Living with boys – Needing to transition our playspace 15



When the boys were small I wanted a space for them to be able to play with toys and to enjoy with their friends and we built an addition on to our house for this.  A conservatory, which has been used almost daily until recently.

Our conservatory

Our conservatory is a beautiful light space which through the years has been filled with train tracks, scalaxtrix, building blocks, Duplo and LEGO.  Currently, it is filled with board games, a telescope, TV and Gaming consoles.  It is a space that is also filled with lots of happy memories too.

However, recently my boys have been using it less and less.

boys conservatory

So why you are wondering have the boys recently stopped using the room as much, well that is down to the roof really.  Both the boys love to spend some time on their Xbox or on the laptop and the glare from the roof makes looking at the screens not so easy.

We were really conscious when looking into building a conservatory that we wanted it to be used all year round.  We were going to have our radiators extended to be put in the conservatory, but based on advice given by our builder we installed a separate specialist conservatory heater instead.  This was really great advice as it means that we can heat the conservatory separately or not at all dependent on the weather.

We also installed great quality blinds, which have been perfect too, although, after eight, nearly nine years they are starting to show their age.  However, we didn’t consider the ceiling, yes it has tinted windows, but no blinds.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I really wish we had known about tiled roofs for conservatories.  Not only would a tiled roof help with making any conservatory an all year round room, especially if you suffer from the room too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter issue that many conservatories.   I really feel that our conservatory would benefit from having a tiled roof, it would make it feel more like the rest of our home.  It would help with the glare and the boys would be more comfortable spending time in their with their friends as they get older.

Now I have seen these fab roofs, I know what we are saving up for!

Do you have a playspace?

 

 



15 thoughts on “Living with boys – Needing to transition our playspace

  • Louise

    That sounds great. We have a conservatory which, in the winter is freezing and in the summer too hot! It was already on the house when we moved in but if I had my choice we would knock it down and build a brick extension with skylights. We converted the integrated garage into a playroom and that has been brilliant although it really needs a redecorate after 6 years of the boys using and abusing it! x

  • Karen

    Aww, our house is tiny, I think we will have to move if we want play space! It’s been discussed as we start adding to our family that we will have to move!! Currently have a box in the corner that gets toys chucked in to make our living space less child, more grown up!!

  • The Mummy Diary

    We’d love a play space, in fact we have been looking at a playhouse for the children for the garden as we don’t really have the option of building on our house. However this looks amazing and if we only had the space we definitely would, I am hoping with a little heater the children will be able to use a playhouse in the cooler months too. So desperate to get planning now and having seen this it’s given me even more of an incentive.

  • Nikki Thomas

    What a lovely idea! We are hoping to put a conservatory on our house in the next few years, so I will make a note of this as it sounds like a really sensible option.

  • liz Burton

    We don’t have a conservatory, in my mind they’re too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, but that’s probably based on old experience. I think building and technology has moved on since!

  • Carole at Healthier Mummy

    Sounds like a good plan to get the roof sorted. As my kids get older, they are using the playroom less as they want to keep their Lego etc in their bedrooms. Is there another purpose you could use it for long-term? I’d love a special writing room for example and it looks like you have a lovely garden view from there.

  • Sonia

    We are currently trying to move the kids stuff into their rooms and re-claim our lounge! One wall is dedicated to the ‘doodle draws’ (Ikea wooden units with the plastic buckets) which I keep trying to ‘tidy’ (chuck stuff out)! With 3 kids it’s an on-going battle!! At least as they get bigger, their toys get smaller! x

  • Rosie Corriette

    We had a conservatory in our old house so I completely understand where you’re coming from. I never new a tiled roof was an option – sounds like a great idea to get the most out of the space 🙂

  • Erica Price

    We have the same problem with our conservatory and I would never build one myself without a tiled roof (we inherited ours, but I hadn’t realised how cold they can get).

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