Featured Image Source
Moms, we’re sorry to say, but you’ve been lied to. You can absolutely have a sophisticated, stylish home while your little ones are still in the house!
While there are certain concessions you may have to make — like no sharp corners — sticky fingers and tantrums shouldn’t keep you from creating the home of your dreams. Now, we aren’t promising Pinterest perfection, but you can design a space you’re proud of and feel great in. These tips will help you on your home’s journey from frumpy to fabulous.
1. Use Versatile Seating
Living and family room furniture can be so much more than stiff sofas and chairs. Kick the kids to the floor — ottomans, bean bag chairs, poufs and cute cushions make a great seating choice for any family member. These cozy options bring a sense of comfort and warmth to any room. Plus, any guests will appreciate the ample amount of seating to spread out in.
2. Paint It Black
White paint, trim and doors can be beautiful in your home. They bring an air of sophistication and give rooms a modern feel. However, you moms know it collects fingerprints and smudges way too easily. Doors, especially, get grubby the next day after scrubbing them. Do you continue to fight this battle or give in? Neither.
Switch up your color palette to a different neutral. Dark colors like charcoal or black won’t show dirt as easily and make a significant design impact. If you’re going to paint your doors a dark tone, keep your walls light or white so the space doesn’t feel too closed and small.
3. Use Neutral-Toned Kids’ Furniture
When your kids are little, they sometimes need smaller versions of furniture to accommodate their size — for example, a small rocking chair or a little table for art. Rather than getting items plastered with their favorite characters or in bold primary colors, choose soft neutrals or something within your design’s color palette. If you already have furniture, but it’s in the wrong color, you fix that easily with a few coats of paint. Warm browns, yellows and oranges can keep things feeling fun and cozy while still neutral and easy on the eyes.
4. Keep Things Minimal
One design style that’s incredibly popular at the moment, and very kid-friendly, is minimalism. It provides a nice, clean, modern look to your home. Also, you’ll have fewer things for your kids to get their hands on and much less to clean. To get a truly minimalist look, work with your family to reduce the number of possessions you own and the decor taking up space. If you add anything back in, opt for clean lines and a simple design.
5. Pick the Right Paint
A fresh coat of paint can liven up any space. Before you start slapping any color on the wall, decide on a basic color scheme for your home to keep things cohesive. Get a few samples from your local paint store and look at each option under multiple forms of lighting and times of the day. Once you know your favorites, get them in a kid-friendly finish — something easily wipeable like satin or eggshell.
6. Create an Art Display
Is your fridge currently cluttered with many of your kids’ works of art? Take back your kitchen by relocating the mass of papers. Set up a special spot to display kids’ artwork and incorporate it into the design of your home.
Creating a gallery wall or spreading a few frames through the house is a more intentional and inviting design choice than posting art on the fridge with a magnetic chip clip.
7. Keep Fragile Decor Up High
If you have a tendency towards breakable decor like glass or porcelain, you can still use those pieces in your home. Instead of layering these items on your coffee table, spread them on a mantle or high shelf. Then your space feels true to your design personality, but your precious pieces stay safe, and your kids don’t get hurt. Make sure you place any breakables or things you don’t want touched a couple of feet above their height since kids like to reach on their tippy toes.
Start Small
You’ve probably jotted down at least a few ideas of things you want to incorporate into your home, but curb your enthusiasm just a bit. You can absolutely have a kid-friendly but stylish home — just take it slow. This list is fairly extensive and could be costly if you try to do all this at once. New furniture, decor pieces and paint don’t come cheap.
Look over your budget and choose your favorite project within those limits. Enjoy that particular upgrade for a while and save up for the next. Before you know it, your home decor will be on point without emptying your bank account.
Do you have any tips for maintaining a kid-friendly yet stylish home? Share with us in the comments!
About Cora Gold
Cora Gold has a passion for living a happy, healthy life and sharing inspiration with other women and moms to do the same. Cora is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist, and she can be found on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.
Keep Scrolling To Read More Home And Lifestyle Articles:
