One of the best things about kids: They’re little! So you only need a little extra space and imagination to create a playroom your little one will love. With a few fun playroom ideas, you can turn a spare bedroom, an attic, a basement, or a nook into a childhood haven.
Here’s a look at our favorite ideas for transforming your child’s space. From walls to decor to furniture and activity stations, each of these kids’ playroom ideas are designed with fun (and the family budget) in mind.
11 playroom ideas for fun (and functional) furniture
If you’re buying new kids bedroom furniture as part of your playroom makeover, it will likely be your biggest expense. But don’t worry, you can find options for budget-friendly furniture that puts the fun in functional.
Along with buying affordable furniture, look for timeless styles that can grow with your child. This way, your investment will last for years to come. Here are a few playroom ideas for furnishing your kid’s space.
1. Turn a loft bed into a treehouse
A loft bed works great in a small space because it offers an open area below the bed while adding more space up above. The Timber House-Designed Twin Loft Bed makes the perfect indoor treehouse for your young one.
2. Buy a teepee
Adding a teepee to your kids’ room gives them a permanent fort. It’s a great place for kids to curl up with a book or a favorite furry friend.
3. Get a daybed for sleepovers
The playroom may be separate from your kids’ bedroom, but adding a daybed (especially one with a trundle or storage underneath, like the Julie twin daybed) will still make the space more functional. The bed can serve as extra seating during the day and extra space during sleepovers.
4. Have a central table
Putting a table, like the colorful Rory 5-Piece Dining Set, at the center of the room allows kids to use it for games, artwork, and any other tabletop activities.
5. Turn your table into a fort
A table is great for coloring, drawing, and writing, but it also has some imaginative uses. Hang a curtain or extra long tablecloth over the edge of your table so smaller children can use it as a fort.
6. Use a coffee table
Save money on chairs by having children sit on the floor or on floor pillows strewn around a low-slung coffee table.
7. Transform a closet into a reading nook
Closets aren’t just for hanging clothes. Maximize your space by creating a DIY reading nook. Simply add bookshelves or a bookcase along with a comfy bench to the inside of a closet. You could also place toys on the bookshelf for added fun.
8. Add storage with baskets, shelving, and cubbies
Every kids’ playroom needs lots of storage solutions. After all, one of the benefits of having a playroom is that you can keep all those toys off the living room floor. Create an organized playroom and make cleanup easier by adding lots of toy storage. Ottomans are a great option for this, plus they provide extra seating.
9. Buy an easel
To add a playful element to your kid’s bedroom, you can’t go wrong with an easel. It’s an inexpensive piece of furniture that can encourage your kids’ creativity.
10. Create a workspace with a desk
A small desk will give kids a place to draw, paint, play games, and work on homework assignments. Choose one in a timeless style like the 3-drawer writing desk that can grow with your kids over the years.
11. Add extra seating with a storage bench
A playroom can never have enough storage or enough seating. Combine the two with a multifunctional storage bench.
9 playroom ideas for delightful decor
Another inexpensive way to change your kid’s playroom decor is with fabric and accessories. Fabric creates a cozy play space and adds cohesive design. But young children can outgrow their playroom design many times before they’re all grown up. When your baby is suddenly too mature for their princess-themed room, simply swap out some curtains and throw pillows to create something entirely new.
1. Choose a theme
Think about your kid’s interests and choose something that will appeal to them. From airplanes to mermaids to dinosaurs, there are a lot of themes you can pull off with a bit of wall decor and fun fabrics.
2. Match your house
Many people think the kids’ room needs to be dramatically different from the rest of the house, but you can bring your overall decorating style (modern, rustic, bohemian) into your kids’ playroom as well.
3. Keep things neutral
Don’t feel like you need to go bright and bold with the playroom if that’s not your family’s style. Neutral decor will easily transition from one age to the next.
4. Add texture
Kids, and especially young children, love texture — it provides a tactile learning experience. Mix textures together with a combination of fur, velvet, burlap, and satin.
5. Hang a canopy
A canopy can create the feeling of a fort and makes a perfect cozy reading nook. If you don’t want to go the DIY route, try the Belton twin or twin bunk bed that features a canopy in a stunning champagne color. (Bonus: It also features touch-activated LED lights to add a soothing glow to the canopy from beneath.)
6. Use floor cushions
If your children are still young, save money on tiny chairs that they’ll outgrow in no time, and opt for floor cushions or bean bags instead.
7. Add a throw rug
A throw rug can add color, texture, or just a soft place to play.
8. Hang tassels
Tassels, pompoms, or bunting make for cute and inexpensive wall art that can bring together the colors or textures you’re using throughout the room.
9. Wrap craft-store letters
For this DIY wall art, choose whatever fabric you like. Then glue it on letters that spell out “Play,” “Imagine,” “Create,” or your child’s name. Display your letters on the wall for a fun and funky look.
15 playroom ideas for wonderful walls
A fresh coat of paint is one of the most budget-friendly ways to refresh a room, but we think walls — and ceilings, for that matter — have potential beyond adding a pop of color. Walls and ceilings offer vertical space that often goes unused. Make your kid’s room extra special with walls that go above and beyond their wildest imagination.
