Kids' play corner ideas: one corner, three ways

Start with the floor

A play corner works when everything in it is at the child's height and has a place to go back to. Before any furniture, decide where the corner stops. A rug, a play mat or a throw laid flat draws the line, and it tells everyone in the house that the toys live inside it, not across the hallway.

Pick a corner you can see from where you usually sit. A play corner in the room you're already in gets used; one down the hall gets visited.

Way one: a soft corner for little ones

For a toddler, the corner is mostly floor. Lay something soft, add a few things to lean on, and leave space to roll.

The Brooklyn ball cushions are 30 cm boucle spheres that get thrown, sat on and stacked in about equal measure, and they arrive filled. A Cloud plush throw folded on the floor makes the soft edge of the corner; it's plush on one side with a smooth velvet back, at 127 × 152 cm.

Keep it to that. One basket for the toys of the week finishes it, and anything that doesn't fit the basket goes back in the cupboard.

Way two: a first reading corner

Once books arrive, the corner needs a seat sized for the reader. The Lounger in Regular is the size recommended for children: 80 cm wide, with a back and a seat 35 cm off the floor, so a small reader sits up instead of sliding down.

Face the books forward if you can. Children choose by cover, not spine, so a low ledge or a crate with three or four books turned out does more than a full shelf. Swap them when the favourites change.

For the wall above, hang one piece out of reach rather than at their level. The 40 × 40 cm Forest Fable comes ready to hang in a recycled timber frame, so it's up in five minutes.

Way three: a hangout for older kids

Older kids want a corner that's theirs: somewhere to read, game or ignore everyone. It needs seats that move, because the corner will move too.

The DreamPod Mini is made for children and small adults, at 90 cm wide with a pull handle at the back, so it follows them from the lounge to the bedroom. For a teenager, the DreamPod Cruz is a full-size sloped lounger with a handle on the back, for long nights of not being bothered.

The honest limit on both: they arrive vacuum-packed, can take up to 48 hours to reach full size, and can't be returned once the pack is open. Unpack one a couple of days before the corner is ready, and any new-foam smell fades over that time.

Keep the toys at their height

Whichever way you go, storage decides whether the corner stays a corner. If children can reach where things live, they can put them back. If they can't, you will.

• Use one low basket or open shelf per corner, not one per type of toy.
• Rotate instead of adding: keep a second basket in the cupboard and swap it every few weeks.
• Leave one thing out at the end of the day, like the book they were reading or the half-built tower. It makes the corner easier to come back to.

A few safety checks

• Zips: our bean bags come with the outer zip pull removed to meet Australian safety rules, and open with a paperclip. Keep it that way.
• Filling: keep beans inside a zipped liner, and top up when the kids aren't in the room.
• Walls: fix anything tall to the wall, and hang art above a child's reach.

Want the same corner for yourself once they're in bed? See how to set up a reading nook in a small living room, or compare seats in bean bags for small spaces.