Picture of the room. It use to be an office.

Perhaps make it a multifunctional room. If you don't need the freezer in there, you could do shelving all across the back wall and add some flowy curtains to cover it up. Depending on your budget you could also cover the entire back wall with those tall built-in looking cabinets from Ikea.

Show a floor plan of the entire home, and the room with "No windows" ...........( check codes in your area, as windowless spaces are generally considered storage. A door makes no difference, it's called egress and safety. So.........no to a playroom.

The point is, the space should be considered as part of the total remodel, meaning where is the existing full plan for the home? Then someone can help.

If it has no windows, I agree with Jan Moyer - I would not use it as a playroom. Even if it is a 9x10 room - without windows the space is technically a closet - albeit a fairly large closet. If you are remodeling, you could consider putting window(s) in - if this is feasible. But yes, all of this needs to be considered in the context of your entire house, and you may benefit from a consult with an architect, if you are considering structural changes. Other than that, the easiest thing would probably be to use the space for storage - a pantry, extra fridge/freezer, to house a safe - all good ideas. And with the space being adjacent to kitchen, would seem ideal. Do you have a basement that could be a future play space?

I don't have the floor plan. I can doodle out a rough draft myself, but all you really need to know is it is near the kitchen so it could function as a pantry. It wouldn't be a weird long walk to get to it. We don't plan to rearrange any walls so the room itself needs to stay the same size.

Do you have a basement rec room?

I wish we had a basement! No we do not. Most homes in my area don't have basements.

OK, then the answer is BOTH. Since your kids are quite young, you will want to keep an close eye on them for a few more years. You can turn the room into a nice, safe play room for them. You can easily put a gate up so you can fix dinner, do some housework, etc while knowing they are safely contained in the play room. Once they are a little older and can safely play without supervision, and start eating you out of house and home, turn the play room into a pantry and homework area. You could easily fit a deep freezer, storage, and a couple desks and bookshelves. That way you know they are in there doing their homework, but you are nearby to answer questions and provide help if they need it. Once they graduate to the I Cannot Stand To Be Around My Parents stage, they can do homework in their bedrooms and you can find another use for the homework space.

Look, It used to be something else. There are NO homes built with windowless rooms ( baths, pantries, closets ) excepted. It is against any and all codes, unless they are for storage. They are not "living" spaces nor are they planned as sleeping and play spaces and that's a safety code.

Make a drawing, show it's doorway and location in relation to your entry, to your kitchen to a hallway. Otherwise? Can't come up with solutions that POSSIBLY should be considered as you remodel. Decorating is not remodeling either, they are very different, though often done at the same time : )

In fact? Go outside. I wouldn't bet the ranch that someone didn't cover a window.. Show wher4e it is OUTSIDE.

I like the idea of a playroom if the kids are inclined toward quiet projects or play like doll houses or lego, or if you can set up a craft zone. As they age, it could be a good hang-out space for friends, etc., like an alternative basement or den. I agree that none of those uses prohibit adding a couple of pantry cabinets or shelves with a curtain somewhere...

Why would anyone want to hang out in a room with no windows?.most especially your kids....with outa willingness to make changes to the room a big pantry seems like the best option...

Move the office back and move the playroom to the bonus room. Sounds more positive for kids in a window light filled room. Theyre little but they deserve the world. Think of others first, yourself last.

Thanks for the suggestions! The previous owners who built the house used it as an office. There is no window as it is in the middle of the house surrounded on all sides. I would love to use the bonus room upstairs as a playroom later on but not until I feel comfortable w our youngest going up and down stairs well. We are leaning towards using it as mainly a storage/pantry room. The kids rooms are so big I think they can share one and the other room will be the playroom. Then when they are older they can have their own rooms and use the upstairs as a hangout space.

A pantry that size is so handy for open shelving storage for all the big things ....(that are not used daily)...eg.....big pots ...small electric appliances..Waffle iron..crock pot..even special glassware...formal dinnerware...shallow shelves are very handy for canned foods...medium depth shelves for dry cereals ..cracker boxes...since you have such a big space i would install a counter space width shelves around the perimeter....with shallow shelves above and deep shelves underneath...

The counters should be deep and the same height as if they were kitchen counters...

If the room had a window, I would say playroom. Since it does not, I would not want my kids in there playing. Is it possible to install a window in there? If not, then use it as a pantry, or other storage.

Most definitely a pantry!

If the room with open door is within sight of the kitchen, I would use it as a play room while the kids are playroom age. After that, I would do a re-think.

Can one of the walls be changed to a half wall, open to any of the public rooms that surround it so it can get secondary light? I'd set it up as a pantry, but you can also put in a kid sized table/chairs so they can use play doh, paint, or do other projects near the kitchen while you're there. Put in a durable floor surface, and paint the walls white with some fun graphic designs or colors.

I wish it was within eyesight of the kitchen or made sense to do a half wall. Both great ideas though! I appreciate all of your help! I think I have sold my husband on it being a pantry with a fridge, freezer, and safe. It will just be one gigantic pantry. The house originally has a tiny pantry so a bigger one was needed. And we live 45 minutes from a grocery store so a good size pantry would be helpful!

Our walk-in pantry is 8' x 8'10" and it is full. Would love to have your even larger room!