Putting the Fun Back in Functional Kids Rooms
When you have kids your life and home can be chaotic. Finding order in that maelstrom is often a matter of prioritizing functionality. In a kids room, this can be particularly useful for keeping the space safe, organized, and clean. However, those things generally don’t appeal to children. Luckily there are a number of clever ways that you can make their spaces functional, while still maintaining the fun.
Organization
Trying to design a kids room that naturally stays organized can be a challenge. Children tend to accumulate clutter, and scatter as far and as wide as possible, To counter this, try dividing the room up into different sections based on how it will be used. There can be a toy area, an art space, a nap nook, a reading area, or anything else they enjoy. 
These different sections should be decorated and themed accordingly. Have art all over the walls in the arts and crafts section, but instead have cubby holes or shelves lined with toys arranged in different scenes in that area. That will give them an incentive to keep things divided and organized to at least some extent, as the very environment will lend itself to that.
Cleaning
Cleanliness is another challenge often faced in a kids’ bedroom or playroom. One way to encourage kids to clean up after themselves is to turn it into a game. Cover trash bins in pictures of villains and let them defeat them with every deposit. Basketball hoops are another way to gamify it. Create a points system for both cleaning and maintaining their space, with designated rewards, and post that publicly. 
You can even have funky cleaning days where you periodically blast loud music and dance around vacuuming, dusting, and wiping down surfaces. Make sure they get to have a special meal or desert as a reward when they’re done. If you make chores seem less like chores and more like fun they will not only be more likely to engage in it, but it will also instill them with lifelong values.
Safety
From falling to bumping to scraping and dropping, kids are exuberant, but they often get hurt. When making a child’s bedroom safer, there are some basic things you can do. Choose soft, plush carpet, or wood or other hard surfaces. Make sure the furniture has rounded edges, and as much as possible choose pieces that are padded. However, none of that sounds like much fun. 
To add a little whimsy choose colors that are bold and striking. Furnishing and accessories can be dressed up with images of their favorite characters. Bean bag chairs with crazy designs can be brought into the space, and carpeting can look like the ocean, lava, or a vast desert depending on the type and hue.
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Functionality and fun are not enemies. While on the one hand you have to think like an adult and try to keep your life organized and sane. However, by sometimes thinking a little like a kid, you can get their perspective and help to infuse some of their child-like wonder into even the most mundane of things.
