A well-designed, beautifully decorated playroom is a thing of wonder for both parents and children. Despite being visually pleasing, a major factor in playroom design is function. This room offers a place outside of the living room or the child's bedroom to play as well as learn. If you're designing your first playroom or have decided your current playroom needs a fresh look, here are 5 ideas to consider.

●      Install Cabinets for Organization

The first major design flaw of many playrooms is a lack of organization - more specifically a lack of simple yet effective organization. Visit any home decor/supply store and you'll see various types of organization systems, from classic cubbie towers to elaborate color-coded drawers. These types of tools can work great for organization, but an even better idea is to consider installing cabinets.

There are two benefits to installing cabinets in a playroom. Firstly, an enclosed cabinet looks cleaner than a tower of translucent tubs or shelves loaded with toys. This is much more pleasing to the eye and makes for quickly straightening up the playroom a faster task.

The other benefit is that cabinets are relatively simple to install or have built. If you're on a budget you can easily buy high-grade plywood for cabinets that will still look fantastic and last. They will also handle the abuse of children better than cheap particle board. If you're not into the wood look, no worries. You can easily paint over cabinet-grade plywood.

If you have very young kids, keep in mind that having cabinets at their level will help them participate in cleanup and overall feel more independent.

●      Get Creative with Soundproofing

It goes without saying that a playroom is one room that is probably the loudest, especially when your child has friends over. While it's nice to be able to hear your children, the stomping around and enthusiastic yells can get tiring. For older children it is a good idea to consider adding some soundproofing to the playroom.

For safety purposes you shouldn't completely try to soundproof a playroom for children as you should be able to hear if an emergency occurs, but there are still ways to dampen sound while maintaining a level of safety.

If you have thin walls you'll want to consider buffering these. There are many beautiful and unique options for decorative acoustic panels that can be placed on walls or even on the ceiling. You can find these in various prints, and from basic wave patterns to visually-striking geometric shapes.

You should also address the floor, especially if the playroom is on the 2nd floor. Carpet is a great natural sound buffer and certainly helps reducing the sound of energetic feet. If you allow snacks or drinks in the playroom then perhaps wood or another hard floor is preferred. In this case thick, comfortable floor mats or area rugs can still really help in the "high traffic" areas of the room.

●      Make a Chalkboard Wall

Nothing is quite as disheartening as finding that your kids have designed to help redesign your perfectly painted walls with markers. Parents with artistically-inclined children can help curb the potential for this accident while encouraging their kids to have fun but covering a wall in chalkboard.

This sounds time-consuming but it really is simple considering how much use you and your kids will get from it. If you are a homeowner you can designate an entire wall in the playroom to chalkboard. Simply choose a paintable chalkboard product and paint the wall just as a would any other paint. This offers more than enough space for kids to really have fun and the upper portion of the wall can be your own space for a calendar, playroom rules, chore reminders and more.

If you want a less permanent design you could always use a very smooth sheet of plywood painted with the same chalkboard paint and hung on the wall. For a more attractive look you can visit the local thrift store and see if you can score a large picture frame or mirror frame to give the board a more decorative touch.

Have a closet or cabinet in your playroom with decently large doors? Cover those with chalkboard paint instead!

●      Create Your Own Reading Nook

The playroom isn't always all about play, but can also double as a place for children to get away for some quiet time. Encouraging reading is very important for children of all ages, and one way to help build this habit is to provide a welcoming space for kids to calm down and pick up a book. A makeshift reading nook is a great idea for two reasons. One, it can be created anywhere, even without an existing nook. Two, the nook look almost makes this reading area as a separate space from the "play zone", helping kids to disengage their mind from play and turn it towards reading.

There are a few ways to create a reading nook. If you have a smaller wall in the playroom you can build or buy a bench to fit in this space, taking up the wall length. A bonus is that you can use space under the bench for storage. Another idea is to place a comfortable bench between two sturdy bookshelves. This is so easy to do but really give the reading space that cozy, closed-in feeling.

●      Pick a Modern Color/Decor Theme

If you know anything about design and decor you'll know that the color of the room and interior decorating is crucial. Sadly many people automatically resort to primary colors akin to those found in schools as a theme. While there isn't anything wrong with going bright and bold, consider a more modern approach and color palette.

Rather than focusing on a bunch of brights you may want to choose a color theme with only two complementing bolds and have majority of the room a neutral. Think about following the 60-30-10 rule of interior decorating. Consider a neutral shade for 60% of the room, 30% of the room be a complementing shade, and the final 10% be something bold that helps tie the other two shades together.

Keep in mind that playrooms tend to have a lot of toys which brings more "color clutter" into the picture. This might mean you err more on the side of caution when thinking about painting the walls something bright.

Going with a more modern color theme is nice for adults and, when done right, will still feel like a sanctuary for kids. Make sure you don't get too caught up in what you want - if your children are older you can ask them what colors they like and together come up with a color palette.

The playroom can be just as much of a family room as a kid's room. Rather than haphazardly designating a room as a glorified toy pit, taking the time to come up with a plan with some of these design ideas in mind will help ensure this special room is as inviting for family time as it is enticing for children.

By Zach Williams