Greenwich Play Opens New Space & Showroom

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich Play, an all women-operated business that offers family-focused interior design services, recently opened its doors at 180 Sound Beach Ave., in Old Greenwich.

The 1200-square-foot space includes a 600-square-foot showroom, which allows families to visualize and conceptualize potential play areas for young children in their own homes. The business will also work on commercial projects.

The Greenwich Play team guides clients through planning, design, construction and occupancy phases of the design-build process.

Founder, Creative Director and Chief Play Officer Courtney Gault, an Riverside resident, is an award-winning interior designer and has a background in early childhood general and special education.

In 2017, she left the classroom and started a consulting service in which she helped families address unfavorable behavior in children at home.

"More often than not, it was related to needing to have systems in place, or frustration around not being able to find something you're looking for, or environments that didn't foster independence with children," Gault said.

She found herself fixing spaces like mudrooms to make them more functional for a young child. She also became a mother, and developed a deeper understanding on how one's environment can make an impact on childhood development.

The consulting business snowballed from there, and then COVID-19 hit. People began asking Gault how they could incorporate more play at home with their child.

Greenwich Play was founded to create beautiful, functional spaces throughout the home that the whole family can enjoy, Gault said.

"It's about giving families space for kids to play, where I can confidently say they're going to have a developmentally supportive experience, and that the materials are accessible and appropriate," Gault said. "When I became a mom and saw how much it helped my own child to have a space that supported his development… it changed his life."

Courtney Van Naarden, who has a background in public relations and marketing, lives in Old Greenwich, and has two young boys of her own, reached out to Gault and wanted to get involved with Greenwich Play. Van Naarden is now the vice president of marketing + make believe.

"Courtney told me her dreams and ambitions for the business. She had to bring people into her house to show them what a playroom could look like, and that became unsafe during COVID," Van Naarden explained. "So creating a space where she could show all the different aspects of a playroom that are important to her was critical. That's why we opened the showroom."

Greenwich Play offers consultations over the phone, in-person or in the showroom, which features examples of gross motor options, pretend play and sensory elements, arts and crafts, wallpaper, carpeting, custom work and more. Children can even come in to the showroom to see what they gravitate towards.

The Greenwich Play Team can help organize existing play areas, help families navigate each aspect of a project, or offer the full package of designing an entire space, sourcing the materials and overseeing installation. Gault utilizes trusted, local general contractors for projects.

Services are available in Fairfield County, Westchester County and New York County.

Although the brick and mortar location has been open for only about two weeks, Gault and Van Naarden said the reaction from the community has been "overwhelmingly positive."

The pandemic saw many young families move into Greenwich and the surrounding area, and numerous people have popped their head into the showroom with curiosity.

"Because a lot of the houses were built for a different type of family, we're seeing them repurposed; formal dining rooms, or man caves, into playrooms," Van Naarden said.

Formal dining rooms are central to a house and they're off the kitchen and the entryway — a perfect space for a child's play area.

"They're unused, large spaces, and people have little kids and are not having formal meals," Gault added.

Gault said dedicated spaces for play are vitally important for children, even if that space is the size of a corner in a room. There's no area too big or too small that Greenwich Play can't tackle, Gault said.

"The payoff is seeing the kids use the space in the way it was intended to be used," Van Naarden said.

The Greenwich Play team also consists of Pati Cabada, head of fun, function + media; and Jackie Pierson, associate designer.

For more information on Greenwich Play's services, check out their website.