Building a beautiful home is a priority for all homeowners. However, having children poses several challenges that did not exist before parenthood. Frankly, if you want to design attractive living spaces that retain their appeal for years to come, a conscious effort will be required.
Thankfully, the seemingly small changes can often bring the biggest change. Here are seven simple steps that can be implemented to master the process.
#1. Create Distractions
There is no escaping the fact that kids want to play. However, if you have other items to keep them occupied, the threat of them playing with your precious ornaments or plants is greatly reduced. Of course, it’s not a bad idea to use shelving that’s out of reach. Likewise, wall-mounted items can’t be pulled over, which makes them safer than freestanding.
Crucially, though, the home should offer fun activities. Turning the guest room into a space for art, music, and creative play is a particularly wise move. Also, gardens are a great resource for climbing frames, sporting activities, and fun activities. When the home is enjoyable, they won’t need to fill their time playing with items they shouldn’t touch.
While you don’t want them to become addicted to screens, there’s nothing wrong with a home cinema or gaming setup either.
#2. Install Door Locks
As a parent, you’ve probably installed CCTV and home security features to protect your family. While keeping intruders out of the property is vital, you must not forget to keep the kids out of certain spaces too. Teaching children about boundaries is great, but actually preventing unwanted access is the only way to put your mind at ease.
Stair gates can be used to prevent access to dangerous spaces like the staircase or the kitchen when you have young children. As they get a little older, you will want to install locks to the cupboards that hold medicines, bleaches, and hazardous items. If you work from home, adding a lock to the office can prevent damage to your work essentials too.
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Besides, it makes it easier to section off different rooms.
Pixabay CC0 License A simple solution
#3. Find The Right Flooring
When you walk into a room, a few things stand out to set the tone. Wall colours, lighting, and flooring choices are three of the most significant. Of those items, the flooring holds a huge influence over the potential risk of accidents. So, you need to pick a material that treads the right balance between aesthetic appeal, home comfort, safety, and durability.
While carpets may seem a great option, you’ll need to be careful of the colour and fabric choices. After all, spillages could completely ruin the room, requiring a costly repair or replacement. These DIY flooring choices are affordable, easy to clean, and set to retain their appeal for years. However, you may want to consider the anti-slip properties.
Many modern flooring choices allow for individual slats to be replaced if damage does occur. This can save a lot of time and money in the long run.
#4. Choose Easy Maintenance Materials
Thinking carefully about your flooring choices is one thing. Still, the best interior designs extend this thought process to other items. It’s an old cliche, but when you buy bad, you buy twice. So it’s worth investing a little time in finding the right solutions for your property. Sadly, if you purchase easily damaged and high-maintenance items, it will only go one way.
Products used on a daily basis deserve a great deal of attention. A wipeable tablecloth is particularly useful when you have young kids who are messy eaters. Meanwhile, darker fabrics and furniture that won’t show up dirt and fingermarks can save you from additional cleaning duties. When combined with a minimalist design, you won’t go far wrong.
The use of advanced tech features like robotic vacuums and dishwashers will make life even easier. This allows you to avoid clutter and the problems it brings. For safety and aesthetics.
#5. Avoid Sharp Edges & Dangerous Furniture
Keeping up appearances is an important feature of designing a child-friendly home. Nevertheless, your family’s safety will come first. Toddlers and primary school kids are at just the right height to attract danger at virtually every turn. So, removing the dangers is top of the agenda. It starts with removing internal glass panel doors for traditional doors.
Foam covers are one solution, especially if you already have the furniture. However, they don’t look great. So, if you are looking for new furniture, it is far easier to look at upholstered ottoman coffee tables. Meanwhile, losing the TV unit in favour of a wall bracket can have a positive influence on the home environment. It also creates a very modern touch.
Removing fireplaces is another wise move. When moving into the garden, water features and fire pits may require your attention.
Pixabay CC0 License Fabric ottoman, rounded table
#6. Look For Patterns
A lot of home designers embrace big bold colours and plain designs. However, walls or furniture that carry this look will show any signs of damage or dirt in a very clear way. Therefore, it may be better to introduce patterns to your interior designs. It will go a long way to reducing the negative impacts that messy youngsters can bring.
The use of paisley patterns is a timeless trend. From wallpaper designs to cushions, the impact can add warmth and personality to the room. Food stains and other cosmetic damage often goes unnoticed too. Patterns can also be used as kitchen tiles, bathroom tiles, and nature-themed wallpaper for bedrooms and halls.
Besides, the patterned designs add excitement to the room, which is often loved by kids. When building a family home, the homely tones are a much-welcomed feature.
#7. Keep Items Stuck
As mentioned at the top of this post, keeping kids occupied will reduce the risk of cosmetic damage or health risks. However, you can’t expect them to stay away at all times or to keep an eye on them 24/7. You can still have ceramic ornaments, and plant pots. The key is to ensure that they cannot be easily knocked over or moved.
Again, keeping them in hard to reach places helps. For example, statues placed in alcoves are less accessible for youngsters. Meanwhile, sideboards and other items can be used to your advantage. If all else fails, clear museum gel works like a translucent glue that will hold items in place for many years to come. This removes any fear of accidents.
Crucially, it allows you to build the design and room layout that you actually want to achieve. As a parent, that is arguably the biggest interior design win of all.
This is a collaborative post.