In The News

Thanks to an awareness that design affects children’s development, playrooms are no longer ‘the worst room in the house.’ You may even want to hang out there.

We all want our kids to spend less time in front of a screen and more time playing and learning. Doesn’t it feel SO good when those two things are combined? Smart Playrooms designs innovative residential and communal play spaces that focus on child development. Her intentional and ground-breaking approach has landed her in the homes of A-list celebriti...

Experts agree that different age groups have different needs. So that homework nook might change as children age, advises Karri Bowen-Poole, founder and CEO of Smart Playrooms, an innovative and educational playroom design service and online e-commerce playroom store. Her entire team has master’s degrees in education. Bowen-Poole herself has experience...

Playroom designer Bowen-Poole observes an uptick of requests for natural woods, earthy neutrals and soft pops of color to prevent overstimulation and visual noise.

I feel so incredibly grateful to have been able to pivot my expertise in child development and teaching to start creating educational playrooms. I literally woke up in the middle of the night with the idea to transform children's playrooms by designing and organizing them just like a classroom.

“Bowen-Poole has created playrooms for many well-known New Yorkers, including Dylan Lauren, founder of Dylan’s Candy Bar, and Nicky Hilton. While many of Bowen-Poole’s clients have big budgets and space to spare, the philosophy behind Smart Playrooms’ designs can be applied to any place where kids play.”

Karri Bowen-Poole founded Smart Playrooms and she has been creating award winning educational playrooms for over 12 years. The company’s goal: to create play spaces that parents and kids alike love.

When you become a parent, you’ll do anything for a few minutes of alone time, even if it’s just to go to the bathroom in peace (please!). Unfortunately, getting your kids to play without you, for more than two seconds, is sometimes easier said than done. Good news: they can learn!

Play is such an integral part of a child’s development. Karri Bowen-Poole and her team at Smart Playrooms are huge advocates of this that can be seen in their residential and communal playrooms that fuses educational principles, design and play-based activities for kids. This includes elements that evoke curiosity and motivate children by creating the ...

Karri shares how her intentional and groundbreaking business model has landed her in the homes of A-list celebrities and families who are looking to change the way their kids learn and play at home!

A former teacher and the owner of Smart Playrooms, a design service in Rye, N.Y., Karri Bowen-Poole transformed her underused detached garage into a family-friendly gym and play space. Her three kids range in age from 12 to 25, so the area had to be flexible en...

With summer camps shut down and beach vacations seeming risky, homeowners are investing in ways to create a summer retreat at home…Karri Bowen-Poole, the founder of Smart Playrooms, a Rye, N.Y., play space designer. Many are diverting money that might have been spent on camps or vacations to purchases they hope will keep restless children occupied. “If...