Play room or open entranceway/area

5 years ago

We have an old house and are looking at altering the older smaller kitchen and entrance wayso it is used in a different way. We have two options and wondered what people's thought were on this and the sizes.

Option 1:

Toilet (1m X 2.2m)

separate playroom 2.7m X 2.2m)

entrance hall way

option 2:

toilet 1.30 X 1m

open entrance way/playroom 2.7x3.5m

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated please. Would the playroom be too small To be of much use?

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A B

5 years ago

Very true. But they may like a craft room/snug/games room/sleep over den as they get older? However I am a fan of large hall ways, so totally understand where you're coming from.

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Comments (14)

bookworm987
5 years ago
That does sound very small for a playroom...but then again having a combined playroom/entrance doesnt sound ideal unless you have exceptionally tidy children! Any chance you could provide a rough sketch of the floorplan as is and your proposed changes? This would help people to give some ideas. Also, how many children, what ages, and what items would be in the playroom?
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
The children are just over 1yrs and 3years! Both plans incorporate a big cupboard to put things away in as I hate everything out at once. The 3 year old is good at tidying! I've attached the floor plan for the divided idea. Please ignore the bed and drawing - my Dad drew the plan! :-)
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Not quite for the kitchen. Sorry, I should have drawn it...the units set on the bottom ŵall are correct but just in a straight line..The other part of the L shape is on ŵall B on your plan. The dining table would be in front of the units on the bottom ŵall. If unclear (quite possibly from my description!) I'll post a pic tomorrow
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A B
5 years ago
The thought of the entrance hall being a play room sends shivers down my spine!! I probably just have more messy children though :) Could a compromise be sliding doors that mean you could have the space fully open, or closed off. Especially handy if you needed an occasional spare bedroom as per your Dad's plan!
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
I think that I'm thinking that it won't be forever as a playroom and what would I prefer for it to look like in a few years time when they're probably stuck in their rooms all the time!

That said we don't have a spare room at the moment! I think sliding doors would compromise on the corridor width as we're not in a huge house. It's an old cottage. I'll try to send a floor plan of the ground floor as them it'll make it easier to see if we're missing a trick.
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago

I've done a very basic mock up of our house layout. The kitchen is in the L shaped room to the left of the plan, with a small utility off there, then the living room. To the right is the area which we are renovating next. All of the rest is finished. In hindsight, we should've included a toilet near our new kitchen and utility but money was tight!
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
Yes, a snug or games room might be popular when older! There is a possibility to add a porch at some point (much further down the line!) I guess I'm just wondering whether the room size is going to be so small for a playroom that it'll be pointless!
A B
5 years ago
I can see exactly what you mean. I think I'd still investigate the sliding doors option, as it could potentially give you the best of both worlds
georgiancottageliving thanked A B
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
Ah I think the sliding door option looks good actually and I like the fact that it can be opened quite wide so may make the space feel bigger
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
A mock up!
bookworm987
5 years ago
At ages 3 and 1, I'd imagine the kids won't want to be in a playroom without you. They probably want to play in the kitchen or living room where you are. With that in mind, I'd retain the large hallway for the moment, but build in lots of storage for toys.

Look for storage options with removable drawers/boxes so that you can take a couple of boxes at a time to the living room and tidy away easily each evening. This approach also means they won't get bored of their toys as you can rotate what they play with each day.

Then when they're a few years older, consider the sliding doors to give them separate space. My kids wouldn't play in a separate room until they were about 4 and 6.
georgiancottageliving thanked bookworm987
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
Yes you’re right, the way they use the room will change over time. The kids don’t play together on their own yet but it won’t be long plus I like to vary the rooms they play in especially if we’re stuck inside for a longer amount of time. I don’t want to add sliding doors further down the line as it’s a bigger project and going to cost a fair bit anyway so I don’t want to do it twice especially the flooring. The hallway is going to be slate just like the kitchen but think that if we have it open to that area too then it’ll have to be slate as it would look a little odd with kardean through there.

Thats a good idea re storage. We’re looking st getting built n cupboards but having all the small bits in baskets so they’re tidy. I also do a lot of work from home as im a teacher so need a bit of space for my things too
tamp75
5 years ago
I think I might reconsider the slate if it’s for the playroom area although agree it would be useful for a hall. It will be cold for sitting / playing on (unless you have UFH) and will mean bigger bruises for knocks & tumbles.
georgiancottageliving
Original Author
5 years ago
True! We could do Slate to wooden flooring as it doesn’t look bad from our kitchen to living room. I’d agree about the UFH point-we love it in the kitchen and the slate would be freezing without it! I think I’m pretty much decided on a fairly open design with an archway entrance that can be closed off with barn doors. It means we have space for visitors to stay

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