If you’re tired of stepping on toys every time you walk around your living room, it may be time to give your kids a separate playroom. If you currently don’t have a vacant area to create one, all you need to do is look up.
While you probably use your attic for storage, you’re missing the opportunity to create a beautiful and safe room your kids will enjoy. Chuck those boxes in the basement and give your attic a makeover with these simple steps.
Get the Place Inspected
While you may be excited to plan everything out and get the work started, you have to consider your attic’s structural integrity first. Have a home inspector check out your attic and make recommendations to make it safe and sturdy enough for your kids to play in.
You may be surprised to find that some of your rafters and joists may be rotting or sagging due to leaks. Rodents may be living in your attic without your knowledge. Once you do get a list of possible issues, do your best to fix them immediately. Though it may be best to leave technical fixes to professionals. And if you don’t have the time to catch pests, you can always hire a pest control expert to deal with them.
Make It Habitable
Your inspector may recommend that you create another point of exit for the room to be up to code, fortify your joists to make it sound-proof, add blow insulation to keep the place cool during Kansas City summers, and even install proper electrical outlets.
If you have the know-how and experience to pull these fixes off, make it your weekend project. Otherwise, you need to ask help from an electrician and a remodeling contractor to turn your attic into a habitable room.
Ask your Kids about the Room’s Colors
What’s great about remodeling projects is that you can do some fun DIY stuff with the family. Before getting your attic painted, ask your kids what color they want it in and if they want to add their favorite animals or characters on the walls.
Better yet, ask them if they want to draw on the walls themselves so they can make the room truly theirs. Give them a pencil or a crayon and let their imagination run wild. Do your best to fill these in with paint later. If they’re around the age of seven, have them paint it in themselves. Just make sure you’re using non-toxic paint and never take your eyes off them while they’re creating their wall art.
Child-Proof It
Now that your attic is just like any other room, you should take extra steps to make it even safer for your kids to play in. Line the floors with rubber mats so you don’t have to worry about your tykes tripping onto a cold hard floor. Install edge guards on tables, toy chests, and bed posts.
Install window guards and cordless window blinds to make sure your curious toddlers don’t make their way onto the roof. You can never be too sure when it comes to your child’s safety.
Turning your attic into a playroom will need some careful planning, a few hundred dollars, and some elbow grease. However, seeing the joy on your kid’s face when they see their new headquarters/house/secret lair/spaceship is worth all the work you put in. Plus, it’ll be easier to convert into a recreation center or even an office once your toddlers grow up.