17 DIY Kids Play Area Ideas Kids *and* Parents Will Love

These cool and creative kids play area ideas (including ideas for an indoor jungle gym!) will give you the coolest playroom on the block.

You’ll also love this bunk bed playhouse and these easy DIY house bed frame plans, plus these ideas for making a play area that’s also a guest room.

17 Creative Kids Play Area Ideas
(To Keep Them Busy and You Sane)

Winter where we live gets cold, and can seem to drag on for months and months. We have had so much fun playing outside this summer and fall that we don’t know what we are going to do when we are stuck inside for most of the day.

The mall and fast food play places can be nice for burning off some energy, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a super awesome kids play area right in your home? Dream with me and gather some ideas from these 17 great playrooms!

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Build a Castle

What child hasn’t dreamed of living in a fairy tale castle? Check out this two-story playroom castle on Aprill Aprill.

If you don’t have a designated playroom space, make a lofted castle bed instead following LZ’s instructions here on Remodelaholic! Sleep up top, play underneath — a great bedroom playroom solution for a small room.

Or, add some hidden storage in a playroom or family room with a house or castle shaped room divider with these free plans. A child’s imagination can make it magical!

Add Play Area Toy Storage

It’s not the cutest or funnest part of a kids play area, but giving everything in a play area a designated (and kid-friendly) storage space is a must! Whatever toys or activities your kids are in to, give that a place in the play room.

Cheri from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar built this great play area for her “big boys”, complete with a giant wall pegboard, a Lego table, and custom art canvases of their favorite toys.

Playroom built-in storage like this by Delightfully Noted will fit all sorts of toys, and also transition well to regular family room storage when the kids are grown and the toys are fewer.

For any kid’s bedroom or play area, a vertical toy cubby like this is big storage in a small footprint. Build it with the plans here.  

Add Color & Style

Adding fun curtains, a cushy rug, or a colorful wall painting idea (or wallpaper mural or tapestry) help make the room feel fun and creative for kids to play in.

The bright colors and casual play areas of this awesome room by Kate Jackson Design (via Houzz) are perfect for younger kiddos and can easily be changed up as the kids outgrow it.

• See More: 28 Ways to Decorate White Curtains & 45 Ideas for Painting Patterned Curtains
• Shop: All Our Favorite Rugs
• Try These: 100+ Ways to Paint a Wall & 50 Beautiful Wallpapers & Murals

Click each image below for more play area decor ideas and tips.

Build a Play Area Under The Stairs

A kids’ play area can take up a small space that might not be used otherwise — like under the stairs! It’s a fun small space to cozy up (unless you prefer the Harry Potter cupboard under the stairs aesthetic).

I love this play house that Joy2Journey shared here on Remodelaholic — adorable inside and out!

And this little play area under the stairs only took a weekend to build!

 

… Or In Any Corner or Nook!

Any small area can be turned into a great play area. Just look at this corner turned indoor treehouse loft!

Under the eaves nook turned super cute playhouse here! The beautifully carved trim on this attic playhouse was salvaged from another home, and it adds just the right magical touch to this space by Lynn Lee and Steve Skaggs, via Design Sponge.

Who says that a tree house has to be in an actual tree? A corner nook in your home could be transformed to create this fun play area, via Design Sponge.

Add Cozy Seating 

A reading loft is such a fun idea for kids, and putting it in the closet is smart use of space. The bold colors and built-in shelving of this playroom by 551 East Designs will grow with your child right up until they move out. And you have to see her DIY wood shim art!

 

Build a freestanding reading nook with this easy DIY playhouse frame + woodworking plans, sized to fit a crib mattress:

Or make portable cozyiness with a DIY floor pouf —

Or use one of our favorite play area tricks — a toy storage beanbag! Stuffed animals and extra blankets make a cozy place to sit (yes, really!).

Make Room for Imagination

A play kitchen, pretend office space, or play market are fun spaces for kids to pretend and make believe. Add a kid-sized table and any space becomes a restaurant or cafe!

We made this cottage play kitchen with so much love for our girls, and they loved it just as much as we did! Get the details to build one of your own here. 

Make an easy play kitchen from 2 cube shelves:

Or from a basic cheap microwave stand!

 

Any kiddo will love a room with all the love and details that The Busy Budgeting Mama put into this lovely play area — a kitchen and cafe with an awning, handmade felt food, a felt board, and plenty of storage space!

And Room for Creativity!

Creativity can be messy, but worth it! Put down a rug and get out the (washable) art supplies.

We’ve all dreamed of a playroom from The Land of Nod, and Kirsten from 6th Street Design School used some of my favorite pieces — the teepee! that polka dot rug! — to put together a beautiful and functional room for her kiddos to learn in and explore.

A chalkboard makes for hours of fun — a chalkboard wall, or a standing chalkboard, or chalkboard barn doors! And don’t forget to make a super easy magnet board to display their other artwork, too.

Add an Indoor Jungle Gym

If you have young kiddos, what better use of a second family room than as a play area to run, jump, and play? Fun At Home With Kids put together an amazing space, complete with a rock climbing wall!

You can also add a slide along the stairs — make your own with this tutorial or buy a stair slide kit here.

or add a swing just about anywhere with an in-door swing setup like this:

or check out these amazing kits for indoor jungle gyms for kids!

More fun indoor play area ideas:

 

See more kids room ideas:

• 11 Awesome Bunk Room Ideas to Sleep Multiple Kids
• Build an Indoor-Outdoor Bowling Alley
• 25 Stellar Shared Bedrooms for Kids