Changing the "Playroom"

[wahmof3]

Ok. I am not 100% sure if I am ready to do this yet but wouldn't mind getting the opinions of all you experts here

Ok I run a home daycare. My set up is pretty "homey"

I live in a split-level and when you come into my house my playroom/family room is directly to your right from my entry way. My kitchen is the next room.

So here is the deal. I would love to paint and decorate my playroom as a "playroom". I have some really awesome ideas in mind. Which would include getting rid of my sofa & loveseat and making the room a complete daycare room.

Problem is: this is my family room. I have my kids pictures hanging up. I love the colors of this room. Its warm and welcoming. When I don't have kids I can take all of my daycare stuff into my basement and its a family room again.

BUT I just LOVE all of the pictures of the daycare rooms you all have created. I just don't know what to do. I know I could make it very classy. And whenever we have friends over all of their children are entertained in my playroom.

The other issue is IF I dive into this I would really want to do it NOW because I am so low on kids that I could paint and create without a full load. BUT with all of this comes MONEY. I would need to paint, buy some shelving, some child size furniture, etc. you know all of that stuff that comes with a price

So how many of you have a living room daycare space? How many of you have an actual daycare space? (Hope that makes sense).

[cheerfuldom]

So wait, is the same room used for both the daycare AND your only family room option?

[Blackcat31]

I am odd duck here (beside Meeko and Sugar) and have a WHOLE house as daycare space, so I can't offer much adivce on how to arrange or rearrange your set up but I do know that your idea of painting things to look like a playroom isn't such a bad idea as long as you are ok with it on your off hours...kwim?

If you do daycare, you are like the rest of us and don't stop thinking or breathing daycare just because you are closed and not on the clock.

So really, if you think rearranging the room to make it be more of a playroom, whether you paint and do a full out change or just a few simple additions, doesn't really make much difference.

The point is YOU have to do the things that give you pep, interest and the motivation to do this job and to love it. If making your living room more of a playroom makes you feel that way...then I say GO FOR IT!!

If you want to do it, just because it looks cuter or you think parents will love it but it won't really change your love of the job or the way you feel, then I wouldnt bother. Does that make sense?

[wahmof3]

So wait, is the same room used for both the daycare AND your only family room option?

No the benefit of living in a split level is that we have 2 "family room" areas but my DH has transformed the other living/family room into his "man cave" and his deer heads etc are hanging there.

[wahmof3]

I am odd duck here (beside Meeko and Sugar) and have a WHOLE house as daycare space, so I can't offer much adivce on how to arrange or rearrange your set up but I do know that your idea of painting things to look like a playroom isn't such a bad idea as long as you are ok with it on your off hours...kwim?

If you do daycare, you are like the rest of us and don't stop thinking or breathing daycare just because you are closed and not on the clock.

So really, if you think rearranging the room to make it be more of a playroom, whether you paint and do a full out change or just a few simple additions, doesn't really make much difference.

The point is YOU have to do the things that give you pep, interest and the motivation to do this job and to love it. If making your living room more of a playroom makes you feel that way...then I say GO FOR IT!!

If you want to do it, just because it looks cuter or you think parents will love it but it won't really change your love of the job or the way you feel, then I wouldnt bother. Does that make sense?

Makes PERFECT sense! Thanks

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

We have an actual daycare in our downstairs. I will have to post new pictures soon in that little picture group on here.

[Crazy8]

If you have another room that can be specifically for your family I would do it. If you don't then no, I wouldn't remove the furniture, etc. and make it a real playroom. The pics I posted are what would be my "formal" living room if it wasn't a daycare. But really with our lifestyle I don't need anything "formal", LOL!! I have a family room off my kitchen with fireplace, etc. that is my family space. My daycare room lights go off at 5pm and we don't use it (when my own kids were younger they played in there after hours and it was great when friends came over with kids!).

[Heidi]

Is there another place your dh could use as his "man cave"? I understand his need for a manly place to chill, but, does it have to be a huge space? Only one person uses it, really?

Your need to help make a living should probably take precidence over his need for a man-cave, right? I'm guessing-you don't have a "woman cave"...

If he's willing to give up his space (or better yet, find another), I'd make your playroom downstairs. Put in a mini-kitchen (microwave on hot plate), paint it "fun", make it into your dream daycare (as budget allows), and never allow your dcf's into your livingroom again...

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

https://www.daycare.com/forum/album.php?albumid=58

[mac60]

The above pictures are amazing, but not what I consider a typical home daycare like many of us have.

I personally would not turn my main living space into daycare only space. Our family room is my daycare room. It is large at 16 x 25 ft. I have it divided into 2 spaces, the back half has the daycare stuff and the other half has our tv and furniture and fireplace. I have a couple double storage cabinets with doors to put things in. I personally don't believe kids need all the stuff that I see in daycare pictures that are out of homes. Just seems so cluttered and way too much stuff. Just how much stuff do we need for a small group of young ones? I would find ways to make it your family room first and daycare room second. You can do it. happyface

[nothingwithoutjoy]

So how many of you have a living room daycare space? How many of you have an actual daycare space? (Hope that makes sense).

I don't have a dedicated "daycare space," nor do I have a playroom in my house. Partly because I believe one of the advantages of family child care--a reason to choose it over a center--is that it is a home. It feels like home because it is, not because it's a homey classroom. There's a real couch to snuggle on, good smells coming from the kitchen, a mix of adult and child things, etc. And partly because I don't believe children need tons and tons of toys.

My program uses about half of my downstairs for most of the day--the kitchen, bathroom, family room, and another room that I have set up as an art studio (might have become a play room, but I prioritized studio space, which is key to my Reggio-inspired teaching style). (At nap time, we also use our library, which is full of kids' mats during the week and returns to completely family space on the weekends. We have no formal living room, rather this small room with lots of books and only two chairs.) Looking at my house, there are a few clues that it's an early childhood program (kids' cubbies in the entrance right in the family room, lots of color-coded towels in the bathroom, 10 toothbrushes, small chairs and flip-up tables in the kitchen...), but mostly, it just looks like a home. Our family room has a few shelves with a few carefully selected toys, and baskets of books. There's a basket of blocks under the coffee table, and a basket of something interesting to explore on top. There's a wooden toy kitchen in my kitchen. The studio is stocked with good art basics, recycled stuff, natural bits, etc. Extra toys live in the basement and are rotated sometimes.

I'll get photos up in the decor forum one of these days!

[melskids]

No the benefit of living in a split level is that we have 2 "family room" areas but my DH has transformed the other living/family room into his "man cave" and his deer heads etc are hanging there.

If it was me, personally, I would move the daycare downstairs.

I would much rather look at deer heads on the wall in my living room then daycare stuff all the time!!! LOL

[countrymom]

my back up provider has a split level. She has her daycare downstairs. When you walk in, your greeting by a living room and normal house, but down stairs is where the action is. How often does your dh use his main cave, does he just watch tv. If you want to do it cheap look on craigslist for furniture, acually on craigslist type in ikea and you won't believe the stuff people are selling.