A Stylish Home With Kids? Here's How
There's no need to wait until the kids have moved out to create your dream home. These 13 ideas can help you enjoy both
Ask a cross-section of parents if it’s possible to have a picture-perfect home and children too, and your question might be answered with snorts of laughter. Impossible, many will claim after they’ve collected themselves. Improbable, say others. But in the wake of hilarity there are always a few stalwart souls who have discovered it is entirely possible.
So if your vision of having that dream family home has been dashed to shreds by toy-strewn surfaces and stained sofas, take courage: there is hope yet. It may not be easy and it might require some mental shifts and practical readjustments, though if you don’t want to given up your beautiful home or your children, read on.
So if your vision of having that dream family home has been dashed to shreds by toy-strewn surfaces and stained sofas, take courage: there is hope yet. It may not be easy and it might require some mental shifts and practical readjustments, though if you don’t want to given up your beautiful home or your children, read on.
2. Distinguish between inspiration and aspiration
Before we get into the nitty gritty, ask yourself why you want a picture-perfect home. Is it to impress your in-laws or neighbours? Does mess and clutter drive you bonkers? Or is it simply because you love poring over professional photos of immaculate homes and aspire to that benchmark?
If it’s the latter, remember that most of the images you see in magazines and online are professionally styled and photographed, usually over the course of several hours until that perfect shot is taken, which is then often enhanced in post-production. Being inspired by homes in the media is great, but aspiring to replicate that professional standard is quite a different thing.
Tip: Remember, even picture-perfect homes in magazines are often messy when they’re not being photographed.
Before we get into the nitty gritty, ask yourself why you want a picture-perfect home. Is it to impress your in-laws or neighbours? Does mess and clutter drive you bonkers? Or is it simply because you love poring over professional photos of immaculate homes and aspire to that benchmark?
If it’s the latter, remember that most of the images you see in magazines and online are professionally styled and photographed, usually over the course of several hours until that perfect shot is taken, which is then often enhanced in post-production. Being inspired by homes in the media is great, but aspiring to replicate that professional standard is quite a different thing.
Tip: Remember, even picture-perfect homes in magazines are often messy when they’re not being photographed.
3. Define adults’, kids’ and shared zones
Most homes are already ‘zoned’. On a large scale, this is done in the rather obvious form of rooms: your bedroom is an adults’ zone, kids’ rooms are clearly the zone of a younger generation and living areas, the kitchen and bathroom are normally shared zones.
Defining these different domains as kids’, adults’ and shared spaces and laying down the law for each room is usually the first step to bringing some order to the chaos. Are toys and children’s equipment welcome in adults’ zones or just kids’ and shared zones? Are you happy with your living room being a toy haven by day as long as they’re packed up at night?
Every family is different and you are the only one who knows what will and won’t work, so you be the judge with deciding what belongs where.
Take Houzz’s Poll: Can You Have Your Perfect Home and Children Too?
Most homes are already ‘zoned’. On a large scale, this is done in the rather obvious form of rooms: your bedroom is an adults’ zone, kids’ rooms are clearly the zone of a younger generation and living areas, the kitchen and bathroom are normally shared zones.
Defining these different domains as kids’, adults’ and shared spaces and laying down the law for each room is usually the first step to bringing some order to the chaos. Are toys and children’s equipment welcome in adults’ zones or just kids’ and shared zones? Are you happy with your living room being a toy haven by day as long as they’re packed up at night?
Every family is different and you are the only one who knows what will and won’t work, so you be the judge with deciding what belongs where.
Take Houzz’s Poll: Can You Have Your Perfect Home and Children Too?
4. Think in levels
Similar to zones, your interior can be split into different levels. Remember when your children were babies and they took over the floor, while everything upwards of table-height remained untouched?
Some parents swear by thinking in levels – the adults get to decorate the mantle piece with their crystal candle holders and the kids get to ‘decorate’ lower surfaces with their toy trains and railway tracks.
Tip: Worried about what happens when your little ones are big enough to reach the mantlepiece? With luck, they’ll know to handle with care when they’re that tall.
Similar to zones, your interior can be split into different levels. Remember when your children were babies and they took over the floor, while everything upwards of table-height remained untouched?
Some parents swear by thinking in levels – the adults get to decorate the mantle piece with their crystal candle holders and the kids get to ‘decorate’ lower surfaces with their toy trains and railway tracks.
Tip: Worried about what happens when your little ones are big enough to reach the mantlepiece? With luck, they’ll know to handle with care when they’re that tall.
5. Keep food in the kitchen and dining areas
I enjoy savouring a sliver or seven of après-dinner chocolate on the sofa as much as the next mortal, though if you want to keep said sofa free of stains, the best way is to avoid food travelling beyond the kitchen or dining areas – for adults and children alike.
This one can be a tough rule to introduce and enforce, but if you’re serious about minimising mess and marks, it’s worth persevering until it becomes habitual. And like any habit, at that blessed point, it will (hopefully) become easy.
