Kiddipedia
A rumpus room is also a playroom, a rec room, and a family room. It’s the more private, relaxed form of the living room and what you decorate it with will speak to not only your personal tastes, but how you’d like to entertain your friends and family.
You might enjoy having a couple of couches and a table for board games, or just some chairs and a playmat for your toddlers to play around on. If you have older kids, it might be a room for a big TV and some gaming consoles.
But don’t forget that there are practical elements that need to be considered when setting up a rumpus room. For instance, if you’re looking to incorporate technology into your rumpus room, you’ll need to consider cable management, alongside investing in durable ethernet cables to help keep your devices online. Similarly, any parents who are looking to serve food in their rumpus room will need to make sure that kids have a sturdy surface to eat on – just to reduce the risk of food or drink spills.
Today, we’ll be sharing our other top tips for setting up a rumpus room that perfectly caters to your family. Read on to learn how to design the rumpus room of your dreams.
Why do they call it a rumpus room?
The word rumpus means “a noisy disturbance”. Things like kids running around, bouncing balls, and having fun causes a rumpus. So, in the mid-twentieth century, the playroom was affectionately renamed the rumpus room. Today, the name has fallen out of favour for names with a broader appeal like “family room” and so on, but the spirit of the rumpus room lives on.
How to style your rumpus room?
Unlike any other room in the house, a rumpus room has no one specific use. This means that you have unlimited freedom in designing it, and that’s exciting. The ideal rumpus room is one that you and your family all want to spend their free time in. Whether that’s playing pool, board games, or video games will depend on you.
With that, take some time to think about what you and your family like to do most, and how you can accommodate those activities in the rumpus room. Once you have an idea of what’ll be used for, you can start designing around these themes and items.
Buying furniture for a rumpus room
Since you’ll want to use your rumpus room for many things, you’ll want to buy furniture and decor that can be moved around or has multiple uses. For example, you could buy a table that converts into a pool table or a board game centre, or you could buy a couch that folds out for sleepovers and movie nights.
It’s also a good idea to ask your kids what kind of furniture they may like to have in your rumpus room. They may prefer to use bean bags and modular gaming chairs rather than sitting on a couch that’s too far away from the TV. Asking your kids what they want and need when it comes to rumpus room furniture can help provide you with direction in your design planning.
Themes & Suggestions
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An open space for small kids to play
Unlike other rumpus room styles, you want to avoid a centrepiece or a filled space for a toddler’s rumpus room. Since they’re probably too small for real tables, chairs and couches, you can place a playmat on the ground, a kid’s table set in the corner, and some shelving on the wall.
This way they can wheel around on their trikes, build with blocks, and create pillow forts. Simply put, your rumpus room can be a space where your little kids can feel free to play, and enjoy all the developmental benefits that accompany this immersive activity.
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A hangout room for teens
So how do you adapt your rumpus room to cater for older kids like tweens or teens? Teens don’t need the open space of busy, bustling toddlers, but they do need sofas and chairs for when their friends come over. This sort of rumpus room tends to look like a living room with more games. Board games, video games, and something to play music on are key.
Other entertainment items like a karaoke set, or an air hockey table are good additions too. And if your teens like to have sleepovers, then why not add a foldout sofa bed, some spare blankets, and an air mattress or two in the closet?
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The couple’s rumpus room
Here’s one for the empty nesters! If you’re not designing the room for kids, the focus falls on you and your partner. It becomes a hobby room. It could be half paint studio and half gym, or it could be a place for your book club to meet up. If you include a foldout couch, it could double as a guest room, or it could be a workshop for your woodwork. The options are endless, but so long as it’s a place where you’re having fun and making noise, it’s a rumpus room.
- Make it a display room
One of the best things about a rumpus room is being surrounded by fun or interesting things. This could be your kid’s paintings, collected knick knacks, or a couple posters from your favourite movies. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time here, try to give yourself some scenery to enjoy when your mind wanders.
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Make bold design choices
The atmosphere of a rumpus room should be unlike any other in the house. By adding an accent wall, contrasting colours, or unique wall art, you can create this unique feel. Your rumpus room should show off your taste, and give you a break from the rest of the house. If your other rooms are painted in a cool grey or a warm cream, do the opposite. If you’re renovating, why not add a skylight or a bay window? After all, designing the room should be as fun as using it.
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Add indoor plants
There’s no denying that a nice philodendron or fern adds a je ne sais quoi to a room. It might be the added oxygen in the air, the splash of green, or the occasional rustle of its leaves. But whatever it is, it improves the mood of a room, and your rumpus room is your playroom, so why not add a few houseplants?
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Go big on comfort
Style is silver, but comfort is golden. Your rumpus room is not where you’ll be having tea with the neighbours or a nice wine at twilight. It’s where you want to sink into a beanbag and turn on the TV, or sit around the table for hours laughing over board games. Throw pillows, doonas, warm floor lamps, and a big air conditioner should join the mix. You could even go so far as to add a humidifier (or a dehumidifier) and some soundproofing to the walls. You want to be drawn to your rumpus room on the weekends and after work.
Conclusion
There’s no wrong rumpus room. It could be messy, completely unstylish, super noisy, and perfect all at the same time. It’s your fun room, to play around, relax, and do whatever you like. It’ll evolve and your interests change or your kids grow up, and that’s what makes it so much fun– it’s multipurpose, and exciting to be in.
