Melinda Adamec likes to plan ahead. That's why she hired a builder late last year to transform the basement of her Arlington home into a playroom for her daughter, Ella.
It doesn't matter to Adamec that Ella is not yet a toddler. She ordered her new playroom with the future in mind.
Jonathan Korobkin, 10, of McLean plays a video baseball game in the family's playroom. His father, Alan Korobkin, president of Saratoga Construction, says playrooms, kitchens and family rooms "are the rooms that people now want -- rooms they actually use and live in."
(Rich Lipski -- The Washington Post)
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"I can see when Ella is older having all her videos down there, her computer down there, her toys down there," Adamec said. "It'll be a wonderful place for her."
And the best news for Adamec and her husband, Glenn? Even though Ella is far too young to hang out by herself in her playroom, her toys aren't.
"Our living room had so much of Ella's things in it," Adamec said. "We had her bouncy seat and her swing up here. We were using her bassinet to store her toys. It's wonderful to have all that downstairs."
The Adamecs aren't the only local homeowners to discover the joys of playrooms. These rooms provide a home for children's toys, books, games and videos, keeping such items from snaking throughout the rest of a house. They give older children a safe place for unsupervised play. And they provide parents with some alone time, a chance for quiet adult conversation or a few moments to put together dinner. It's no wonder that builders and housing experts report anecdotally that a growing number of homeowners are adding playrooms to their residences, either on their own or with the help of professionals.
"It's a function of the fact that we are building smaller living rooms, almost eliminating in many cases living rooms," said Alan Korobkin, president of McLean-based Saratoga Construction, which built Adamec's playroom. "We are instead building bigger kitchens and bigger family rooms. We are building playrooms. These are the rooms that people now want -- rooms they actually use and live in."
Turning a space into a playroom may seem easy, but there are factors homeowners need to consider. Where should the playroom be located? What should it contain? How large should it be? Should it be multi-functional, with features for Mom and Dad in addition to goodies for their children? Or should it be a traditional playroom, dedicated entirely to youngsters?
"Personally, I would prefer a playroom over a living room," said Kathy Guyton, owner and principal designer with Atlanta-based interior design firm Guyton Design Group. "People don't use living rooms now. They live more casually. There is no point in having a living room and a den. Having a playroom instead of that living room is a wonderful option. . . . Then when the children are gone, it can become a home office, a library, a crafts room -- anything, really."
Finding the Right Location
Adamec took the traditional route with her playroom: She placed it in the basement. She also followed tradition by making her daughter's playroom a large, wide-open space that can change as Ella grows older.
The room has high ceilings and unblocked windows that admit natural light. That's important in the basement, builders and architects say. Children like to play in bright, airy places. No one wants to hang out in a basement that is dark and dingy, no matter how many toys, posters or decorations there are.
For Korobkin, the builder who created the Adamecs' playroom, the basement has another benefit: It provides a place for more complicated toys. His own home boasts a basement playroom that includes a hitting net into which his children smack baseballs.
"My children are really into baseball. We couldn't have that net up, though, if we had the playroom located up on the second floor of our house," Korobkin said. "But down in the basement it works out great."
Today's homeowners, however, don't limit their playrooms to the basement. Some place them on upper floors. Others choose to locate them on a home's main level. Deciding on location is the most important decision regarding playrooms. The trick is this decision can be different for each family.
