Inspirational Play Spaces {and where to get help if you need it!}

This post is brought to you by The Whole Child Interior Design.

I've had so much fun over the years putting together the kids rooms and play area in our family room. Ages were spent browsing Pinterest, Etsy and some of my favourite blogs to find inspiration. You have to think about the theme, furniture, wall colour/colour scheme, wall decals, prints, flooring, bedding, decorations, and toys of course! Amy from The Whole Child Interior Design believes that children's spaces should not only be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but have educational benefits and foster learning through play.

So, you may recall when I shared Miss M's big girl rainbow themed bedroom a while back. She (and I) still love it and it's functioning really well for her. We gained a family heirloom dollhouse since then, and she spends time in there usually with her dolls and teddies reading to them, dressing them and putting them to bed. She loves her secret hiding spots in the IKEA shelving too.

For Little Man's nursery we just used Miss M's baby furniture which worked out really well. This is something to consider when you're having a baby - to choose pieces that will last if you plan to add to your family down the track. I'm so happy with our hot air balloon theme and I think it will have potential to grow with him. Time flies so fast I'm sure it wont be long and we'll transform his cot into a toddler bed, and eventually get him his own big boy bed!

We don't have a separate play room for the kids, so I tried to create a play space that was fun but also looked nice in our family area. This is sure to evolve when Little Man starts crawling and walking (and I'm planning a whole blog post about that when the time comes).

Some other fabulous kid blogger friends have also kindly given permission for their play spaces to be shared! First up is Anna from Kids Play Space and she has some great suggestions for setting up beautiful play areas when you only have a small living space to work with.

Debs from Learn with Play at Home is one of my favourite Aussie Kid Bloggers! How awesome is this photo of her kids play room? (Image used with permission from her Instagram page). I love the kids art on the walls, beautifully organised books shelves, cane basket and foamy floor. Oh and did you notice the swing?!?!? I wouldn't be able to get my kid out of this play room.

Kelly from Happy Whimsical Hearts is passionate about Waldorf inspired education for her children at home. Here she shares her sweet little kitchen corner. Pop over to visit to learn more about Waldorf.

There is one play space that has stuck out in my mind over my years of Pinterest searching and blog reading... And it's this one from Asia (Fun at Home With Kids). It is absolutely epic! What beautiful wall art, sensory boards, discovery bottles and of course the rings/trapeze. To the right (not pictured) is even a rock climbing wall! You must go over to visit to see the rest of the room!

So, this brings me to the time to introduce my newest Internet friend I'm collaborating with - Amy from The Whole Child Interior Design. Mother to one little spunk from NSW, she's the person you can go to if you're lacking inspiration, needing help or just feeling stuck when it comes to putting together your child's nursery, bedroom or play room.

Amy starts by getting some basic information from you on themes or colours you'd like to use, interests on the child, dimensions of the space etc and will create a design eBoard something that looks a bit like this...

Or this...

Which in real life will end up looking like this! (All images used with permission).

She'll give you a list of the products & prices she's sourced and will outline the educational benefits of her recommendations. Amy know's all the funky places to go to find unique and special pieces. Oh and did I mention she's a teacher too? So when it comes to knowing all about learning through play she's more than qualified and knows how little people will interact with her play space creations.

Amy has kindly offered a discount to Teacher Types readers if you're interested in having her create either a mini or big design eBoard especially for your little one. Just enter TEACH at the checkout to get 30% off!

If you'd like to share your play space with me, please use the hashtag #teachertypes over on Instagram!
Lauren xx