7. Make an easy-clean kids' crafts table. Have a scrap of oilcloth left over from covering your big table? Use it to make an ideal easy-clean surface for a pint-size child's table. With either the big or small version, you can always pry off the staples and change the fabric when you want to refresh the look.

Interestingly, parents aren’t actually the main source of the toy tsunami — friends and family are. Regardless of how you feel about buying your kids more toys, you face an uphill battle when it comes to getting others on the same page with you. I say it all the time, but let me reiterate: Children don't need to be bombarded with stuff to be joyful. The bright and beautiful child's room pictured here is actually rather diminutive, but it's airy, inspiring, colorful and well organized. It's more than large enough for dreaming, drawing, reading and imagining, yet it's not bursting at the seams with toys!Change Your Attitude Toward ToysEarly on I requested that my friends and family not buy my daughter any toys or clothes for birthdays and holidays. She had more than she could ever need, thanks to the many well-meaning people in my life.I’m a big believer in hand-me-downs, since kids grow out of everything so quickly. It's really important to me, and yet people always felt compelled to buy brand-new things. I always felt pressured to accept the gifts, especially since many were fairly pricey. Nothing worse than a gift wrapped in guilt! Every single birthday and holiday, presents continued to pour in. I know it came from a place of love, but it was truly frustrating. We lived in a studio apartment with less than 500 square feet shared between us. I literally had no room for the things she would receive. A lot of times, those gifts were donated to children far less fortunate. We were living at the poverty level, but there were people living in much worse situations, and it felt important to share with them what I considered an abundance of things.I’m not saying we never kept anything, because we did. I'm far from a minimalist! However, when something new came into the home, something much less loved went out. We worked hard at not hoarding toys, books and other kid-related items. I have yet to meet a family that isn’t suffering from too-many-toys syndrome, and yet it's all relative. Some folks show their love through material things. I get that, but that's the last thing kids need when it comes to love. A toy never takes the place of story time, baking together or just plain being there.Rethink the Train TableIf there is one thing that continues to confound me, it’s the train table. You know the one. In the homes of my dreams, everyone has a beautifully spacious and organized playroom. The train table is but a blip on the landscape there. But not everyone has that kind of space, and a train table ends up being that giant thing taking over a third of the room — not to mention the trains, cars and other toys that live on it, underneath it and strewn around it like a million tiny landmines. Seems a week doesn’t go by when one of my clients is trying to find room for one, get rid of one or buy one. I’ve started to believe that they're actually all the same train table, multiplying and recirculating until the end of time.What’s interesting is that I’ve never seen a child actually use a train table for its intended purpose, and it’s the parents (not the kids), who exhibit symptoms of withdrawal when it’s suggested that maybe it’s time to let it go. While this ideabook isn’t really about the train table, it’s the largest example — literally — of kid clutter that parents invite into their homes.Ask These 3 QuestionsAs with all the adult things you bring into your home, ask the same three questions of your children’s things: Do they love it? need it? use it? Ask your children to answer the same questions but help them understand what those questions actually mean. Define “need” as something that helps them get through their day, like a jacket or a toothbrush. Define "love" as something they adore above all other things, like a blankie or a favorite doll. “Use” is often the same as “need,” like socks, or paper to do homework on. But how many pads of paper or pairs of socks are actually necessary? It’s not about having less or having nothing, it’s about having things that matter in those three important ways. It’s difficult to stay on top of all the things that come from birthdays, holidays and visits with family, and it’s hard to say, “No, thank you.” Setting the precedent ahead of time can work wonders.

Kids do not generally do subtle. They do bright and joyful. When choosing colors keep them bright (and consider mixing brights and pastels). You don't immediately notice a color scheme in this room, but it's there.

Mesa

ikea

lay out

square color for ceiling

M

Small playroom minus the bed

kids room

Playrooms

Brynne

Pajaritos

Mommy says: nice, but not practical in our case

Love it for a little kid :)

Rug w stencil

kids room

Tav

colors

Mollie

Rug

Kids

Great table and chairs

good use of small space

Toy management

Bureau cass

Colored molding

Roobyn's room

Pieza

Kid room

kid's room

colors, organization

Colors

Like

narrow room

The red ribbon

its gonna be in miami

Trim!

étagère

H room

look at ceiling idea - paint edge different color

small kids rooms

Lola

Design

Red trim

Red

nada's room

natural light on the desk

Girls room

Jude

pieza merce

Paint table white. White shelves

The window

Great room with awesome stuff from Ikea

Desk area beneath window?

colored false ceiling

Everything.. Table is covered with oilcloth for easy clean-up. The birdies hanging on the string.

it is nice

Kids room

Маша хочет такую комнату и часы

kids1

pink

Kids bedroom

Colours

board above desk

kids room

bright border

צבעים

Easy clean kid's table

Ly room

Small room

Back rooms

childs room

О, наша прям детская

для дачи

Desk space built around the window

Trim

I like this red expressive lines - round the ceiling and round the floor.

Colors only

Children room

Mesita

The lil table and magnetic whiteboard

narrow bed

rug

Quarto mig

love the trim!

indian doves, rug

THE MAGNETIC BOARD

shelf under window

Kids

Magnetic board

Kids table and chair

Table and chairs

The red trim

kids bedroom

Plus Kura and/or expedit

ikea magnetic board

the concept of the small room

Kid

Ideas

kids room

NinA's room

colors, eclectic

Colourful moulding

Cute

Good char

Bright, colorful, inexpensive

Kids rooms

window desk

Dorm. Pequeño

Very simple n nice

cool small room for child

kids room

for Morgan

Love the white and red paint

Helena

alicia

the colour combination

Kids room good size?

Rug

Iris

Sully's room.

kids brights

Line on the ceiling

Mesita emiliana

Hancock childs room - keep walls white but all color trim

kids room: red border

shelf

i like the window and desk space

Kids room

Danielle shelves

borders

kid's room

window desk and shelves

spare room

ii

good

Ceiling

very nice!

color small space

kids

bookcase

baltas sienas līdzsvaro košas krāsas detaļās

bedroom kids room

узкая детская

Isabella's bedroom

Ikea book case and table set

window at desk height for L's room?

Poss for baby room

Joyful

small room w/window desk

Cool

E room

room layout

red moldings

Lovely room for a young girl

Room like Olivia, not wide and long.

Nice kid room

Colorful table & chairs

like the whiteboard above their desks...

love the rug

Love all the colors

Red paint

Childrens

Colors

Seems like a small room but with a lot of useful versatility.

Niños

writing bench along window, narrow room but lots of space

future back room layout?

Kids room

small space, but still storage and desk

חדר ילדים

Love the ceiling!

trim colour

Molding

Good use of space

very cool idea to use colorful crown molding to accent the room

Like magnetic board from Ikea

Layout of items needed for real, functional space

Recamara

Border/trim in color

Decor

Ikea chairs painted blue, magnetic board

in jongenskleuren

ideal para cuertos chicos, ejem senderos

Joélines room

add

The rug!

real kids' room

magnetic board from IKEA

colors

chairs

kids

kid room

Bedroom

Blue/red drawer

TODO

spare bedroom grandkid