Taking The Playroom Outdoors?
Turning a Garden Building into a playroom could solve the space, cost and mess dilemmas that can arise when considering providing your children with their own play space and leave a useful addition to the garden once they are no longer required as a playroom. There is no denying we are living in a generation where independent learning and free roaming to creativity is considered key to a child’s development. Despite the importance of this. Are traditional crafts and innovative children’s play actually dying out? We often only grudgingly permit or actively restrict children doing crafts at home due to the vast mess, and sometimes damage, that can follow. Especially now that low maintenance children’s entertainment is so accessible with television, games consoles and tablets.
Research shows how a playroom positively enhances a child’s learning and social development in their early years. It can encourage physical interaction with the world around them and self-discovery through play free from modern technologies.
Now you may be convinced, but more often than not, a playroom in your home is unrealistic. But a shed or summerhouse, or if the budget permits even a log cabin or insulated garden room, could create the ideal outdoor self-contained play space. A room that can be turned into near enough anything by the endless imagination of your children, from an F1 racetrack to a teddy bear tea room, their ideas are free to be created. The interior can be decorated as you please and the outside disguised as an ordinary garden building or turned into a striking colourful garden centrepiece. There are a wide range of options when it comes to bright, colourful décor that will appeal to younger children; paint, wall stickers and innovative storage to name a few. The floor of a playroom can be made far more stimulating and “play” resistant by adding colourful soft rubber floor tiles which are widely available. Artificial turf can also be used to provide an original floor option, particularly for older children, although small crafty bits and Lego can try to escape into the fibres. Adding furniture and soft furnishings, such as a sofa or classic bean bags, provides an area for relaxation and interaction with friends.
The independence aspect of an outdoor separate playroom is seen as attractive by children. Their very own dedicated space that allows them to naturally explore in a hideout den away from the house. Smaller homes particularly benefit from an outdoor playroom as they extend the house to the garden and mean you can move the overflowing toy box out of the living room. You may never see the floor in that playroom again, but at least the chaos is restricted to one space.
Once you have decided that moving the playroom outside in the garden is a good idea choosing the most suitable building can be a difficult choice with such a wide range available but our quick guide below will help.
Log Cabins & Insulated Garden Rooms:
If cost and garden space is not an issue then a Log Cabin or Insulated Garden Room are the perfect choice. These long lasting structures provide a large interior, pleasant aesthetic and with insulation provide guaranteed all year use. They available in a vast range of styles and designs with double glazing, opening windows and various wall thickness and can be personalised from the design stage. Once finished as a playroom these will easily convert into a games room, office, gym, or teenage chill out retreat.
Summerhouses:
Summerhouses are a second option. They are part of British tradition and have been the place of creativity for influential writers and artists throughout history. A summerhouse will complete the gardens overall appearance, and despite their name, can with the addition of some insulation or heating, be used at any time of year!
Garden Sheds:
Lastly is the affordable, reliable and versatile, Garden Sheds. They come in the largest range of sizes, so you are bound to find one suitable for your specification. Some designs lend themselves to being a playroom such as the Dutch Barn Design which is the classic wooden barn shape in countless Childrens story books. In order to be able to be sure that you can use the shed playroom all year round we recommend that you opt for a Tongue and Groove (shiplap) cladded shed as this decreases drafts into the building, lowering the amount of insulation and sealing you would require to do. The flat surface of a Tongue & Groove panel provides a better black board wall, with a simple application of Chalk Board Paint, for carefree doodling and drawing on the wall. Depending on the type of shed, consider putting down a safe and easy to maintain floor. Carpet tiles, rugs, vinyl flooring, artificial turf, or the previously mentioned soft rubber tiles designed for children would be ideal. A converted shed has the added bonus of classic shed versatility for many years after its playroom days.
