For most families with working parents, summer means that the dizzying schedule of keeping school-age kids busy at sports camps, music classes, performing arts intensives and everything in between. However, let’s not forget the significance of some much-needed creativity-boosting downtime or indoor play within the comfort and safety of the home. Let us take a couple of design cues from real homes on to observe how different families are creating trendy indoor and outdoor spaces so that kids have plenty to do right in their own homes. Even if these spaces are out of reach for many, they may inspire pared-down variations of activities and entertainment.
Gabriel Builders Inc..
This traditional home in Greenville, South Carolina, is in tune with what kids want in the home. The large common room is outfitted for enjoyable activities and lounging: There’s a climbing wall, superslide, rocking horse, chalkboard, reading nook and TV, with lots of comfy armchairs should the kids elect to remain in for movie night or simply get consumed by the marshmallowy softness.
Tracey English/One Apple Designs
Illustrator and mom Tracey English transformed her Victorian row house’s attic into two separate bedrooms. Her two boys each have their own space, making them feel like they’ve been allotted a unique place to unwind and escape from the home. The reduced vaulted ceiling attracts the dormer windows closer to a reading nook, letting lots of light in for playing and reading; it is energy efficient and joins the boys to the outside.
Menter Byrne Architects
Part play pavilion, part events hall, this converted garage in Seattle goes out for your kids and parents. You will find monkey bars, ropes and assorted swings; hammocks offer the ideal location for studying or simply letting your mind wander; and a little bathroom and utility sink are nearby, making cleanup after parties and gatherings a cinch.
The room can easily be converted from a fitness center to a celebration space, hosting a small dinner party or a family movie night for the kids’ besties — and their parents, too.
Do not ever underestimate the power of crayons, markers, coloured paper and scissors. A couple of hours seated facing a well-stocked craft nook like this one in Ohio will keep the little ones busy making handmade birthday cards and art that’s frameworthy.
Ellen Grasso & Sons, LLC
This new-traditional craft room in Texas goes the excess mile for older kids who need a larger space where they could hang out with friends but also snowball off for a couple minutes to update their status and check buddies’ status updates on Facebook. The room includes a customized centre table and surrounding desks that hug the walls, all with space for each child’s gadgets and supplies.
John Kraemer & Sons
Keeping the kids inside and active isn’t too hard in this modern-rustic Minneapolis home. Although the fitness center is custom created for basketball and indoor soccer, there are so many different activities that the kids and the entire family can enjoy in this space: jump rope, dance parties and dodgeball, to mention a couple.
Cara Woodhouse Interiors LLC
A indoor hockey room like this one in New York, previously a cellar, would bring out your little one’s interior baseball monster. The room hinges the trendy and safety factors with rubber floors, so you don’t need to think about a lot of bumps and scratches.
John Kraemer & Sons
Yoga isn’t only for adults — kids also love to go into Downward-Facing Dog and therefore are pretty darn natural as it comes to going into Happy Baby Pose. Do not fret a lot about a different space if you don’t have a lot of space to spare round the home. Simply switch a couple pieces of furniture round and clean enough space to unfurl a yoga mat, then wear a yoga for kids DVD and voilà — you’ve got a makeshift studio.
Shannon Malone
There’s lots to love about a indoor swing. Use it for play or additional whimsical seating, just as this girl in Ojai, California, does.
Shades Of Green Landscape Architecture
Here’s a well-divided modern garden in San Francisco, which has designated areas for sitting, playing and roaming. The strip of orange, the picnic table and the swing shout summer fun for both kids and grownups. The sunken garden space and the surrounding cement, wood and landscaped wall provide lots of privacy while still remaining open — a perfect mix for a home with kids.
Markus Canter (FCB:Layout)
A tree house like this one in Southern California provides unlimited entertainment. Do not forget to keep a steady supply of board games and snacks on hand, plus flashlights and blankets at night.
Globus Builder
This open minded playhouse with a gable roof and a sand floor is a treat for younger kids who love building constructions with pails and buckets or feel tickled by the sand between their toes. The shade ensures that all people is able to play for an additional hour or 2.
Designing Solutions
A space doesn’t need to be made only for kids for them to like it. As this Maryland library reveals, sometimes a kid needs is a place that’s large enough to house her creativity and a publication.
More:
Secret Forts Inside
14 Picture-Perfect Playhouses
ers, tell us : How are you enjoying summer in the home with the kids? Share your ideas and pictures from the Comments section below.
