How to Create a Play Area in a Small Living Room

Living in a small space can be hard, especially when you have a toddler. When one small area is dirty or messy, it feels like the rest of the house is messy. So because of this, I knew I needed to change something to help contain the chaos. The easiest way for me to do this was to create a space for Nathaniel, where he could play in the living room without his toys spilling out everywhere. But how to create a play area in a small living room like we had?

Check out my ebook- How-To Guide: Create a Play Area in a Small Living Space. Packed with helpful information on how to choose an area in your home, how to set up the area, how to arrange toys, and even has product suggestions and decor prints!

Some background on our home.

So first know that I live in a very small mobile home, single wide, measuring around 800 feet or so. My husband and I moved in right after it was renovated when I was 5 months pregnant. Our Diamond in the Rough little home is on my parent’s property, situated on a nice little hill that looks down at my parent’s pond about an acre away. It’s two bedroom, one bath, and while it’s super cute inside, you’d never know it from the outside!

The living room layout.

When we first moved in, I didn’t want any windows blocked, so our TV was on the front door wall, with our couch on the opposite wall. This arrangement, while letting in a lot of sunlight, began to become a problem as Nate Baby got older. The open concept I loved that seemed to help the little home appear bigger, actually began to make it feel much smaller because of all of his toys that got carried or dragged into the rest of the house. Plus, if the kitchen or dining room was messy, then the living room felt messy too. You know how it is-if one little spot in a tiny house is cluttered or messy it throws off the mojo of the rest of the house!

In December just after Christmas, I looked around and decided we needed a change. I told my husband I wanted to rearrange the furniture the way he originally wanted it: TV in front of the window, piano (which was in the dining room), couch a few feet from the door facing in toward the TV, and Nathaniel’s shelf and bookshelf where the TV used to be. We literally did it in half a day because we were having my parents over that evening to enjoy a family movie.

This arrangement worked so much better because it created an actual living space! And I liked that Nathaniel’s toys (kind of) stayed in the living room.

The Problem.

Enter my Pinterest search! I knew the way it was organized (see above) wasn’t working because Nate Baby would literally just go pull all of his toys off the shelves and then play with them and carry them off throughout the house. So I hopped onto Pinterest in search of inspiration! I looked for a while but never quite saw anything that would work in my tiny living space.

To further the picture of my house in your mind’s eye, our home is an open concept floor plan. Being a single wide, it’s one big room that houses the living room, dining room and kitchen. The living room is as you see at one end, the kitchen is on the other by the bedroom and bathroom doors, and the dining room is a small space in between the two. Honestly, the home is barely big enough to comfortably fit two people, much less two people and a toddler!

Finally I stumbled upon a blog called Apartment Apothecary that gave me a great idea! I read through the post about creating a play space in a small area and I loved the little personal play spot that she created. So I decided that while Katy Orme had to create a corner, I had an actual corner that I could give to Nate Baby.

The Solution.

I love it. Nathaniel loves it. His daddy loves it. We are all happier! Mama and Dada love this setup because it helps contain the toys. Now understand, his toys still get everywhere. Even now as I’m typing this I can look down and see a book, a few stuffed animals, and blocks that have escaped with the help of an adventurous and active little boy. But it’s NO WHERE NEAR the crazy it was before! We will take this any day!

What I did.

So what did I do? I simply rearranged with what I already had! I moved the white cube shelf (one like this) to block off the space and create the corner. Then I moved the end table into the space so I could put the lamp there. Then I filled in the shelves and space with his toys! That’s how to create a play area in a small living room!

Nathaniel loves it because it’s all of his toys combined in one little area. He’s able to easily reach everything, and he goes to town pulling all of his toys off the shelves. He has his books on the bottom two rows of the bookshelf that he’s able to reach, and he loves pulling those off the shelves, too. He’s also still able to explore the house as he pleases, and go back to his corner when he chooses. Plus, I think it gives him a sense of his own personal space.

My next project for this corner is to get rid of some toys, especially since we just got a “she-shed” that we plan on turning into my office and Nathaniel’s playroom. But for now, it works perfect for our little space!

Before and After.

Take a look at the befores and afters! While we had some semblance of organization, it was easily disrupted and disrupted the whole living room. Now, with his own little corner, the chaos is contained way better than before, and if I’m in a hurry to clean up, I can throw all of his toys on his rug in his corner and the living room will still feel clean!

Tips for making a play area in a small living room.

• Use what you already have. I didn’t buy anything to make this corner for Nathaniel. I simply used what I already had available in my house. If you must purchase something, just make sure it works for your space and doesn’t make your small living room feel even smaller.
• Purge those toys. If you’re like me and end up hoarding toys, then purging those toys is harder than it sounds. So what I do is keep out the toys that my son plays with, and the rest go in box for a later time. Keeping your space minimal will truly help in keeping your play area and in turn living room cleaner.
• Make it accessible. What good is a play corner if my son can’t reach all of his toys? While still a part of the living room, his corner is all for him, so all of his toys are easily within reach, and he can easily pull the baskets out because they aren’t too heavy for him.
• Get creative. If you truly do not want a lot of toys visible, then consider using furniture for multi-use. For example, a coffee or end table that stores toys in baskets or under a lid such as a storage ottoman.
• Keep only larger toys in the living room. This will help in easy cleanup. If you have lots of little toys, such as Legos and magnitiles, that easily get scattered around, it will make the room feel much messier than if you have a handful of large trucks or dolls lying around.

Finishing thoughts

My little home desperately needed a space for Nathaniel and all of his toys in our living room, and thank another blogger I was able to accomplish that! I hope this post can inspire you in some way or help you see how to create a play area in a living room. For ideas on toys, check out this post on toys for a 16 month old.

I know many of you have had to make the most out of a small space, so I’d love to see pictures of what you did! Or share how you made a play space for your toddler! It might inspire me for the next time we move around our living room!