If you’re not a person who has children just yet, then you likely have a show home house. A show home house is one that is immaculate, with ornaments at a height where a child could grab them. It’s a house where coasters are needed to avoid water rings on the coffee table and it’s a house with cream carpets and cream sofas in fabric rather than leather. It’s a home fit for luxury, but not a house fit for a child. Sticky fingers, chocolate smiles and paint splashes have no place in a home with cream and beige tones.
Image SourceWhen you go on to have children, you can quickly look around your home and see how it isn’t child friendly in the slightest. You can see the future of scrubbing the carpet – or replacing them, depending on the paint splash! You can see the future of wiping grubby finger marks off the sofas and you can see how replacing every floor in the home with laminate flooring is going to keep your home clean. Making your house family friendly doesn’t have to be a huge chore, though. Think of it as an adventure in redesign. You’ve moved from the chapter of luxury and uniformity, to one of love, cuddles and a ton of glitter. There are many ways that you can get your house child friendly, and here they are:
Sheep Animal Funny Soft Toy Chest Box
- Double Duty Furniture. Chairs with book space inside them. Toy boxes that double as mini settees for children. Dressers as changing tables. Each of these ideas are perfect for the home that needs more storage to accommodate the new baby, but has no space to do so. Combatting the clutter gets you the uniform look with the baby at the same time: win-win!
- Heavy Items Ahoy! Children have a habit of climbing, and if you have light, beautifully crafted furniture, you’re looking at a hazard waiting to happen. Switch these for heavier furniture items, ones that can withstand the rebellious toddler who wants to believe your bookcase is a pirate ship to climb. Toddlers make it a mission to defy the ‘no’ that you yell as they climb, so make life harder for them to do it!
- Stain Repellent. If you don’t want to see those beautiful fabric sofas become your child’s new face cloth, opt for stain repellent fabrics. Children are messy and sticky fingers get everywhere. Those beautiful linen curtains are the perfect height for drying paint-covered hands, too. Check out this list of fabrics you could use in the home instead and start making some changes.
Image SourceYou need to be forgiving about stains at home, and if you have the funds, hiring in a company to do a huge clean for you once a month will give you the chance to keep on top of those fingers marks and runny nose stains. Your house may not be a show home anymore, but you have a lot to show for your family!
