that with cooking too - I can't start cooking unless the counters are clear, no dirty dishes out, etc. DH looks at me like I have two heads. Am I the only weird one like that? Oops, sorry, I have a habit off going off on a tangent!

boopadaboo, I think you are right about type of house and the age of the children playing a part in how much of the kids stuff is present. When the kids are little I do a Same Floor Rule. They should be on the same floor as I, til they are close to three, so yes I probally had more baby toys present in all the rooms than. I do believe the johnny-jumper has hung in every single door jamb in this house at some point.

Fun2behere I am amazed at how much kid gear there is today. It is so expensive too. Friends buy bassinets that are only used for maybe 3 months per child, for hundreds of dolars. All the baby gear is soooo big, the playstations, bulky puffy high chairs, pack and plays, etc. were not designed with a small 1920s house in mind that is for sure.

Lolauren, I was asking for help with "a playroom" sofa so I do think the comments were well intended and they do not hurt my feelings, but thanks. I like me a good somber room:)!

Lolauren and yaya, I bought my house for its glass door knobs for when I "played" (sans toys) at my grandmother's house I would pretend the knobs were diamonds:) I loved being in her old home which was so different from the 70s colonial my parents owned:)

And Fourkids, wow you must be very busy! I think I grew up with you! Our family home had the kitchen attatched to a familyroom and a separate living room too. We kept our toys and atari ( can you guess how old I am?) in the FR and our bedrooms too:) But there were so many less than I have in my home now:(.

Roarah, yes, I remember Atari! We never had Atari but my best friend did. Asteroids...ugh, what a boring game in hindsight! However we were the first in the neighborhood to own a Betamax and had to drive 45 minutes just to rent movies to watch on it!

Going back to your original question about balancing decor with kids in mind...I think the best you can do is make it comfortable for all that might use it. Your kids and your guests. There is no reason that a room has to look like a playroom in order for kids to be stimulated. In fact, with the amount of toys kids have these days, I think they are often over stimulated and don't learn how to use their imagination. My youngest is always telling me she's bored, what can she do but she has a bunch of toys that she never plays with. Well, she will if a friend comes over. Don't let what the people on the other board said get to you. Too many people these days cater to their kids' every whim. There is definitely a way to balance the needs and desires of everyone in the family. I'm sure you are doing just fine!

We have two cats.

They own the house.

We are lucky if we have space enough in the bed at night .... let alone the rest of the house! :)

Oh -- and their toys are kept in a very old wood firkin in the dining room -- as well as several "stashes" that might appear under or around furniture ....

Fourkids4us, we did have a formal living/dining room that was only used for special occasions, but we still didn't play in the family room. That was where we watched the little bit of television that we were allowed to view or read. I don't remember ever playing anywhere but outside or in my room. We also did our homework in our rooms.

BTW, I know what you mean about a messy kitchen. I can't cook in one either, plus I hate dishes in the sink. It only takes two more seconds to put the dirty ones into the dishwasher.

That's not to say I don't have disorganization and messes. My home office is a general dumping ground for things that are in process. I've been trying to reorganize my closets, so I have portable racks set up in my office. Luckily, I can't see them when I'm at the computer because I face the wall and they are behind me. Thank goodness! LOL!

Growing up, our home was decorated a lot like Pal's, except we had a pool in our backyard and a lot of kid's toys out around it.
When our 2 kids were small, their rooms were decorated with their favorite colors and things. The rest of our home was decorated pretty much for adults. We ate/eat in our formal dining rooms weekend breakfasts and most of our dinners.They ate on china plates like us once they got to around 6 y/o. We just taught them when they were young to respect our home and all that's in it . . . and they did for the most part. They're now 19 and 28 y/o. DS moved the last of things out of his room this past Friday on his way to his new home and job in Tucson, AZ. He wanted to leave a few things, but I nixed that idea (LOL). His room is now a guest room , decorated with Western art. No room for posters!

This post was edited by lynninnewmexico on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 22:45

This has been interesting! Like Pal and some others, I grew up in a formal home. There were really no concessions to childhood there; our play space was in the UNfinished basement with our toys around a large carpet on the floor. We were not allowed to play in our bedrooms or anywhere else in the house. Although we envied others who could play in their rooms, it did not harm us in any way. My own children had adult looking bedrooms filled with books and toys. Projects and toys in the rest of the house, except forts built in the family room, etc. which lasted a few days sometimes, were picked up nightly.
But there was NO kid decor anywhere except their own art and framed art in their rooms. They ate on good china every day, and learned to respect antiques all over the house from the start. Worked for me. Good luck!

My mom had the ideal sitation a formal living room with no tv and no eating allowed with desks for homework and a family room for the tv and kids to hangout. The family room was decorated in furnature that wasn,t made for kids but was kids friendly .We could do what ever we wanted in there but it had to be clean by bed time. My home is decorated in kids safe furnature (no sharp corners) and I have a 50 gallon toy box in there as well as a kids table when they were younger and a easil for thier art work. I also keep a basket of toys in the bathroom. We wanted kids and don,t think they should be raised locked away somewhere away from each other or thier parents. We have friends and family who compartmentize their kids to certain areas of thier homes and only see them at meal time and a few minutes before bed and school. Thier only nod to having kids is a tv in all their bedrooms so the tv can raise them. Sorry for the rant but its a pet peeve of mine.