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Making that Special Play Place for the Children
from:These days, with the economy bad and people staying put rather than upgrading to a “McMansion” and part of that is remodelling a room rather adding one.
So, step one, what is/are the age(s) of your child(ren), and what are their interests? If you’ve got toddlers, you’ll want the room set up accordingly: low shelves for the items them can use without supervision, and high shelves for the things you need to keep an eye on them while they use. Also, a key factor on the shelves is how you attach them to the walls. Remember, kids of any age tend to climb on such things! So, secure the shelves to the walls with strong anchors. Before trying to install them, check out the walls to determine what you’re going to be drilling into: cinder block, concrete, sheetrock, drywall etc. If the walls are nothing more than drywall, use a stud finder to secure the shelves to the wall studs. Even if you’re sure your kids won’t climb the shelves, you want them strong enough to support anything you put on them.
Another item to consider with shelves is the material they’re made out of. A solid material tends to collect dust, whereas the new metal or plastic mesh types allow dust to settle through to the floor.
On the subject of dust, if your home is an older building, check the basement for asbestos or any other type of insulation or hazardous building material.
If the floor is unfinished, it’s best to put down tile, linoleum or hardwood. Wall to wall carpeting is ill-advised for children at any age; they’re messy, and you’ll have stains everywhere. If you want carpeting, put down some cheap throw rugs; they’re easy to clean and/or replace. This is especially good if you have very young children. As they get older, they’ll want to replace Barney, Dora the Explorer, and other characters with Hannah Montana and whatever other pre-teen pop stars are popular at the time.
Then there are the added items for the room. Do you want your kids to have a computer, video games, maybe an entertainment centre to use? Does the basement have electrical outlets, heating and/or air conditioning? These days, with kids going on the internet, do you want the room to have a cable connection or WiFi?
Finally, there’s the issue of security. Does the basement have a door to the outside? If so, make sure it has a good lock. Unfortunately, there are people out to hurt children, and you want yours to stay safe. So, be sure the room is secure.
Take all of these steps, and you can be sure of having a great playroom for your children.
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