SMART PLAYROOMS | Putting Passion Back into Play
We’re so excited to have Karri Bowen-Poole of Smart Playrooms with us today to answer a few questions about her INCREDIBLE, on-site design services. In addition to on-site design services in and around NYC and CT, they also offer 3 tiers of E-Design services for families that live outside of the area. They also sell their favorite playroom products in their shop @projectplayrooms Lastly, they promise that WE WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOUR KIDS PLAY!
In what ways has your past experience helped you to start Smart Playrooms?
What has helped me the most in designing play spaces for children is my expertise as an educator (I have a Master’s degree in Education) and my experiences as both a teacher and mother. In order to design children’s playrooms, it is essential to have a complete understanding of child development and truly understand what activities engage, motivate and challenge children.
Were you surprised to get so many calls on your first ad in the newspaper?
Karri: Yes! I was so pleasantly surprised that I was able to get my first client relatively easily. There was clearly a need/ interest from parents and no one at the time was offering design or organization services specific to the playroom. I started the playroom design business!
How has creating these Smart Playrooms fulfilled your life?
Karri: It has been my life’s mission to change the way kids play and learn which is why I went into teaching in the first place. My fifth grade teacher inspired me in so many ways, and truly changed my life and I always wanted to be that teacher for other children. Becoming a teacher provided me with the opportunity to encourage students to love learning and to help shape their self-esteem and confidence.
Is it complicated working with so many people with different tastes?
Karri: Most parents are a little bewildered about what to put in the playroom. Most toys are lined up all along the walls and there is so much stuff everywhere. While clients do have specific tastes, I find they are really interested in providing developmentally appropriate and screen free activities and organization systems that work really well. This is what I do best.
What has been your favorite design?
Karri: My favorite design was my Montessori inspired, clutter free neutral playroom in Soho that I designed for two young children. I really love designing neutral rooms that are minimalist. I am truly a complete minimalist myself and my entire house is gray and white.
What attracted you to the idea of Smart Playrooms?
Karri: The idea of Smart Playrooms came to me in the middle of the night, when I was brainstorming other ways of using all of my educational and teaching experience outside of the traditional classroom. I am the innovator of the term “Educational Design” and really started the movement of designing playrooms from an educator’s viewpoint and including challenging physical play kid gyms inside, like monkey bars and rock walls etc…
What is the biggest challenge in these designs?
Karri: The biggest challenge is deciding what activities are best suited for the kids and how best to use the space. In the basement we are also often faced with challenging obstacles like low ceilings, minimum lighting etc…
Was there a large learning curve as you started out? YES! I started Smart Playrooms focusing on the organization of the toys, storage and how the children played. I really did not do any construction when I started out. Today, every design job involves some sort of construction or support or customization and requires so much more time and thought and the projects take much longer to complete. But, boy are these spaces transformative and truly life changing!
Is there anything you want people to know who are considering Smart Playrooms?
Karri: Our goal at Smart Playrooms is to create child-focused designs that are customized to the ages and interests of the children. We always combine interior design principles and functional organizational system with a complete understanding of child development.
