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In this post, I’m sharing how to make a baby play area in a small living room, so your child can have their own corner to play!
Do you want to make a baby play area in your small living room? We wanted our daughter to have her own space in the corner of our living room to play and I love the way it turned out!
I want our daughter to have plenty of room to wiggle and play, and eventually crawl and walk. But, we have a small home and a small living room.
We created this corner that is all hers with child size furniture and everything she needs to play.
How to Make a Baby Play Area in a Living Room
As much as I want my daughter to be free to move about and play in our living room, I don’t really want our home to be taken over by endless toys and play things. So, I created this corner that gives our daughter her own space to play and keep some of the mess down.
We love the Montessori approach to parenting, and are trying to incorporate some of the ideas into our home.
With that in mind, we opted for a child size chair and bookcase to hold a few books and toys. We added a super cozy rug for comfort, and woo-lah, we have a perfect little baby play area!
I love this area, and I think it will be perfect to grow with her!
Here’s what we purchased for our small baby play area:
I wanted her area to be very cozy and baby friendly, but also fit in with our current decor. I think we achieved exactly what we had in mind!
On our bookcase:
With the Montessori approach in mind, we are just keeping out a few toys and books on the bookshelf. I want her to have options, but not be overwhelmed with choices. And, it helps keep the clutter down!
We currently have her morning basket books, and a few toys she can play with now (rattle, teether, set of balls, and crinkle books).
She really loves this sensory mat from her KiwiCo box, too! We usually have that mat or a blanket down for easier cleanups.
How to make your own baby play area in your living room:
Look around your living room, and find a good corner to set up a baby play area. You may need to rearrange your furniture a little, or declutter some.
Once you have a corner cleaning out, you can start adding furniture. Look for child size furniture, so this area is just for them.
You can choose furniture that matches your decor, or go for super fun baby and child furniture. Look for a small chair or bean bag for reading, a soft rug for laying down and getting active, and a small bookcase where they can reach for their favorite toys and books.
A small rug will help define the space and pull the area together. You can use carpet tape if you need to keep the rug from sliding around on the floor.
The bookcase can be anchored to the wall for safety, too.
Choose a short bookcase so your child can see and reach the things they want. I would suggest keeping just a few items on the bookcase that they really enjoy playing with and looking at.
You can rotate the toys and books out weekly or monthly, as they get interested in different things.
I hope this helps show you how to make a baby play area in a living room, even in a small home! We love our little girl’s play corner so much, and I think she does, too!
Bonus Tip: I used my Fetch Rewards points to order some of these items! I love this app! It’s so easy to use and I love earning free gift cards! You can sign up here and use code: 33UY1 to get 2000 free points (equal to $2).