7 Cheap Playroom Ideas on a Budget {Must-Haves for A Fun Space!}

If you want to create a space for your kids that’s all their own, but you know money is tight, here are 7 frugal ways to do it and make it amazing! Keep reading – flooring, wall, storage, and decorating ideas (including some DIY!) to create a fun playroom that your kids will think is so cool! Ideas for toddles all the way up to the big kids! Learn how to design and organize an amazing space.

The Parent Dilemma: Wanting (and Knowing) What’s Best for Your Kids

As a parent, you always want what is best for your kids, whether that be the food they put into their bodies, the clothes they wear (even though they may get them messy), and even their toys and the space they play in. It’s true that while we don’t always know what the ‘best’ is, it’s still want we want for our kids.

That being said, I think we are all smart enough to know that what’s best for our kids isn’t going to look the same for every family. And it may not always be what our kids want.

But that’s the juggling act every parent does – trying to navigate all that and do what is truly best.

Two areas that trip up a lot of parents and moms in particular is 1. How our homes look, compared to others. And 2. what our kids have compared to others.

It’s almost a full-time job to stay on guard against the comparison trap. And when you join those two areas together – your home and your kids – well, it can be the perfect storm. And that storm can get feisty when it culminates in the playroom.

How Do You Decorate a Playroom on a Budget?

At home, we want those areas where our kids can explore, learn, grow, and thrive. Having a playroom where this can happen is ideal, and sometimes, we can feel like this is out of reach if we are on tight budgets.

But there are ways to do this while being frugal and providing a fantastic space for our kids.

Today I’m sharing how to do a playroom makeover on a budget and give you some creative ways to do this.

Best Child’s Playroom Ideas on a Budget: 7 Cheap Must-Haves for an Amazing Space for Kids

This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosures for details.

While it might be nice to see your kids play in the expertly designed and decorated room, it’s really not necessary. Kids will make do with what they have, and that’s why I want to share some of the best playroom ideas on a budget.

It’s definitely possible to keep the kids happy as well as your wallet happy!

The decorations in playroom are a key factor in creating a free-flowing happy place for your kid to feel the most creative in. The décor can spark creativity and curiosity in your kids at a young age, and this has been found to help “children express and cope with their feelings,” an important aspect of them growing up.

You want to kindle that curiosity and creativity with how you design and create your child’s playroom, and that can be done in a budget-friendly way. Here are some of my favorite ways to decorate a playroom.

1| Colors

This may sound pretty simple, but having colors in your playroom is a BIG deal. It is crazy how many people create playrooms that are plain white – which is fine for farmhouse décor in the living room or kitchen, but a playroom should really have more stimulation.

Even if you don’t really want to paint the entire room a bright color, you should try and incorporate colors somehow.

There are a few ways you can go about this that aren’t as permanent as paint (although paint isn’t really that permanent). You could get some posters and paintings that add color to the room without permanently changing the decor. There are also fun peel-and-stick wallpaper options, murals, and wall decals. These are also great options because you can easily change and switch these out as your child grows and his taste changes.

You can also just paint one wall as an accent wall in a fun, bright color. Or what about the ceiling?

If you’re really daring, allow your kids to paint a wall themselves.

Another way to incorporate color is to paint some of the furniture bright colors or purchase some colorful storage bins.

Furniture and the walls aren’t the only place you can use color. How about the floor? A splashy rug with a lot of color can really liven things up.

You can also incorporate color with other inexpensive flooring options such as carpet tiles and foam flooring! Both are fairly cheap!

2| Easy Storage

Storage is another thing that will be vital for trying to maintain some sort of organization in your playroom. Let’s be honest, kids are messy! A storage system for your playroom is a must.

Having one that is easy and uncomplicated will save you time as well as get the kids involved in the cleaning up (even better if you make a game for them).

Six or nine space cube storage units with fabric or mesh cubes are ideal as they are pretty inexpensive and are easy for the kids to access. You can get several of these if needed.

You can even repurpose boxes or large plastic bins with colored paper or fabric and line them up along a wall. If aesthetics aren’t that important to you, you can even let the children decorate them with markers, paint, and stickers!

Stores like Dollar Tree have inexpensive plastic buckets, bins, and baskets that you can use for storage as well. You can even color-coordinate them to your décor.

Another idea for storage is a shelving system, especially for toys and items you want to keep out of reach. Shelves can be made inexpensively with pieces of wood and brackets, and plain-Jane shelving can be purchased cheaply as well.

Second-hand bookcases also make wonderful storage units in playrooms!

You can also purchase ottomans that have storage – cost-effective because they can double as seating as well.

3| Chalk or Magnet Wall

A chalk wall is a perfect idea for a playroom! You can buy special chalkboard paint or contact paper that turn any wall into a chalkboard!

This is a creative way to save a little extra money and use a wall for a purpose. Pick up some chalk and watch your kids’ creativity transfer onto the empty canvas that is the chalk wall!

