Child's Play
With your family growing in size, your once spacious (and tidy!) home can seem a little overcrowded - brightly coloured toys gradually take over and it becomes quite common to find crayons and bits of Polly Pocket in all manner of places.
A house move to gain an extra bedroom can cost a fortune - its estimated that selling a £200,000 house and buying a £275,000 house will set you back £12,000 in solicitors fees, stamp duty and other costs.
So if you find you're spending your evenings on 'Rightmove', you might like to invest your money into improving your existing home instead.
This was exactly how Mr & Mrs Winetroube felt when they were looking for solutions to their space problem. They loved their home and neighbourhood, and with their young children settled at the local school they didn't want to move house to gain a playroom.
Paula says,"The children are too young to be unsupervised upstairs on their own - I really wanted to have a space dedicated to them but within earshot."
David and Paula decided to redefine their integral garage - making most of it into a playroom and also gaining a utility area to the rear. From the very outset the function of the room was clear - organised tidy storage and the need for flexibility as the children grow.
"We wanted the additional room for them to play in a safe environment, recognising that their needs will change as they get older", says David.
We installed concealed wiring for a new TV and surround sound system, as well as an aerial and phone point for internet access so that Paula and David's new room will grow with their family requirements.
"It's made a huge difference" adds Paula with a smile, "the toys and crafty bits have a home, and I don't spend every evening doing a search and rescue for various toy parts from all over the house!"
The conversion of Paula and David's Garage into a playroom took two weeks, in which time Paula and David set about choosing their room scheme and furniture. They decided on neutral coloured walls and wood effect laminated flooring -- ideal for wiping clean paint spillages.
Floor to ceiling storage units from Ikea give all the toys a home behind a clean and tidy exterior, and the addition of a sofa is great for story time. Paula also invested in a table and chairs along with plastic drawers to compartment craft items and make them easily accessible to her two primary school aged children.
"My friends have commented on how spacious the downstairs of our house is now" says Paula, "and of course the children love having their very own room."
