We're all designers over here but we absolutely understand the realities of a home with children. Children are cute but they also require lots of stuff, aren't the best at cleaning up after themselves, and can quickly takeover your home, if you're not careful. Now, we don't want this to turn into a counseling session but we do want to tell you, take it back! Your home should be comfortable for your kids but you also need a little space to yourself. You need areas that aren't ruled by your kids and their toys, if only for your sanity! So today we're talking about play areas. Play areas are great because they are a safe place for kids to play with all of their toys without getting in your way while, at the same time, creating a boundary for playtime and showing your child where it's appropriate to pull out every single toy and where it's not.

These play areas that we speak of can be cute too, you know! If you don't have a room that you can dedicate to toy-dom, that means you need a space in your home where your child has access to their toys and feels comfortable playing with them but doesn't takeover. First of all, be sure to have furniture with lots and lots of storage! We love storage tables because they offer storage for toys and a surface to play on. If you can throw in some shelves or assign a few shelves to your child for their stuff, that's even better!

Even you do have a little corner or nook area that can be solely devoted to kids stuff, don't let the big box stores take over your design. While Toys R' Us and Buy Buy Baby have got it all, there are plenty of other smaller shops out there that offer kid items that are much more attractive and might blend better with the rest of your space. Some retailers even have mini versions of their adult furniture pieces, so if you can make your child's space look and feel somewhat adult with all of the conveniences of it being kid-sized, that's a plus for you!

Yes, we all get it, kids like brightly colored items. And this is ok. We like colors and we don't mind bright, but balance it out when styling your child's space. A brightly colored rug with a fun pattern is perfect when mixed with some other neutral items like a bean bag or table & chairs. Mix mini with over-sized to create a whimsical juxtaposition and give your child a unique space that mommy made.

Kids need to be creative and we're all about THAT! But there are some other cool ways to allow them to access their creative side than crayons and coloring books. Have you ever considered an entire wall devoted to creativity?! A chalk wall is a super simple way to give your kid a big "workspace" without taking up any extra floor space. Chalkboard paint can be purchased from any hardware store and instantly gives your kids a giant creative outlet. Don't like the thought of chalk dust in your house? What about a whiteboard wall? Again, whiteboard paint is available at Lowe's and Home Depot and requires a simple wall application to be ready for creativity. Want something even safer? A magnet wall! Buy a large piece of metal that can be mounted to the wall and your child instantly has a way to spell words and play with letters without using pen & paper.

Remember when your parents built a fort for you with sofa cushions and blankets and you begged to sleep it at night but stayed up playing instead. Of course! Because every kids loves a cozy corner. Now, instead of tearing your family room apparent you can create the same fort feeling with a little teepee. These cute tents are available online and in many local retailers and can even go in your child's bedroom. They can bring their toys and books in there and have their very own space where they can play without being in your way and it looks cute too!

All the stuff is always hard to figure out what to do with. Kids need stuff but you also need space. We hope we've given you some cute ways to allow both in your home!

When Kids Takeover | Take It Back