Designing great Kids Spaces. From Playrooms to Teenage Hideaways.

Spaces for growing up

From secret mezzanine hideaways and indoor slides to cinema rooms and teenage gaming dens, we're seeing continued demand for imaginative spaces designed around family life.

And why not? Our homes should be places to have fun, make memories and enjoy spending time together. But as children grow, their needs change and so does our idea of what makes a great family home.

One minute you're trying to hide a pushchair and highchair. The next, contain an explosion of Lego and Play-Doh. Shortly followed by wondering how many teenagers can possibly fit into one bedroom and whether the gaming commentary coming through the ceiling will ever stop.

The challenge is creating spaces that children genuinely love, without compromising the architecture, aesthetics and enjoyment of the rest of the home.

At Ensoul we believe the best family spaces are imaginative, beautifully designed, robust and above all, personal to the people who live there.

Quality time, with a little breathing space

Family life has evolved. Rather than banishing children to their bedrooms, we're increasingly designing homes with different zones where everyone can spend time together, or enjoy a little independence.

A dedicated playroom can be a godsend when children are young. Somewhere for the dressing up box, the train set and the inevitable mountain of toys that otherwise migrate into every corner of the house.

But the cleverest spaces don't have an expiry date.

With thoughtful planning, flexible furniture and integrated storage, today's playroom can become tomorrow's homework space, teenage hangout or even a grown up snug.

And sometimes, it's about creating spaces where the whole family can come together, without necessarily doing the same thing.

A games room with table tennis, pool or table football might be designed with teenagers in mind, but we've noticed the adults are often just as keen to use it. Particularly after a dinner party, when the competitive spirit emerges.

In one of our projects, we designed bespoke bunk beds within a games room for teenage sleepovers. As it turned out, they proved just as popular with the adults. Proof that style and fun can transcend generations.

A little imagination goes a long way

Of course, children's spaces offer an opportunity to be more playful with design.

Think hidden reading nooks, climbing walls, secret doors, mezzanine dens, indoor swings or even a slide instead of a staircase. Why should playgrounds have all the fun?

Some celebrity homes show great examples of imagination that doesn't have to cost the earth. The budget varies according to you design the detail and implement it.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor famously filmed her lock down Kitchen Discos in a family playroom already equipped with a disco ball, lasers and a smoke machine. A brilliant example of a space where the whole family can have fun.

Kim Kardashian's children's playroom featured a performance stage with an impressive collection of plastic musical instruments.

And John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's kids' bedrooms included slides into a ballpit and a climbing wall. A great tip I read about their upholstery was that they used outdoor fabrics on some of their indoor furniture for little ones' spills.

The important thing is to make any features feel like part of the architecture rather than just novelty additions that will be outgrown in a couple of years. And if you're considering ropes, climbing structures or elevated play areas, careful design and safety are just as important as imagination.

The teenage years: independence without isolation

Teenagers are a different proposition altogether.

Their bedrooms increasingly serve as somewhere to sleep, study, socialise, game and escape from the rest of the family. And while they may appear perfectly happy behind a closed door, creating an alternative space where they can spend time with friends can be hugely valuable.

A dedicated games room, cinema snug or informal lounge gives teenagers a sense of independence whilst keeping them connected to family life.

It also means parents don't have to surrender the main living room to an endless stream of gaming, football or whatever the latest obsession happens to be.

We've seen how these spaces can be paritcualrly when they're designed to accommodate different activities. Comfortable seating, good lighting, acoustic separation, charging points and flexible furniture can make all the difference.

And a space that feels cool at 14 should ideally still feel inviting at 24.

For family with older teenagers or young adults, a self contained annexe or integrated studio can take this idea further, offering a taste of independence before university or moving away from home.

Designed well, these spaces can later become guest accommodation, a home office, gym, cinema room or somewhere for visiting family.

Making room for a little escapism

One of the joys of designing family homes is the opportunity to do something unexpected.

At Ensoul, we love bringing a sense of theatre and imagination to interiors. A cinema room doesn't have to resemble a conventional cinema, just as a children's bedroom doesn't need to be filled with cartoon characters or primary colours.

A room can be playful and sophisticated at the same time.

It's something we've explored in our own projects, where unusual materials, immersive wallcoverings, dramatic lighting and imaginative details help create spaces with a real sense of personality.

The result can be somewhere that feels completely different from the rest of the hosue, whilst still belonging to the same overall design story.

And who says these rooms are just for children?

Some of the most successful family spaces are those where adults are every bit as excited to spend time, beit reading stories or co enjoying the space together.

Designing for today, planning for tomorrow

The secret to creating great kids' spaces isn't simply having the biggest room or the most extravagant ideas.

It's understanding how a family lives.

Where do the children naturally gravitate? Do they like to be together or need their own space? Is the priority somewhere to entertain friends, practice music, watch films or simply curl up with a book?

And perhaps most importantly, how might those needs change over the next five or ten years?

By considering these questions early in the architectural and interior design process, we can create spaces that feel completely integrated into the home, rather than an after thought.

Sometimes that means rethinking a floor plan, introducing a mezzanine or making better use of an overlooked area. Other times, it's simply about clever joinery, lighting, materials and furniture.

We've previously shared our thoughts on creative children's spaces in The Sunday Times Home supplement, and it's a subject that continues to inspire us.

Our philosophy is simple: a beautifully designed home should work for every member of the family, whatever their age.

And with a little imagination, creating somewhere extraordinary doesn't have to cost the earth.