I enjoy savouring a sliver or seven of après-dinner chocolate on the sofa as much as the next mortal, though if you want to keep said sofa free of stains, the best way is to avoid food travelling beyond the kitchen or dining areas – for adults and children alike.
This one can be a tough rule to introduce and enforce, but if you’re serious about minimising mess and marks, it’s worth persevering until it becomes habitual. And like any habit, at that blessed point, it will (hopefully) become easy.
6. Invest in attractive storage solutions
If the three rules of real estate are location, location, location, the three rules of real estate with children would be storage, storage, storage. Just like us, kids have their own trinkets that deserve a special place which, if you ask most parents, is preferably not the living room floor.
So to avoid impaling your foot on a rogue Lego creation, equip the young ’uns with an army of baskets or toy storage containers that are big enough to hold their prized possessions and attractive enough to appease parents’ discerning tastes.
7 Creative Ways to Store Toys in Your Home
If the three rules of real estate are location, location, location, the three rules of real estate with children would be storage, storage, storage. Just like us, kids have their own trinkets that deserve a special place which, if you ask most parents, is preferably not the living room floor.
So to avoid impaling your foot on a rogue Lego creation, equip the young ’uns with an army of baskets or toy storage containers that are big enough to hold their prized possessions and attractive enough to appease parents’ discerning tastes.
7 Creative Ways to Store Toys in Your Home
7. Introduce smart design details
We can’t promise that installing a pretty row of coat hooks by the front entrance will consistently jolt your teenager into remembering to neatly hang up his or her jacket instead of flinging it on the floor, though a well-placed design detail like this can certainly help.
The next time your home is overcome with mess, take stock of the offending objects to see if there’s a simple solution. Sometimes moving the laundry hamper into the bathroom can up the odds of soiled clothes actually landing in it before the kids take a bath. Or if your interior is being overtaken by piles of school bags and books perhaps some dedicated shelves could save them from the fate of crash-landing on the floor.
Entrance Extra: 7 Ways to Keep Your Small Hallway Clutter-Free
We can’t promise that installing a pretty row of coat hooks by the front entrance will consistently jolt your teenager into remembering to neatly hang up his or her jacket instead of flinging it on the floor, though a well-placed design detail like this can certainly help.
The next time your home is overcome with mess, take stock of the offending objects to see if there’s a simple solution. Sometimes moving the laundry hamper into the bathroom can up the odds of soiled clothes actually landing in it before the kids take a bath. Or if your interior is being overtaken by piles of school bags and books perhaps some dedicated shelves could save them from the fate of crash-landing on the floor.
Entrance Extra: 7 Ways to Keep Your Small Hallway Clutter-Free
8. Celebrate kids’ creativity with adult sophistication
Do you prefer the art that adorns your walls to hail from a gallery instead of a preschool? If your little artists are still exploring their, ah, ‘abstract’ stage and you want to celebrate their creativity without despoiling your magazine-worthy home, sometimes all you need to do is change the medium they’re working with.
Paintings on torn or creased paper is rarely a good look regardless of the artist, though give a kid a canvas instead and you might be genuinely thrilled with the results. Most department stores sell packs of stretched canvases for a few dollars and you can pick up a pad of thick, lush watercolour paper from your local art store. There’s no rule that says you can’t frame a cherished finger painting, too.
Do you prefer the art that adorns your walls to hail from a gallery instead of a preschool? If your little artists are still exploring their, ah, ‘abstract’ stage and you want to celebrate their creativity without despoiling your magazine-worthy home, sometimes all you need to do is change the medium they’re working with.
Paintings on torn or creased paper is rarely a good look regardless of the artist, though give a kid a canvas instead and you might be genuinely thrilled with the results. Most department stores sell packs of stretched canvases for a few dollars and you can pick up a pad of thick, lush watercolour paper from your local art store. There’s no rule that says you can’t frame a cherished finger painting, too.
9. Rethink light colours and introduce patterns and texture
It’s not rocket science, but light colours are much less forgiving than dark. We’re not suggesting you paint your walls black (although this blackboard wall offers the perfect place for little ones to unleash their creativity), though maybe reconsider buying a white rug. If you simply must have light colours, try turning up the texture or introducing patterns, as this will help hide the inevitable stains or wear and tear.
Tip: Washable slip covers for chairs and sofas can be a great compromise if you have your heart set on white seating.
It’s not rocket science, but light colours are much less forgiving than dark. We’re not suggesting you paint your walls black (although this blackboard wall offers the perfect place for little ones to unleash their creativity), though maybe reconsider buying a white rug. If you simply must have light colours, try turning up the texture or introducing patterns, as this will help hide the inevitable stains or wear and tear.
Tip: Washable slip covers for chairs and sofas can be a great compromise if you have your heart set on white seating.
10. Opt for hard-wearing materials
If you have the luxury of selecting your own materials and finishes, choosing hard-wearing ones will keep your home looking nice for much longer. I, too, go weak at the knees for marble; though I’d hesitate before buying a white marble-topped dining table where little ones eat beetroot with gusto.
Scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, chip-resistant and wipeable surfaces are every parent’s best friend. And if you still can’t part with the dream of introducing a dash of marble, try incorporating it in an adults’ zone, such as in the form of marble bedside tables in the parental bedroom, instead of in shared or kids’ spaces.
Kids’ Bedroom Mess Doing Your Head In?
If you have the luxury of selecting your own materials and finishes, choosing hard-wearing ones will keep your home looking nice for much longer. I, too, go weak at the knees for marble; though I’d hesitate before buying a white marble-topped dining table where little ones eat beetroot with gusto.
Scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, chip-resistant and wipeable surfaces are every parent’s best friend. And if you still can’t part with the dream of introducing a dash of marble, try incorporating it in an adults’ zone, such as in the form of marble bedside tables in the parental bedroom, instead of in shared or kids’ spaces.
Kids’ Bedroom Mess Doing Your Head In?
11. Take it outside
Like it or lump it, our homes are our children’s homes too. They may not pay the rent or help out with the mortgage, but they still need somewhere to go wild, and the best place for that is usually outside. If you don’t have an outdoor area, this might prove tricky; but if you do, consider dedicating some of it to those messy activities for the sake of your interior.
Little painters might enjoy an art station on the balcony, budding green thumbs will appreciate having their own plot or planter pots in the garden, and mini sports stars are always better honing their ball skills outdoors than in.
Transform Your Backyard Into a Kids’ Adventure Zone
Like it or lump it, our homes are our children’s homes too. They may not pay the rent or help out with the mortgage, but they still need somewhere to go wild, and the best place for that is usually outside. If you don’t have an outdoor area, this might prove tricky; but if you do, consider dedicating some of it to those messy activities for the sake of your interior.
Little painters might enjoy an art station on the balcony, budding green thumbs will appreciate having their own plot or planter pots in the garden, and mini sports stars are always better honing their ball skills outdoors than in.
Transform Your Backyard Into a Kids’ Adventure Zone
12. Enlist your little helpers
Call it bribery, call it incentivising, or call it some other fancy word coined by child psychologists, but rewarding children for cleaning up is a trick as old as the hills. Many creatively minded (and we’re guessing virtuously patient) parents even make a game of it.
A five-year old might actually enjoy wiping dusty skirting boards with a damp cloth for a short while, especially if there’s the promise of a coin in a piggy bank. And sitting on the sofa with the lights off while you shine a torch at the toys your little ones need to pack away (preferably with wine in hand) might, with some luck, be appealing enough for children to pack up after themselves at the end of the day.
Call it bribery, call it incentivising, or call it some other fancy word coined by child psychologists, but rewarding children for cleaning up is a trick as old as the hills. Many creatively minded (and we’re guessing virtuously patient) parents even make a game of it.
A five-year old might actually enjoy wiping dusty skirting boards with a damp cloth for a short while, especially if there’s the promise of a coin in a piggy bank. And sitting on the sofa with the lights off while you shine a torch at the toys your little ones need to pack away (preferably with wine in hand) might, with some luck, be appealing enough for children to pack up after themselves at the end of the day.
13. Accept the inevitable
As much as it pains most of the world’s designers, interior enthusiasts and perfectionists to admit, some compromises around the home need to be made by both adults and offspring for different generations to live harmoniously under the one roof.
Resisting the toys and clutter that go hand-in-hand with raising a family won’t make your home any neater, but it will prolong the struggle against the inevitable. On days of dire destruction, it helps to remember that it won’t be like this forever. In just a few short years or decades we might lament our empty nests.
Your turn
Have you found a way to have a perfect home and children too? Spill your secrets in the Comments below, save your favourite images and share this story with other parents who are in a tug-of-war against toys and equipment.
More
8 Reasons My House Will Never Be Featured on Houzz
As much as it pains most of the world’s designers, interior enthusiasts and perfectionists to admit, some compromises around the home need to be made by both adults and offspring for different generations to live harmoniously under the one roof.
Resisting the toys and clutter that go hand-in-hand with raising a family won’t make your home any neater, but it will prolong the struggle against the inevitable. On days of dire destruction, it helps to remember that it won’t be like this forever. In just a few short years or decades we might lament our empty nests.
Your turn
Have you found a way to have a perfect home and children too? Spill your secrets in the Comments below, save your favourite images and share this story with other parents who are in a tug-of-war against toys and equipment.
More
8 Reasons My House Will Never Be Featured on Houzz
First up, remember that a perfect family home is not just about appearances. It’s also about creating a retreat where kids feel comfortable and secure at home, where they can be themselves, learn, play and have fun.
Most design aficionados shed a silent tear when they admit this, but a home is not a showpiece (although that would look nice, wouldn’t it?). It’s a lived-in space, so it helps to accept that a certain amount of mess and clutter is inevitable wherever lives unfold.
Our homes deserve some credit for being useful as well as visually pleasing. So if your children have happy memories of doing handstands against the wall despite the marks left by grubby feet, your home is still fulfilling an important purpose, even if it’s not an aesthetic one.
Find an interior designer or decorator near you on Houzz to create a family-friendly home