In NC - we have a bedroom over a 3 car garage. Typical r-30 fiberglass in the garage ceiling and I have never noticed 1 degree difference from other bedrooms (not that I would notice 1 degree). In the winter it is a non issue - garage is typically 50 degrees and you can guess how much temp movement comes with only a 20 degree temp difference and r-30. In the summer, 2 west windows in another bedroom totally eclipse any heat gain from the garage below this bedroom. Mind you again only a 25 degree temp differential (100 in garage, 75 in bedroom). But heat does rise so there is some heat gain to account for. The HVAC guys don't want to get a call back to balance this room. Sure, you need more airflow in this room than an identical room over conditioned space. But the difference needed based on windows is more significant - and changes with the season (depending on orientation of the windows). So if you are particularly sensitive, this balance needs to be changed twice a year. Lots of people have had crappy rooms over garages when it comes to temp control. I believe wholeheartedly that in our climate, foaming this area is a ridiculous waste of money as is zoning. Something to always remember, r-30 achieved with foam is the same as r-30 achieved with fiberglass with some caveats. Sure foam seals air leaks - but tell me how many air leaks are there typically in a garage ceiling? Sure foam is less susceptible to compression from sloppy install - but a garage ceiling doesn't have much to mess up fiberglass. Usually minimal electric, no plumbing. So the advantages of foam here are minimal. If you can do r-40 in fiberglass, you might actually be better off for probably 20% of the incremental cost.

One more vote to explore raising the ceiling instead of lowering the floor. In addition to lowering your home's value and making it a "definite no" to a lot of future buyers, you would make your house more dangerous to young children, older visitors and completely off-limits to anyone with accessibility issues. I live with brain injury I sustained at age 32 caused by tripping. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but it ended my career, as well as any potential to do anything else. It wouldn't take much for a guest to trip and crack their head. Would you be able to live with that if they sustained the damage I did? Could you afford the lawsuit that might be leveled against you? The increase in your homeowner's insurance if they knew you had that danger in your house? PLEASE don't do this. I apologize for the strong response. I just can't stand the thought of someone living with the headaches, vertigo, nausea, blurry vision, memory loss, etc. etc. I face every day. Especially if it can so easily be avoided.

This is not necessarily a problem unless you are trying to sell your house. But if you would prefer to have a more adult appearance in the living room, I think the thing to do is to divide it into zones and get all the large toys that can't fit into baskets, cubes, etc., into one zone. Since the room is almost twice as long as it is wide, you might be able to designate one end, away from the fireplace, as the play zone (to my mind, the toy box in front of the fireplace is a problem) by placing the couch across the short dimension, about 1/3 of the way out from the end wall, to define the main section of the room. Try arranging the cubes behind it to function as a sofa table, and then place the other big toys where the sofa will partly screen them from view.

First question - Which wall do you think would work best for the built-ins? The wall opposite the window or opposite the door? Toy storage -- whatever y'all decide to go with -- would work best (at least for me!) opposite the window. Largely because then the immediate dumping-toys-out-so-I-can-see-what-I-want-in-here mess is out of sight from the main entrance of the room/adjacent spaces. Second - how would you layout the space - ie where would art table go? There needs to be open space too as kids tend to stretch out on the floor to play. I would also, as others have mentioned, place the table under the window. It's nice to play under a window. :-) Our playroom table is also taller than a standard kiddie table, allowing the youngest children to sit/play/hide underneath it. 3- flooring? Carpet most comfy, but laminate easier to clean up. Would it look weird to do a combination of both? I like the idea of the hard flooring with carpet-like Flor tiles, since y'all combine playroom with art. (We do all of our art stuff at the dining table because of the mess, lol.) 4- fun ideas especially for the little kids nook? I was going to see if my builder can make the outside look like a little house... any other cool ideas you’ve done or seen? I’m purposely leaving our chalkboard wall because I don’t want to clean all the dust it leaves behind I'm going to be more fun and less practical than previous posters, lol -- I would definitely do something fun for the nook. A little house (with a Dutch door), painted in gender neutral colors with a magnetic-paint wall, would be awesome. Or, string up some hammocks in that space, with some silk foliage/leafy garland hung from the doorway (use several, so that it operates like a bead curtain), and glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling. Or maybe a little "restaurant" set up, with a small table, 2 chairs, and a room divider/half wall for the waiter/waitress to disappear behind and prepare the customers' orders. What are your kiddos interested in? Anything glow-in-the-dark or magnetic is a total win. :-)