In a household with children and teenagers, maintaining a sense of order amidst the inevitable mess and clutter can be a challenging endeavour. It's all too common for your kids' and teens' belongings to find their way into every nook and cranny of your home as they joyfully move from one room to another, engrossed in play or study. Picture this: a dedicated space within your home where all their toys, games, books, and study materials could be stored, and their cheerful play or focused study could be confined. Such a scenario would undoubtedly make any parent's life significantly easier, providing not only a solution for the younger ones but also offering a conducive environment for the teenagers to concentrate on their activities.
Enter the Guardian Home Extension – a solution to not only keeping your home organised but also keeping your children happy in their own designated space. This blog looks into the practical advantages of incorporating a playroom into your home, exploring the functional and aesthetic aspects that warrant consideration.
Are your children spending so much time in their bedrooms that the space has lost its association with restful sleep? Bedrooms often transform into spaces for play and work, causing our minds to disconnect them from their main purpose. Introducing a playroom, provides a designated area for children and teenagers to enjoy fun and play. This separation ensures that when it's time to sleep, distractions like toys and computer games are stored away, improving their sleep patterns greatly.
Factors like urban density, rising rents, and changes in our work habits have reshaped the way we utilise our bedrooms. The study ‘An Investigation into Sleep Environment as a Multi-Functional Space’ highlights the negative impact of using bedrooms for activities other than sleeping, particularly among younger individuals. Allocating a distinct area for them to spend their non-sleeping hours helps them reconnect with their bedrooms as spaces for rest, positively impacting their sleep routines.
Moreover, a dedicated playroom fosters creativity and imagination in children. By excluding a television, you encourage them to explore their creativity, contributing to enhanced brain functionality.
Another aspect to consider is how playrooms can serve as organised spaces, especially when it comes to both children and teenagers. Playrooms often act as centralised hubs that make a parent's life more manageable. You're familiar with how kids and teens tend to move their belongings from one room to another, creating a trail of chaos. However, having all their toys, games, and study materials in one designated space not only helps in maintaining organisation but also prevents the disorder from spreading throughout the entire house. As a result, your home remains significantly neater, and as a bonus, you earn the title of the coolest parent by providing them with a dedicated room for fun!
When selecting a location for your playroom extension, your children's safety comes first, especially with younger ones. Adding a ground-level extension means there is the potential of it being visible to the public. If possible, consider placing it discretely at the rear of the house, away from public footpaths, and by ensuring it doesn't obstruct the back door, it will eliminate the need for an additional exit from the playroom.
It is also important to be strategic about the adjacent rooms, avoiding interference with your relaxation or social gatherings. Opting for a less active section, perhaps near the kitchen or utility room, allows your children to play creatively or hang out with friends without disrupting the overall ambiance. However, it's essential not to consign your child to the darkest, quietest corner of your home, as accidents can occur anytime and anywhere. We still want to keep a watchful eye over our children at a young age to ensure their safety and a parent’s peace of mind.
When it comes to size, consider how many children you have to avoid any squabbles over space. A just-right playroom brings joy, teamwork, and sharing, teaching those important life lessons. Check out the space around your property and aim for enough room without sacrificing your whole garden. Our Certified Installers are all about helping you out, making sure your play area looks good and works well in the space you have available.
Our Certified Installers will support you through the design and construction process to ensure you get the functionality you need within the space you have available and that your extension meets the correct standards. However, there are some key factors that are worth bearing in mind as you work through the process, such as:
What is the extension being built on? Different soils require different foundations. Our Certified Installers can assess this, but we have written a blog for homeowners with more information.
What thermal performance does it need to achieve? Ensuring the extension is well insulated and uses energy efficiently is a key priority. Learn more about thermal performance in our dedicated blog on the topic.
What is your ideal project timeline? Undertaking any home improvement project can have a knock-on effect on the rest of your home. Having an idea of when you want the works to take place can help limit the disruption as far as possible. Learn more about the build speed of extensions in our blog.
Where do the services need to go? Heating and electrics will both need to be carefully mapped out.
Where do I want the doors and windows to go? Carefully choose the locations for doors and windows in your living and dining extension, taking into account both the visual appeal and practical utility. To enhance safety, you might want to skip an entryway to the garden, ensuring that your children are always secure within the room when they enter. If the space is destined to be a favourite hangout for your kids, consider incorporating ample windows, including roof windows, to maximise natural light. This not only creates a bright and welcoming atmosphere but also minimises the need for artificial lighting, reducing energy consumption.
Joanna Thornhill, an accomplished interior stylist, writer, author, and consultant, challenges the notion that family-friendly spaces require a compromise on adult aesthetics. Instead, she encourages embracing vibrant colours and bold graphic shades to infuse energy and playfulness into the room, appealing to both younger children but teens as well. Check out some of Joanna's creative ideas for crafting a space tailored for your children:
A chic playroom, as per Joanna's guidance, harmoniously marries fun and aesthetics. Striking this balance results in a visually pleasing room that not only enhances the overall beauty of your home but also provides a dedicated and imaginative haven for your children. It's about creating a space where creativity can flourish, and fun seamlessly coexists with style.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our Guardian Home Extension: Play+ page or download our brochure.