This is an easy and cost-effective way to keep your kid busy for hours as they draw to their heart’s content on the walls (without damaging them!).

Another fun idea along the lines of a chalk wall is a magnet wall! Just grab some magnet paint, and now you have an area dedicated to all kinds of magnets – letters, numbers, shapes, animals, etc.

There are so many fun ways to use magnets with kids, even as they get older (Think poetry magnets and magnetic tiles!)

4| A DIY Art Gallery

This is such a fun idea for a playroom! Grab some string, clothespins, and some thumbtacks or finishing nails. Hang and secure the string all over the room – along the walls or zigzagged through the entire room.

As your child creates his or her artwork, hang it up on the string with clothespins, and now you have an art gallery! It looks adorable, and your kids will LOVE having their projects proudly displayed.

It also solves the problem with what to do with alllll of the art and projects that are sent home.

This is a win-win-win!

5| Toys & Entertainment

This is often the category that costs the most amount of money, but it doesn’t have to. Some parents opt to buy new toys as they don’t prefer getting them second-hand, but often you can find very lightly used toys for a fraction of the price! These are easily available from thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, and yard sales.

Kids age out of particular toys so fast that you’ll always be able to find someone who is getting rid of them – either selling cheaply or sometimes even just giving them away for free!

Most of the times, toys that aren’t passed down usually end up in a landfill where they sit for years. Obtaining things second-hand is a great way to fill out your playroom with various educational and fun games and toys – and also, at the same time, cut your environmental impact on the planet!

Another form of easy entertainment is a projector! You may be wondering, “Well, isn’t a projector pretty expensive?” They can be, but if you find an affordable one, projectors can often be much cheaper than a TV of the same caliber.

{And not to worry – even if your room isn’t naturally dark, there are ways to adapt it so you can watch during the day.}

A fun aspect of a projector is that it lends itself to a little more excitement than just a regular TV – as if kids are in a movie theater. You can doctor this up with a little movie popcorn and snacks to make this a real special event for them. This can also be a lot of fun when they have a bigger group of friends over.

If you still want to go the TV route, so many people sell or give away older model TVs. Kids don’t really care about size or quality of a TV until they get a little older, so you’ve got some time to capitalize on using an older TV.

And, it’s not even necessary to hook up cable – a DVR or a Roku device that streams through your WiFi is all you need.

6| Table and Chairs

While your child is younger, most of his or her time will be spent playing on the floor. As he or she gets older, you want to start thinking about a table and chairs. Adding this to your playroom now gives them a space to play with sensory bins, to do crafts, color, draw, or even play board games.

Having a dedicated place for children to sit on chairs at a table will make their posture better and allow them to do other activities other than toys. This is especially important as a preparation for school, when they will need to know how to sit in a desk and chair. Having a table and chairs allows your playroom to become a space your child can grow into.

As with toys, buying a table and chair second-hand will save you a lot of money, and it can help you relax a little as you give your child space to be creative with paints and markers without worrying about damaging high-end furniture.

You can also look into purchasing an inexpensive or used coffee table and ottomans for a table and seating while your kids are still small! Those are low enough for children to use, and sometimes you can find those cheaper than a set actually designed for kids!

And while you’re thinking about seating, don’t forget some cozy seating. A few beanbag chairs and throw blankets can add some warmth to the space. This is great for watching TV as well as a book nook for some reading.

7| A Space for Activity and Movement

If you have the room, you’ll want to incorporate some ways for your kids to have movement and activity. This can be as easy as having floor space to watch and dance with some interactive Go Noodle videos. (Those foam flooring tiles we talked about earlier really come in handy here!)

Or how about a mini-trampoline with a safety handle? Or even a roll-out hopscotch mat?

You can even create your own DIY climbing wall or purchase an indoor climbing structure and frames. You can even purchase (new or used) a tent with crawling tunnels and ball pit.

All of those things encourage movement and activity. And this is especially helpful for those rainy days when kids can’t get outside.

A Fun Playroom for Kids = A Win for Everyone

Having a space for kids to grow and play is so helpful. I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute necessity, but it helps kids AND parent when there’s a place dedicated to the kids (and all their stuff).
If you don’t have the space, don’t be discouraged though. Many of these ideas are ones you can incorporate into your child’s bedroom as well.

What you can do here in a playroom is similar to what you can do with any kind of budget-friendly makeover or refresh. The rules all generally apply to most rooms in the house … DIYs, repurposing, bargain-hunting mixed with imagination and creativity.

The end result is a room that is unique, personal, and all their own. Happy kids, happy parents.

7 Cheap Playroom Ideas on a Budget {Must-Haves for A Fun Space!}

The Parent Dilemma: Wanting (and Knowing) What’s Best for Your Kids

How Do You Decorate a Playroom on a Budget?