1. Use a paint stencil
Wallpaper is trendy right now, but it’s hard to change out when you get tired of it. Instead, paint a whimsical pattern on your kid’s bedroom walls using a stencil.
2. Add wall decals
Another whimsical and removable option for wall art, wall decals include immersive art — like a giant octopus for a submarine theme.
3. Create a chalkboard wall
Buy chalkboard paint, and use it to cover all or part of a wall. Your kids will instantly have a reusable art station in their playroom.
4. Hang a basketball hoop
For athletic kids, hang a hoop on the wall, then give them soft foam balls to play with so they don’t damage any of your other playroom decor.
5. Get a world map
Instead of a tabletop globe, how about a wall map? Help your kids learn geography while having fun with a world map that doubles as wall art.
6. Add a bulletin board
A bulletin board is a simple way to amp up the playroom. This is a great way for kids to display their artwork or hang pictures of their friends and family.
7. Build a climbing wall
A creative option for athletic kiddos is to build a wall with rock climbing holds. Place a thick mat on the floor underneath to make falling fun.
8. Hang a clothesline
Who says you can only display artwork and photos on a wall? Grab a clothesline covered in clothespins and let your kids have a blast showcasing their latest masterpiece or favorite photos.
9. Display an abacus
If you have a little one, chances are you have an abacus. For an unexpected playroom idea, try displaying this classic counting tool in an unusual way. Many abacuses can hang on the wall and serve as equal parts wall art, toy, and learning tool.
10. Add storage containers
One of our favorite storage ideas is to hang baskets or metal pails from the wall. They look chic and give your kiddos a place to store their pens, crayons, paint brushes, and small toys.
11. Play some games
Many classic childhood games, including Connect Four and Tic-tac-toe, come in models that you can hang on the wall for a truly playful display.
12. Gaze at the constellations
Your child’s bedroom ceiling is begging for some attention. Use it to help your little one learn about astronomy by painting a realistic night sky or hanging glow-in-the-dark, press-on stars.
13. Swing from the ceiling
Bring the jungle gym inside by hanging a swing from a beam in your ceiling.
14. String fairy lights
String lights are one of the easiest playroom ideas that can add a little whimsy to your kid’s playroom space.
15. Play under a forest canopy
Hang tree branches, vines, plush toy birds, and paper butterflies from the ceiling to create the illusion that you’re in a magic forest.
16 playroom ideas for amazing activity stations
The best playroom ideas will encourage your kids’ interests, help them learn new things, and allow their imaginations to run wild. If you have a small space, choosing tabletop activities that can be stowed away when not in use will help give your kiddos lots of options.
1. Create a dress-up station
Add hooks to the wall and hang your little ones’ favorite costumes. Put up a full-length mirror so they can see their styling skills in action.
2. Add a reading nook
Every parent wants their kids to read more. Encourage this activity with a cozy corner featuring books beautifully displayed on shelves.
3. Set up an arts & crafts corner
With just an easel, some crayons, markers, and paper, you can inspire your future Picasso.
4. Get a puppet playhouse
Puppet playhouses allow your child to follow their imagination and develop their storytelling skills.
5. Make a ball pit
With an inflatable kiddie pool and some plastic balls, you can create a ball pit in your own playroom.
6. Add a race track
Get a mat with a race track design or build a plastic track for your child to race their toy cars.
7. Set up a tumbling station
Create your own kiddie gym by lining your floor with gymnastics mats, and adding a few tunnels to crawl through and foam blocks to climb.
8. Add a hopscotch rug
Create an indoor hopscotch space with a mat that has hopscotch squares printed right on it.
9. Create a photo studio
Let your future photographer practice their photo skills with an inexpensive digital camera and a mini light box.
10. Add a ping pong table
If you have a large space, a ping pong, pool, foosball, or air hockey table will keep the kids entertained for hours.
11. Get some table-top games
There are tabletop versions of most of the games listed above, including ping pong, pool, and foosball. The tabletop options are portable and much less expensive than their full-size counterparts.
12. Set up indoor shuffleboard
Buy an indoor shuffleboard kit to play indoors. It comes with a long, thin, floor mat, small cue sticks, and pucks.
13. Make a science lab
Depending on your child’s age, set up a science station with a kid-friendly chemistry set and a microscope.
14. Add a band stand
Encourage your child’s musical side by setting up some instruments. You don’t have to invest in a keyboard and guitar if your child isn’t ready. Instead, start with maracas and a tambourine or some DIY instruments.
15. Get a telescope
If your playroom has a window, set up a telescope in front of it for some nighttime star gazing.
16. Create an indoor garden
Teach your child about plants with a window-side herb garden or a few easy-to-grow houseplants. (Bonus: Live plants will help purify the air in your kid’s playroom!)
Put the play in playroom
The key to creating an extra special playroom is to channel your inner child and reimagine your space from top to bottom — even the walls and ceilings have the potential to inspire childlike wonder (or actual child wonder).
Choose functional furniture that makes cleanup easier, add a few special touches with decor you can easily change as your child grows, and most importantly, create lots of opportunity for play with fun activity stations. Pick the playroom ideas that sound the most like your little ones, and you’ll end up with a fun space they’ll love.
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