An attic loft with a rope ladder - saw this on pinterest a while ago, and seriously considering for our daughter as she could use it for sleep-overs as they get older too. We would convert one of our existing attic accesses to do this if we decided to go ahead.

A little hideway with a small hole to crawl thorugh in a closet for a reading nook or passage way between two kids rooms.

I want to do a built-in dollhouse bookcase for my daughter's bedroom. I'd have the top angled like a roof and have the shelves spaced far apart enough do that they can accommodate American girl sized dolls. I'm sure I saw the idea online somewhere.

I would also like to do be of those toe kick steps to take the place of a step stool in the Kid's bathroom. Not particularly "fun", but useful. I find the steps stool gets in the way in our current bathroom.

Try to buy/build in a neighborhood where there are other kids and make sure their parents allow them to play outside!!

My DS2 has always been lucky to find neighbor play mates in every house we have owned. We built wooden steps up against the stucco wall that separates the neighbors property and the kids climb back and forth over the fence. Not having to plan play dates and drive the kids ... Priceless!

Here is the link for a similar idea

Here is a link that might be useful: Rockwall to hideaway

i second what chispa said!!! kids in the neighborhood!!!

We are finishing an area of our attic (with low ceilings and all). It will have a ship's ladder to access. Susan Suzanka's books (Not So Big house books) gives some kid friendly ideas for nooks. She also talks about small cozy often low ceiling areas for kids. We also installed a knock off of the Rainbow Playground climbers and a cable ride in our backyard which has been very popular (cable ride not safe until kids are 7). Deep sandboxes, not the plastic shallow ones) are quite popular too for younger kids like yours.

Good luck.

Carol

I would temper anything you do with the thought that kids grow up really fast and may be embarrassed by something they think is too babyish before you know it.

If you do something it should be relatively inexpensive, easy to remove, or easily converted to something else.

This post was edited by palimpsest on Thu, May 30, 13 at 22:28

Pal, that is very true, they do grow up fast. DS2, not even out of elementary school yet, is giving away his Webkinz animals ... sniff ... I had voices and personalities for all of them!

Our kids are older (range from 7- 12) and we're thinking about making the house work well for their projects and as a hang out space for them and their friends. The budding musician can have band practice in the basement. The plant lover got the room with a Southern exposure so she can start seeds in spring. My youngest is most excited about minecraft, which you can do anywhere, so there's nothing special built in for him at this point, but we've got flexibility. And all of them can run around in the woods. There are big plans for tree houses, forts and pets of all kinds.

I have been thinking about putting a tiny door between the girls closets as a secret passage... Just a thought.

Also did a bunch of built in bookshelves.

Jen

You mean fun for DH, right? All the "fun" stuff in our house was what my DH has always wanted.

We have:
An indoor slide from the main floor to the basement.
A fireman's pole through all 3 stories
A secret escape hatch to outside
Bookcase entry to secret room
Space themed movie theatre with 3D projector

Laurajane, I don't think this thread would be complete without photos of the features you've mentioned!

Great ideas everyone.

I don't have pictures of everything handy, but here's a photo of the slide from a few months ago.

{{gwi:1419563}}

It's not totally done yet, but we still use it (despite the dusty bum).

We made a large book reading space under the stai landing (12 by 6 ft) for the kids now but will be storage for later. they love it! I put large floor pillows in there.. and electric outlets and an overhead light.