We didn't have a designated space. Paper, paint, and markers, etc. were in boxes in the office. Games were in a hall closet. My kids simply took the stuff out when they wanted to play (typically on the kitchen table) and then put them away when finished. Easy.

I have seen in larger houses the preference for a designated kids area that is not in the bedrooms. I think this keeps the majority of the house clear, and then you have one room that has a ton of storage seating and small tables.

Personally we have chosen to divide the toys and activities around the house based on the play styles of their kids such that the kids are playing in a nearby space to here the adults might be working on a project. In our current house this looks like a game table with both kids and adult games stored in a storage bench. Kids books both in the bedroom and in the walkout basement where the family room and office area are. We use office organizers to keep my daughters art and crafting supplies neat, but near the dining room table where many of her projects take place.

Where do you want to be when you watch the kids?

My kids are big enough I dont feel the need to constantly be near them, having stuff in multiple rooms throughout the house seems like what I have now, and when I go to fold clothes or make dinner it is what it sounds like, a lot of different areas to go clean up haha.

Thanks for info. I'd allocate space for a big craft area in the family room, near windows for good lighting. A chest of drawers can be a good storage unit. Markers have a tendency to migrate around the house. Some schools use buckets for markers, crayons, etc.

From your description I would make sure the bedrooms have enough space for a functional desk. This is where you keep some of the art materials, homework time etc. It sounds like you would prefer to have a centralized place for the rest of their stuff. Envisioning a single den type room that can start with room for shelves a table and maybe a computer, that will transition to more of a second TV room hang out space when they get older seems like it might work for you.

Kid places are everywhere. What is needed is an adult space. .

I'm with Sophie.

Haha true that, I am maybe more OCD about it than I should, but twin 5 year olds and an 8 year old have stuff everywhere before you know it. Try and tell myself its it's a sign of kids having fun, but it gets monotonous.

My brother and his wife use the basement for all of their kids crap. There is furniture down there with a tv for their game systems and movies. They also have a small table and chairs for them to eat or do "stuff". When the kids have friends over they all go down there where they can scream and jump and all the other annoying thing kids do without disturbing the rest of the house. The kids have a big space and none of their stuff clutters up the rest of the house.

If your kids are 5, 5, and 8, you only have a few more years of this! Mine are 8,11,12. The 8 year old is the only one still using markers/etc regularly. I have a sideboard Furniture piece that I keep markers, paper, coloring books, notebooks, construction paper, scissors, and tone of those beads that you iron after the kid makes something. The activities are just done on the dining table. I would recommend a plastic table cover! For our build, the kids will all have desks in their rooms and large closets for homework and craft activities.

Really? My 13 yr old Niece still uses markers, paints, glitter (craft herpes) ect on a regular basis.

My girls are 9 and almost 6. We have ruthlessly purged kids stuff. It used to make me crazy. Now they basically just have legos and art supplies with a few special stuffies. The legos are in two big under-the-bed storage totes under their bunk and the art supplies are in an office-y area. If that's not enough to entertain they can go outside and play in the dirt :-)

Rite, agree 100%, I think my wife is hoarder though so just trying to accommodate haha. Thanks for the replies.

We just moved into an existing house and converted what was meant to be a formal living room (which we would never use) into my son's playroom. I LOVE having his toys out of the living room and he can play there while still being around everyone (ie not upstairs in his bedroom). I would highly recommend that you add a bonus room of sorts somewhere downstairs just off one of the main living areas to give your kids that space, and you can always convert it to something else later.

IMO the kids in most homes have taken over the adult space for no other reason than it is where they want to be. I had 3 kids they played in the LR until supper time at which time all the toys were picked up put back in their rooms and we reclaimed our LR. It kept the toys to a minimum since they knew they had to be put away and I want my adult space after supper.As for art stuff a desk in each room provided a place to work and storage of all that stuff or if all 3 were working on something the kitchen table was always a good spot.

If you are building with the traditional formal LR and DR, put French doors on both and give the kids the DR for the hellzone. The LR is your escape pod from the noise. And anything left out in plain sight in the rest of the house gets placed in the Donate box every evening at 6. No exceptions.

As a mom of two young kids in a small house, my dream would be to have a kids playroom off the main level living space as kariyava describes above. We have a basement playroom but the kids don't use it much and prefer play near us. I prefer to keep all arts and crafts supplies near the kitchen and kids do messy art projects at the kitchen table (I don't want messy art stuff in their bedrooms where I can't supervise, that's almost as bad as food in their bedrooms in my opinion). We've dedicated some drawers and cabinets in our butlers pantry to art stuff and that has worked very well. The other thing that you will want is a "command center" space of sorts near the kitchen where all the homework and school papers, etc can go. I've got a 1st grader and school paperwork is hard to keep organized.

I didn't read all the comments, so forgive me if it;s been said before. Children love nooks and crannies as well as lofts. Find interesting places to build them a place of their own- not just some room where they and their stuff is dumped (though purpose built playrooms are great, but not nearly as interesting as a hidden space just for them.) Children have fantastic imaginations. It takes so little to please them and the reward is HUGE.

we have LR with tv, FR and Dining room. Repurposed DR to kids space (now that they are older has game table, couch and piano, and has always held buffet); FR holds dining room table.

My kids are teens now. I second those that have said design a space that can grow with them. We've always had a bonus room, where we can keep all their stuff. Toys and craft stuff when they were younger. Now it's used for TV, video games, hang out with friends and a homework/project area. When they were little, they didn't always play or do crafts in the bonus area, but it was nice to have a place to put their stuff when they were done. Like Sophie said above, things that didn't get picked up within our timeline got donated. Even as teens, we still battle containing their school stuff. They prefer to do homework at the kitchen island, which is fine, but when they are done it has to be put up. And just having a central place to find and put away scissors, glue, paper, pencils, etc is really nice.

As others have said, flexibility is key. DD has a main level flex room with a full bath. They are still youngish, but it was originally designed to be used as an away place/den off the greatroom that could be used as a bedroom in case of an injury or something that made climbing the stairs difficult and the bath serves as a powder room. They found out they were pregnant a week after breaking ground and it is perfect for a playroom. Of course toys do sill out into the greatroom, but it is so easy to put them back into the playroom. Also it is furnished safely, with plenty of toy space and storage and is a great place to corrall a toddler for now and will evolve as gthigpen mentioned as he grows older. Also a few little things through house help. A dedicated drawer in the kitchen, but out of the work zone for colors, markers, etc. His own low shelf in the pantry for picking out the snack he wants.

There's a lot of good ideas in this thread, even if you only have one kiddo:

[Building Tips for Large Families[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/best-tips-for-building-with-large-families-in-mind-dsvw-vd~4936103)

Here's a ladder-on-the-wall loft idea:

[Hammock Loft[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/hammock-loft-dsvw-vd~5130863?n=16)

Playroom ideas:

[Swings, oh my....[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/playroom-ideas-please-dsvw-vd~2305006?n=8)

More general kid-friendly stuff:

[Kids![(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/kids-dsvw-vd~4110999?n=36)