My Playroom

[DancingQueen]

Can you guys tell me if I have too much going on in my play room? (maybe that is why destructo-boy makes such a mess)

I sometimes wonder if I should take the train table out as they really don't use it much at all

The colorful shelf holds - barbies, ponies, horses, tea set, cars, bigger cars, action figures, guys, animals, trains etc... I zip tied them on so they can no longer be dumped and it has helped a TON

The other shelf holds misc. items. fake food, utensils, cookware, small balls, blocks, rubix cubes, potato heads and parts and so on - some puzzles and a few minor things. (on top I now keep some books and my printer)

[BentleysBands]

no not at all, think it looks great. but may i offer something? maybe dress your walls up with the alph., numbers, ect..make it look fun and inviting. other than that it looks great!!!

[countrymom]

ok, here goes.
1. you need to paint, the colors are blah! something like a light green
2. you need some curtains, something whimsical
3. the storage shelf you have the legos on is scary looking, I would take it down.
3. I would buy taller shelfing and place colorful bins and put it where that shelf is (#3)
4. I would get rid of the foam mat, makes the room smaller

[countrymom]

you don't have alot of stuff (I out do you ) but it just doesn't look inviting. whats behind the closet doors, can you take them off and maybe make that into a reading area with books and bean bag chairs.

[momofboys]

I personally think it looks like a fun & welcoming room. Lots to do & lots to be entertained with. There are some things that could make it look more appealing to the eye but in general I think it's all good!

[broncomom1973]

Personally, I like the wall colors. Maybe you could hang some of their art on the walls to make it more "fun". Otherwise, I like it.

[momofsix]

You have WAY more stuff to dump out than I do. If you're concerned right now about things ending up all over (destructo boy?" ) maybe you might want to remove some toys. I just did this as i have 3 23month olds that love to dump! I now have only 5 of the tubs on my tub holding shelf, and one other small bookshelf for a block/car area with cars and legos. I only have 2 puzzles out at a time, and about 15 books. I have my kitchen set, but took away a LOT of the food and dishes. They still have PLENTY to play with, but I'm feeling less stressed by the mess, and they are not dumping everything all over anymore! And i rotate toys every week, so they are SO excited each week to see what new things are out! (they don't ever seem to "miss" the things that I take out!)
I like your colors and your set-up! Maybe something on the wall as others have said, but i think it looks great!

[SilverSabre25]

I would paint that wall some color other than dark red--blues and greens tend to be more calming than red and that honestly might help Destructo Boy a bit.

I would also take out the rubber mat and reorganize some things--like put the bookshelf closer to the big chair to encourage curling up with a good book in the nice squishy chair.

[DancingQueen]

the walls seem plain because this is my bedroom. LOL My daycare was supposed to be down stairs but we haven't finished it yet and I didn't want to wait any longer to open my daycare up. so we moved our bedroom downstairs.

the quiet reading area and baby toy area is in my living room - this is stictly free play room. We do activities in the kitchen as well.

These photos were taken a while ago and since then we've put up blinds and decorated the walls (but the color stayed the same. I put up curtains but my destructo boy decided he liked the windows better with them off.

The colored squares are there because the carpet underneath is trashed beyond repair and we don't have the funds to do the floor over yet so this was our temporary fix until we can do the flooring. I must say that the colored floor tiles were teh best choice we ever made. Easily swept every day adn I can spray them down with disinfectant every night - SO easy to keep clean.

[kendallina]

Overall, I think it's inviting. Sure, the color could be something lighter and more playful, but as you explained you just didn't have time to do it (which I totally understand, DH and I moved our bedroom for our preschool room as well).

I do think there is too much stuff. I try to keep out no more than 5-10 books at a time and then rotate them frequently. I would also have only 2 (maybe 3) toys on the top of each of those shelves. When there is too much stuff, the children just don't see the individual pieces and can definitely cause some misbehaving. I tend to think less is more. Also, when there is a lot of stuff out, their eyes wander and they're unable to focus on what they're playing as long.

The shelf with the colorful bins (I have one of those too in my daughter's room and love it)- I would consider only having 6-7 bins in it at a time. Again, if there are fewer choices it helps their mind to see what's there.

I rotate my toys pretty frequently, which means that I need a lot of storage space (which I dont have now, it's all shoved in a closet). But, I'd suggest that you try removing a LOT of stuff for a week and see how it goes for you. You'll probably also find that the children are more likely to play with some of those toys that never get touched when they are rotated back in. Good luck!!

Also, I didn't see any dramatic play stuff (might have missed it). Do you have food, babies, kitchen-type stuff? It's always a hit.

[MyAngels]

I also rotate things in and out of the playroom. I use storage totes to store various things and just change out the contents every so often. I've managed to accumulate lots and lots of different things over the years, so I have plenty of variety, and the kids love getting "new" toys all the time. I've also found that they tend to be calmer with fewer things surrounding them, sometimes they would get overwhelmed with the sheer volume before I started pruning down a bit.

[DancingQueen]

Do you have food, babies, kitchen-type stuff? It's always a hit.

Actually yes - the white shelf to the left of the brown shelf was taken out and put in my son's room (as most of those books were his) and there is a kitchen (from IKEA that I LOVE) in it's place with more play food and dishes/pots/pans/utensils than any group of kids will ever need.

I also have hoooks by the door - and on them now are all of the dress up clothes and a wicker basket below with all of the accessories that go with the dress up clothes.

I think I'll try to limit the toys in there this weekend.
We were actually discussing taking out the shelf that has all the clear bins. Just removing it from the room all together. And also removing the train table.

The colored bins I zip tied into place so I can't use less of them. but I can certainly cut toys out.

The closet behind the chair (which is now covered in art work by the kids) is my storage area - I rotate toys in and out of there and I also have all of my arts and crafts in there. Perhaps I'll move more toys into there and rotate more in and out.

I'll update you and let you know how it goes. Thanks for the help guys!

[melskids]

i still leave all the choices of toys out, but have limited the amount of each of them. instead of 1000 pieces of duplos, there are 100. instead of a laundry basket full of dishes and food, there is a shoebox full. instead of 100 little people, there's 10-15. (you get the picture) i also have pretty well defined "areas" where the types of toys are to be played with. (not that i never let things get mixed up) but it seems to make cleanup much easier.

it does seem like they have WAY to much available to dump

i would move some of the shelves out away from the wall lenghtwise to create more defined "areas" and seperates spaces.

[SilverSabre25]

melskids has a great suggestion; that's what I did to my playroom (creating defined spaces) and it has really made a big difference in the level of disaster. Daredevil Boy still spreads everything around, but it's much less than it used to be. Later (during naptime) I can post some pictures of the main playroom if you like.

[DCMom]

i still leave all the choices of toys out, but have limited the amount of each of them. instead of 1000 pieces of duplos, there are 100. instead of a laundry basket full of dishes and food, there is a shoebox full. instead of 100 little people, there's 10-15. (you get the picture) i also have pretty well defined "areas" where the types of toys are to be played with. (not that i never let things get mixed up) but it seems to make cleanup much easier.

it does seem like they have WAY to much available to dump

i would move some of the shelves out away from the wall lenghtwise to create more defined "areas" and seperates spaces.

I agree completely.

The only thing that I would add is going vertical with shelving. I know we all have a limited amount of storage for toys and things that are not in use; I have become addicted to plastic containers and the adjustable closetmaid shelving system!

It makes it really easy to rotate toys in and out. You are also able to see what you have.

I attached a photo of one of my many areas of shelving