Creating a kids’ playroom in a small space

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a room in your house just for the little ones to play? Or even better, if your home were big enough to have that kind of space. But reality bites and often makes things like a kids’ playroom unviable in an average-sized flats of 60-70 m2, or 650-750 sq ft. So how can you create a play area for children in a small property?

Pablo García, from Atrezo Arquitectos, gives us some very useful small space solutions and storage ideas for putting aside a place for the children to play for people who live in a small flat or apartment.

"The first thing to understand is that, in small houses, you can’t limit your children's space to their bedroom. The whole house must have spaces adapted for the smallest members within easy reach, but in a tidy way", he explains. We are going to divide these areas into:

1. Order and storage

This is the place in your house where toys are stored and tidied up. Don’t fall into the mistake of overloading the room with toys and furniture that end up overwhelming the child. The room should stand out for its clean and simple design. The best thing for this is to have a piece of furniture with boxes, draws and an upper shelf for keeping toys.

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2. Art and imagination area

"Get a table, a chair and a wall with a slate chalkboard where the kids can draw,” says García. “Assume that this place will always be disastrous and dirty, but that's how creativity develops. Place a shelf against the blackboard to store colours, plasticine and other art materials.” Another option is to set aside part of a room and paint the wall or a column with chalkboard paint; it won't take up too much space and you'll also be encouraging that all-important creativity.

3. Fancy dress and theatre corner

Always have a box, trunk or sofa with storage underneath where you can keep costumes and spare fabrics for dressing up, making scenery for a play, inventing puppets and everything else that helps to imagine characters and stories. The best theatre is in the doorframe of an open door – just grab some hooks and hang the curtains from side to side to make a setting for your kids’ very own show!

4. Play and learn

"We all have a big piece of furniture in the living room where the TV, books and stuff go. Clear a shelf that is at the child’s level and make a small supermarket there. Improvise a cash register for doing additions and subtractions and put in objects such as jars, scales and fake food. In this way it promotes mental calculation and an understanding of scientific principles. You should also set aside a space for puzzles and games of Lego-type constructions."

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5. Music corner

Place a hook on the wall in the hallway and hang up as many instruments as you can. The little ones can play them all over the house, but they should know that they have to put them back on the hook when they finish.

6. Urban garden

Whether you have a small rooftop terrace, a balcony, a ground floor apartment with a garden area, or a reasonable-sized window sill, make full use of the space and buy some small planters. You and your child can plant flowers, fruits and vegetables together in your very own apartment vegetable patch. They will be able to see the growth week by week and become more interested in nature and the environment, as well as having fun getting their hands dirty.

The architect gives us one last piece of advice: "Of course, if possible, it is important use wooden toys with ecological paints made mainly from vegetable oils, that don’t contain toxic solvents. Avoid plastic as much as possible," he concludes.