Room of the Day: A Reading Tunnel and Play Loft for Kids
Fun bedroom features are designed for twin toddlers to enjoy as they grow up
This New York City nursery is home to 18-month-old twins. But because it’s designed with thoughtful details that aren’t too juvenile (rock wall, anyone?), the fun will likely last for many years to come.
The tunnel was the biggest design challenge. Lee wanted to find a scale that would work for small kids and adults without taking over the whole loft design.
“I think we found the perfect balance. It’s actually a really cozy nook — I have tested it myself!” Lee says.
To turn the sketch into reality, the millworkers at 1027 Builders molded sheets of plywood and formed them into semicircles, holding the molds in shape for one week. They were transported to the site and installed in place as a cylinder. Lee had soft, removable cushions made for the tunnel and outfitted it with color-changing LED lighting.
“I think we found the perfect balance. It’s actually a really cozy nook — I have tested it myself!” Lee says.
To turn the sketch into reality, the millworkers at 1027 Builders molded sheets of plywood and formed them into semicircles, holding the molds in shape for one week. They were transported to the site and installed in place as a cylinder. Lee had soft, removable cushions made for the tunnel and outfitted it with color-changing LED lighting.
“We really wanted a space that was future-proofed and kid-proof,” Lee says. “We made sure the loft was accessible for the twins now via the ladder, but also more challenging as they grow via the rock wall.”
Next to the colorful rock wall, Lee had the millworkers create a sturdy ladder that would work for small kids. Soft, flexible netting provides safety and transparency so it doesn’t isolate the loft area from the rest of the room. “Funnily enough, the kids get more of a kick out of playing with the netting than anything else” she says.
Lee says the homeowners never leave the kids unsupervised, but when they do want to block off the ladder portion, they wedge a large exercise ball between the wall and the ladder to keep the toddlers from climbing.
Custom rock wall and ladder: 1027 Builders
Next to the colorful rock wall, Lee had the millworkers create a sturdy ladder that would work for small kids. Soft, flexible netting provides safety and transparency so it doesn’t isolate the loft area from the rest of the room. “Funnily enough, the kids get more of a kick out of playing with the netting than anything else” she says.
Lee says the homeowners never leave the kids unsupervised, but when they do want to block off the ladder portion, they wedge a large exercise ball between the wall and the ladder to keep the toddlers from climbing.
Custom rock wall and ladder: 1027 Builders
Clear shelves hold the twins’ favorite books in the lofted reading nook. The floor here is repurposed from the original gym flooring from the room’s previous life.
The model plane was made by the twins’ father when he was a boy, and Lee hung the original blueprints in the reading nook. To play off the travel theme, they researched mural ideas on Houzz for inspiration and found a way to cover the closet wall with a map of the world.
Map mural: Limitless Walls
Map mural: Limitless Walls
The doors feature chalkboard paint on the interior, giving the kids one more place to get creative. Plus, the mess can literally stay behind closed doors.
Above the matching white cribs, blue-and-white Roman shades echo the map concept and coordinate with framed blueprints that hang on a wall space under the loft.
Cribs: Oeuf
Cribs: Oeuf
Soft cushions and a basketball hoop give the kids more fun features. Toys stay neatly tucked away in an oversize Pottery Barn wall unit that also houses a TV for movie time when the twins get a bit older.
Builder: 1027 Home Builders
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Nursery at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and three children
Location: Chelsea neighborhood of New York City
Size: 350 square feet (32.5 square meters)
Designer: Pippa Lee for Homepolish
When busy New York parents wanted to turn an existing home gym into a room for twins (because their current nursery had to make room for a new baby), they decided to have fun with it. One of the homeowners had seen a play loft at a twins playgroup and thought it just might work to max out the floor-to-ceiling space.
Designer Pippa Lee was all in and drew up sketches for a custom loft with a tunnel and a reading nook. The loft had to be both fun and practical; it also had to be easy for babies but something that could stay relevant for years, so the parents wouldn’t wind up facing another remodel soon after.
“We calculated that we have until the kids are about 8 to 10 before they are too tall to comfortably fit under the loft and until they are around 10 before they may need to crouch in the loft, so we felt that was more than enough time for them to enjoy it,” Lee says.