Top Daycare Floor Plans and Designs - brightwheel

Are you thinking about starting your own daycare or preschool business? If so, congratulations! Early education is a must for working parents and is critical for shaping the healthy development of young children. By pursuing a career in early learning, you can make a real impact on society and the families you serve.

One of the first steps to opening a daycare is to design the layout of your center. In this guide, you’ll learn about daycare and preschool floor plan ideas you should use based on your program’s specific needs. We’ll also share helpful resources to help make the process of creating a floor plan as easy and cost-effective as possible.

The first step to providing high-quality childcare services is to create a daycare environment where your students, staff, and families can thrive. 

Before deciding on the floor plan you want to use for your daycare business, carefully consider your program’s needs in the following areas:

Once you have a clear understanding of your center’s space requirements, you’re ready to start designing a floor plan that will best suit your needs and support the goals you have for your childcare business. 

If you’re designing a learning space for children in the preschool age range, you should consider many of the same needs listed above. However, you may also want to think about additional developmentally-appropriate details for your space, such as:

If your program follows a specific teaching pedagogy or learning philosophy, you’ll also want to make sure you design your space accordingly.

The best layout for your daycare business will vary depending on your program’s specific requirements, such as how many children your center will serve or how many classrooms you’ll need. Here are some ideas for daycare floor plans categorized by program size. 

Source: Kaplan Early Learning Company

This childcare center floor plan is ideal for an infants program and includes designated spaces for diaper changing, sleeping, and various activities. 

Source: Pinterest

This childcare center layout is suitable for programs with 8 children or less. The design includes space for active play, a discovery area, and sleeping cots. 

Source: Wilkins Builders

This childcare center floor plan accommodates around 30 children. The design features distinct classrooms for different age groups and an ADA-accessible bathroom.

Source: Andrea’s Portfolio

This childcare center layout is ideal for 20-25 children. The design includes designated storage areas for toys and books and spaces for group time, guided reading, and dramatic play. 

Source: Silver Point Development

This childcare center floor plan is suitable for up to about 90 children. It features separate classrooms for different age groups, a staff lounge, and multiple storage areas.

Source: Manufactured Homes

This building plan features 5 classrooms and separate office space for staff and administrators. 

The best layout for your preschool classroom will depend on your teaching goals and the learning environment you want to create for your children. Remember that you can also update your classroom design as your program needs change—even a simple refresh can make a big difference for your teachers, children, and families! Here are some sample layouts categorized by program size to inspire you. 

Source: Pinterest

This daycare floor plan accommodates up to 12 children. It includes space for activities such as dramatic play, art, and sand and water play. 

Source: The Inclusion Lab

In this daycare floor plan, shelving helps to divide the space into an entryway, play area, soft area, and eating area. 

Source: Montessori School Design

This Montessori environment is designed to encourage concentration, community, and collaborating with teachers and other children.

Source: Pinterest This preschool classroom design includes learning centers for art, listening, reading, computers, and more.

Source: Pinterest

This preschool center incorporates a Reggio Emilia approach and accommodates more than 50 children.

Source: Modulars USA 

This floor plan is ideal for serving multiple age groups and includes 6 classrooms. It also contains a spacious lobby and reception area that’s suitable for receiving multiple families at once. 

Once you’ve decided on a floor plan to follow for your childcare or preschool program, it’s time to start thinking about how to set up your room(s) and what furniture and other equipment you’ll need. The more daycare ideas you can gather for inspiration, the more creative you can get with your classroom design! 

In general, you’ll want to consider including the following elements in your room setup:

To ensure you’re meeting state guidelines, check in with your licensing agency to find out how many square feet of classroom space you’re required to have per child. As a general rule of thumb, you should always plan for your center to be larger than the minimum requirement to make room for hallways, storage areas, and other needs your program may have.

Research shows that it’s best to have 45-55 square feet of activity space for each child, and most experts agree that at least 50 square feet per child is best. Consider allotting even more additional space for infant and toddler classrooms to ensure adequate space for cribs and other pieces of large equipment. 

There are a handful of free online tools you can use to help you create a floor plan for your childcare center:

Please note that these tools might work best for in-home or smaller daycare programs. If you need to create building plans for larger facilities, you should consider hiring a draftsman or an architect. 

To learn more about how to effectively start a childcare or daycare business, check out these additional resources: 

At brightwheel , we are immensely grateful for everyone making an impact in early education. We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. Thank you for all that you do! 

Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center’s operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center—including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance—in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at  mybrightwheel.com