Kidspace

Camille s a spunky ballet dancer who loves to playact and swordfight with her artsy older brother, Malcolm. But their blah basement doesn’t match their imaginations. They want a bigger art center, a ballet mirror and bright colors. See how designer Val Thwing turns the basement into an inspired space suited to the kids' creativity.

Back in the ‘50s, this room on the lower level of a suburban Washington, DC, home was used by J. Edgar Hoover’s #4 man, to pre-screen Hollywood movies for subversive content. But Hank and Emma don’t care. They’re total hams, and want a nicer place to perform, complete with a stage. Mom and Dad want to get the heirloom furniture out of there and create a cozy playroom that will grow with the kids. See how designer James Koster creates a comfy movie-watching den in one direction, and a kid’s theater in another.

What do you do with three boys with a world of energy? Get them involved in wrestling, soccer, baseball, and when all else fails, wind sprints! These kids are so active that when you ask who's been to the emergency room recently, three hands shoot up. Dad is a wrestling coach and has installed a wrestling mat downstairs, but the kids still need more in the wide-open room. Drew Seskunas–who is a rock climbing instructor as well as a designer–creates a boy’s fantasy room, with a climbing wall and a zip line that they can ride from one end of the room to the other.

The Magner basement is nothing but clutter with an upended TV, piles of LPs and bins of sports equipment. Designer Val Thwing turns it into a livable sports destination for Ellie, Quinn, and Cullen, three kids who live and breathe sports. There’s enough room for bouncing around harmlessly, but Ellie also gets "The Ellie Zone," her own private space to do homework and work on her computer.

Six-year old Dahnbi Ng knows exactly what she wants. An adorable only child, she spells out her vision for her very own fantasy space: she loves her blue bedroom walls and her light-drenched arts-and-crafts table in the bay window, but she really wants to live in the ocean. Designer Chelsea Norton comes in with a whimsical design that fills these rooms with sea-inspired magic, complete with seahorses and other undersea marvels.

This is a color makeover for the bedroom shared by six-year-old Adrian, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, and his eight-year old brother, John Russ. The bedroom’s current mango yellow is not the soothing palette that brings Adrian tranquility, and John Russ and he both LOVE the color blue. Designer Lauren Henry comes up with a psychologically-correct design for Adrian that also suits his older brother.

Eight-year-old Emma and four-year-old Kate love to tumble and twirl, whether they’re practicing gymnastics or ice skating moves. Right now the basement has games and toys shoved into corners and stacked behind dressers. Dad would like to get rid of all the toys that aren’t being played with and Mom would like for the girls to be able to reach the games they like so they can actually play with them. They all agree that a circus playroom complete with trapeze and bars would be the perfect makeover for their basement. Designers (and sisters) Rouzita & Bita Vahhabaghai pair off perfectly with these two sisters to bring the fantasy world of the circus to life.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Aidan is a rough and tumble little boy who is always on the move and little sister Ella is always nipping at her brother’s heels. Mom and Dad are California transplants who've recently resettled in Virginia. They want to bring a little bit of that California hip and cool vibe to the kid’s space. The challenge: an all-white room with a vaulted ceiling and skylights that opens right off the living room. Designer Kevin has the right touch to mix toys and trains with music and mod for the perfect makeover cocktail.

Rock and roll is a family affair at the Kreider household; however, the family has a distinctly un-rock and roll basement. They love to have the kids and their friends hang out at the home but there isn't anywhere with a kid vibe. Designer and musician Drew Seskunas designs a cool hangout that inspires musical creativity and provides a space to play their favorite music.

At the Perrin family household, lovable siblings Brett and Brooke are in their tween years and need a cool place to hang out with friends. The parents have designated a special room in the basement just for them, so Kidspace designer Rachel James stops at nothing to make all their wishes come true!

Calling the Gill family kids well-rounded is an understatement — from dancing to playing music to drawing, this trio's in constant motion. They're also home-schooled, so their parents, Shayla and Rob teach class in the kitchen. However, Nasiru, Leilani and Yaminah find the fridge a distraction. The family wants to transform their living and dining room into a space versatile enough to host class and recess.

Six-year-old Abby and three-year-old Alex Korman have a great secret attic playroom that they almost never use. Abby, a young writer with heaps of imagination, would like to turn this drab room into a fantasy wonderland where she can write books and climb her own set of monkey bars. Little brother Alex just wants a place to play, along with a dinosaur or two. Interior designer Chelsea Norton transforms a modern attic space into a magical storybook palace and playroom.

The attic of the Suomela family is the perfect play space and hideaway for kids, but the small room is overloaded with outdated and unused toys. Sister specialists and designers Rouzita and Bita Vahhabaghai redesign the attic to satisfy not one, but two different age groups. They create a fantasyland for five-year-old Julia and build a cool lounge for pre-teen Alexa.