The Choice to "Distribute" Kids' Spaces | Creating a Tidy Living Room Even When Space Is Limited
Introduction: I thought kids' spaces were meant to be in one place
When a child is born,
“I have to create a kids' space.”
I think many people feel this way.
At first, I also thought
that a kids' space should be created all in one corner of the living room.
But our home doesn't have a raised floor area or an extra room.
The first floor is about 36 square meters of LDK and utility space.
Although I started using the space under the stairs as a kids' space, that alone wasn't enough room...
That is why I arrived at the idea of
“distributing” the kids' space.
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You don't have to try to fit everything into one place
I used to think,
“Let's make this the kids' space.”
I would gather everything in one spot.
But,
as they grew and their play increased,
and the toys multiplied,
considering the flow of movement and furniture placement,
I found it difficult to keep it all in one place
and started to feel that way.
That's when I focused on the content of the children's play.
Playing with blocks,
playing shop,
drawing and reading picture books.
If I can't keep it in one place,
why not divide the locations by type of play?
That is how I started to think.
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Our kids' spaces are scattered throughout the living room
Our kids' space is not just one place.
For example,
Under the stairs is the pretend play space.
Behind the sofa is the drawing and picture book space.
Along the wall is the space for playing with blocks and such.
None of them are very large.
But by having several small spots in the living room,
they have naturally started to use them differently depending on the play at the time.
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When you divide the “play areas,” life becomes easier to organize
What I felt after I started distributing the kids' spaces
was not just that it became easier for the children to play.
Life also became easier to organize.
When the play area is decided,
the storage area is also naturally decided.
Rather than creating one large kids' space,
creating several small spots
that match the flow of daily life.
For our home, that suited us better.
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As they grow, the locations change too
Along with the child's growth,
the way they play changes constantly.
So the kids' space
is not “finished” just like this.
Rearranging the room,
changing the position of furniture,
moving the play areas.
Changing it little by little to match current life.
I think that kind of flexibility is also the beauty of a kids' space created in the living room.
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Conclusion: The choice to “match your lifestyle”
"There's no room to create a kids' space."
That's what I used to think.
But now,
rather than securing a large area,
creating a place for children within our daily lifefeels more important.
Even without a raised platform or a separate room,
it's okay not to consolidate everything into one spot.
Adapting to our current lifestyle,
we are gradually creating spaces throughout the house.
That is how we build our kids' spaces at home.
I share our daily life on
Instagram (@__yuki_home) 𓂃𓈒𓏸
I would be happy if you took a look 🕊️