A small, single-story addition to the row house adds a playroom without eating up too much outdoor space. A green roof also helps makes up for lost garden beds, while creating attractive, leafy views from the second and third floors. In summer, when the sliding doors are left wide open, indoor and outdoor spaces blend together.

Whether you’re battling noise or are short on space, these guides can turn your office into a distraction-free zone.

The Tower House is made up of tiny houses, clustered at the southern end of the property and clad in white steel panels and western red cedar shingles. Spinning off the living room on the north side of the main house, the children’s study sits separate from the other pavilions. On its upper level, Oxley netting forms a web on which the kids and their friends can sit and read with views of the leafy street and garden.

It's a great time to let kids be a part of the decision-making, if that is age-appropriate, and help set a schedule. Give your child a chance to take the reins and engage in child-led learning.

McMinn, an architect, helps Soren construct a TinkerToy tower. The cowhide rug is from Perfect Leather Goods, and the Wassily Chair is by Marcel Breuer for Knoll.

Simon and Eva Luna play in front of a wall covered in Daks wallpaper from Walnut.

Deep, earthy greens like olive and wasabi were popular during the 1960s. Relentless Olive (SW 6425) from Sherwin Williams and Green Root (8334) from Jotun capture these shades well.

Houldin, 10, curls up in the playroom nook which is directly under a side skylight that Pulltab added in order to make the interior rooms inhabitable, as per New York City building code. The custom millwork around the window seat is painted in Rainy Day by Fine Paints of Europe.

This children’s room and playroom caters to one family’s young kids with built-in cabinetry that allows the mess to be hidden away. Hufft designed this marker-board table, which was cut in the shape of Missouri. The ceiling features abstract details from Thomas Hart Benton paintings.

Have your children help you go through their book collections and pick out what books they haven't read yet. If you are able to safely leave your home, you can coordinate curbside dropoff book exchanges with friends.

A cherry red game room gives way to a second green space on the roof, which can be used as an extension of the indoor space.

At the top of the house is the sky-lit playroom, connecting the children's and guest bedrooms.

Takuma strikes a pose from the loft lookout as seen from the second floor. The loft is used for storage as well as a place for some peace and quiet.

The upstairs loft is an office-cum-craft room. Evidence of the family’s DIY nature is omnipresent. Hale built a planter box and art-supply cubbies with leftover plywood. The space is equipped with plumbing hookups in case—or more likely, when—the family chooses to convert the area into a third bedroom and bathroom.

In a spare bedroom/playroom located in another section of the house, Berg played with juxtapositions of shapes, installing an oak-wrapped, triangular reading nook inset with a circular window.

Children streaming in for a workshop are greeted by an Eichler-inspired playhouse (dubbed the “Tikeler”) designed and built by The Butterfly Joint’s founder, Danny Montoya.

Chairs in the second-floor playroom are by Lievore Altherr Molina for Andreu World. Oak sliding doors can close off the playroom to minimize din.

The couple’s children had requested a treehouse, but the lack of old growth trees on the property prompted Wendi and Lukas to include a loft above the renovated garage. The hatch skylights allow the boys to have a lookout over the backyard, and the chalkboard wall is great for doodling.

A 17-foot-tall freestanding play structure that designer Sharon Davis designed for her family in upstate New York can only be entered by climbing taut netting and entering through a trap door. Descending requires sliding down two structural-columns-turned-fire-poles.

It took a craftsman two weeks to shape the fiberglass gelcoat material into the shape of the slide, which connects a hallway off of the kitchen to the first-floor media room.

The couple initially painted partition walls between the children's room and their own with black metallic paint creating both a writing surface for the children and a magnetic bulletin board for notes. However, "the black looked too oppressive," Astrakhan says. So they applied several coats of lively lime green paint to brighten up that section of the house.

Jimena makes use of a giant chalkboard just outside.

A folding glass NanaWall system "allows the clients to keep an eye on their kids while working in the kitchen," says Blaine, who dubbed the space the 'NanAtrium.' "It helps keep the kids safe and contained, and helps the family get back to enjoying life." A swing door provides easy in-and-out access when the glass wall isn't fully opened.

Working with his father, Anton designed and built a custom loft for the boys in the upstairs addition.

In the cutout of the 40-foot-long container along the northern side of the house is the office and play area. It's a mix of new and old: The bookcase and desk are from Ikea's Expedit living room storage collection while the small table and chairs were made by Freeman's grandfather. "He was a furniture maker and would make one piece for each of the 13 grandkids each year," Feldmann says.

A deeply saturated blue hue colors the playroom wall.

A closer look at the play-space mezzanine.

Kids Playroom

“Having nice design is great, but how can you support the ways you want to live?” says Adair. She and Kopp did the same discovery process as their clients to help push them into purpose. “It was so helpful in figuring out how to shape the moments we wanted.”