Make Play Areas Greener and Safer

From Sunset

From the playroom to the bedroom (and even the backyard), there are easy ways to make your home kid-friendly and environmentally safe.

This joint laundry/playroom is a great combined space for parents and kids. Bright blues and greens enliven the room. The pale green nontoxic laminate veneer is by

Abet Laminati.

Cabinets conceal a water- and energy-frugal front-loading washer and dryer from GE. The floor is engineered bamboo. Cobalt blue recycled-glass knobs match the lava-stone tile counter.

For recyclable wall decor in the older child’s room, we used Wallcandy Arts “Dottlicious” stickers of various sizes from giggle.com.

Add personality with personalized wainscot. The blue and green stripes are painted with low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint.

A small outdoor space means every inch must count, so we made sure there was a variety of activity zones, including raised planting beds, a sandbox, and a compact flagstone patio.

Circular stepping "stones" and a semicircular mini deck made of

rot-resistant Trex, a composite wood, punch up the design of a small outdoor space.

The play yard walking surface is a mulch made of shredded brown-toned recycled tires by Grubble Products.

Tumbled dark and light blue recycled glass from Building Resources makes a colorful mulch.