How to Design a Living Room with Kids Without Letting Play Take Over
A living room can work for both children and adults when play has a defined area, toys have closed storage, and color is edited rather than banned. You don't have to choose between a beautiful home and a happy child. You do have to decide where the play lives.
At some point you spend hours choosing the exact shade of a sofa, then a neon play set arrives and sits beside it like a cross between a traffic light and a clown. For years we accepted this because we were convinced children can't enjoy anything unless every color shouts at them at once. That's changing. Soft play equipment, meaning foam blocks, arches, ramps and ball pits made for indoor play, is moving from the play center into the living room, and it's starting to look like something an adult chose on purpose.
By Maya Sheinberger | 24.10.26
Key takeaways
Children love color. The problem is every color, on every surface, at the same time.
Choose one play area instead of letting toys spread through the room.
Closed, low storage lets the room reset in minutes.
Soft play pieces in calmer tones can sit beside your sofa.
A child's room doesn't need a designer's approval. Let children choose.
Palette, not panic
Color isn't the enemy. Children like it, and they respond to it. Our mistake was translating "colorful" into "everything, together, on every available surface." The answer is to edit the color rather than erase it, so the eye gets somewhere to rest.
Instead of | Try |
Primary colors on every piece | Two or three tones that suit the room, plus one the child loves |
Toys spread across the room | One defined play zone |
Open baskets everywhere | Low closed storage they can reach |
Hiding everything for guests | Pieces that can stay out |
There is some research behind that instinct, though it comes from classrooms rather than homes. In a Carnegie Mellon study of 24 kindergarten students, children were off task 38.6% of the time in a heavily decorated room and 28.4% in a sparse one. They also scored 42% on tests in the decorated room and 55% in the sparse one. It was a small study of lessons, not of free play, so I wouldn't read it as a rule for your living room. It simply reminds us that a calmer background gives the attention somewhere to go.
Give play one clear place
Decide where play happens, and let the rest of the room stay a living room. A rug can define the area without building anything, and a corner near the sofa means you can sit together. When the play area has an edge, the toys are far less likely to migrate.
If you have the space, plan for the years ahead. In the M apartment in Tel Aviv, one extra room became a playroom that can turn into a bedroom later. In the RA apartment, designed for a couple and their two young children, the back terrace is a play area with shaded seating, so the parents can sit close by. Inside, the children's room has gray and green furniture with oak, and a library with space for both display and storage.
Choose play pieces that can stay out
Soft play equipment now comes in upholstery and colors that suit a living room. Foam blocks, climbing arches, tunnels and ball pits are moving into the home in pearl, cream and gray, in fabrics that look as though they came from the same mood board as the sofa. Play sofas that turn into forts and ramps can go back to looking like furniture once the game is over.
Before you buy, check three things: whether the covers can be removed and washed, whether the piece meets safety standards for your child's age, and where it will go when it isn't in use. Choose durable, washable fabrics for the sofa as well. My questions for the showroom will help you test a fabric before you commit.
Plan storage they can use
Storage only works if a child can use it. Low closed cabinets or drawers near the play area turn tidying up into a two-minute job, and nothing needs to go to a storage room before guests arrive. This is where built-in joinery earns its place, especially in a small apartment.
Don't overcorrect
There's a risk on the other side too. Before we replace every ball in the house with one in "damp sand," let's remember that a child's room doesn't need a designer's sign-off before a red toy car comes in. A child may choose pink, blue, green or all three. In the BN apartment, I met the young tenants before planning their rooms, and learned about their dreams, colors and hobbies. A childhood shouldn't look like a showroom where even the teddy bear seems to be paying property tax.
Frequently asked questions
How do I hide toys in a living room?
Use low closed storage near the play area, so that children can reach it themselves. Keep a few toys out and rotate the rest.
What colors work in a living room with kids?
Keep a calm base, then add two or three colors you love. Let your child's favorite color appear in one or two pieces.
Can a play gym look good in a living room?
Yes. Soft play sets now come in neutral tones and upholstery fabrics that relate to the room. Check that they are safe for your child's age and easy to clean.
What is the best sofa fabric with young children?
Choose a durable, washable fabric, and ask which stains the warranty covers. Check the fabric's composition before you buy.
Do colorful rooms overstimulate children?
Color itself isn't the issue. Research on heavily decorated classrooms suggests that too much visual stimulation can pull attention away from a task, so a calmer background can help.
Designing a home for a growing family in Tel Aviv or central Israel, whether you live here or are managing it from abroad? I'd love to hear about your project.
Maya Sheinberger is an interior designer with nearly 20 years of experience. She has run her independent studio since 2012, and it is based in Ramat Gan. She holds a B.Des with honors from the College of Management. Eight of her projects have won Archilovers Best Project awards, her work has appeared in more than 100 publications, and one of her Tel Aviv apartments features in the book The New Minimalist Style.
Photography @itaybenitphotographer · Styling @maya_livnat_harush
This post was inspired by my column on Mako (in Hebrew).
