Playroom: [pley-room, -roo m] Noun. A room to stash your kids so you can finally go to the bathroom alone. But only for 45 seconds. Because they will find you. (They always find you.)

So we are officially in and nearly 100% unpacked in the new house, and I’ve already picked my favorite room. (See above.)

We didn’t have a designated play space in our old house once we had our third baby, which meant that our entire house acted as a receptacle for toys of every type (usually naked dolls of some sort) and the kids’ closets were stuffed-to-full with their own individual things. With this house, I’m so grateful that we have a dedicated place to not only store toys, but to also let the kids roam and relax, without having any fear that they will drag Nutella-smeared hands across the furniture.

When we picked finishes and furniture for the playroom, I kept these things in mind–washability and softness… As in, “Can I wash this fabric if someone vomits or poops on it?” And, “Is this fabric soft enough that I can allow my baby to wander around naked because she hates when I put on her diaper?” And as far as the accessories like the artwork that we went with, well, they were just cute. 🙂

These are the five essentials that we are loving in our new space! Enjoy!

1

Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair

We use this chair–as the title says–literally anywhere. It’s moved with us from the baby’s nursery at the old house to the playroom in the new house, and she just loves it! It’s a great way for babies to learn how to crawl up, since it’s so soft and low to the ground. Her favorite thing to do lately is to go back and forth between this chair and the bean bags (more on these below), and just laugh the whole time.

2

Flor Carpet Tiles

Can. Not. Say. Enough. How genius of an idea this is?! Carpet tiles, to me, rank somewhere between heated seats and mall massage chairs on the list of things you don’t know you need until you try them. Given the number of spills and “accidents” that happen in a home with kids, can you think of a better way to carpet a hard floor space?

We installed these in our playroom, and two things come to mind every time I walk in the room: 1) Why didn’t I think of this? And 2) Why can’t I own every single pattern they make?

Seriously guys, the designs that they make are all so, so cute. We went with the Mod Cow pattern in our playroom, but I love so many of their other carpet tile designs, including Turkish Smoke, Kensington Current and Lilting, which I think would be so darling in a nursery or kids’ room.

Interlocking carpet tiles that you can replace when a kid (inevitably) spills juice or pukes on them. GENIUS.

Here is another carpet tile option!

3

Colorful Beanbags

Your 80s childhood is calling–and in this case, it is a comfortable, beautiful thing.

Again, did not know how much use we would get out of these until we got them. We got one for each child, and not only are they perfect for plopping down to read a quick book, but they also serve as great fort-building blocks. Soft, so babies won’t bonk their heads on them, and vibrant colors. If we could have ten of these all over the floor in our playroom, I would. But, you know, #tryingtobegrownup and all that.

4

Fabric Drawers

We have about a half dozen of these on our bookshelf in the playroom. They give an awesome pop of color and are really great for holding those little toys that the kids like to access frequently without too much hassle (for us lately, it’s the plastic food that the baby loves to “eat”). I like that you can fit so much in each drawer, and it is easy to switch up the look of your decor just by moving around the drawers to different spots.

5

Bold Pop Art

What’s a fun play space without bold, fun art to go along with it? We got some custom prints made of the kids’ faces from this site to hang on the walls, but if you’re looking for something a little less personal, a nice print with pops of color will work well, too! I really like all the options by Minted. They make so many cute prints! I really love this one (only $21!), this one, and this one (which reminds me of Florida!)

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Have any playroom essentials you can’t live without? Let me know below in Comments!And don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more stories and tips!

Sonni Abatta is a writer, host and mom of three. She also runs this Orlando lifestyle and mom blog. You know, when she’s not busy with her other job of refereeing sibling battles and warming up chicken nuggets. Want to chat or collaborate? Reach out here!

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