Creating your dream home with children in mind
Making the transition from having your home immaculate, to the chaos that children will inevitably bring can be incredibly overwhelming, even more so when the little ones become more mobile! It can turn even the most calm parents into stressed out, OCD individuals, almost a shadow of their former selves. So it is vital that a specific area remains solely for the grown ups. (a safe zone, Zen area!)
However, this being said, children should not in my opinion be relegated to the ‘playroom’ exclusively. There has to be a good compromise.
PLAYROOMS
Having a playroom is a luxury, and not one to be taken for granted. Many homes just don’t have the space to create that extra room. So if you do have that space make the most of it!.
Make it a room that becomes their little dream zone. It can be all to tempting to fall into the trap of making it into a mini sitting room, where the TV is the main focal point, with just one corner allocated to toys and a huge sofa. There are actually a wealth of things you can do when creating a playroom.
First of all allow your children some scope to choose their favourite colours. Get them to write down, or tell you the things they would like to be included in their room. But most importantly have fun with it, remember its the journey not the destination! It will be nice for them to remember the process of creating their own little space where they can invite their friends and proudly show off their OWN room! Trust me you won’t regret this, as you watch their little faces light up!
You could even create a theme for the room with your children. For instance if you were to choose a circus theme, you could position a TV on a shelf in the corner of the room, and create a fabric canopy around it in the style of a circus tent.
Allow your mind and theirs to run free. It is a very personal process and one not to be rushed!
KITCHEN
Kitchens can be very dangerous places for the young, inquisitive minds of toddlers. They will invade your cupboards, and pots and pans will be dragged out unceremoniously! Obviously child safety locks on cupboard doors can easily fix this problem, and you may not actually mind them playing with them on the odd occasion, and even choose to hand them a couple of wooden spoons so that they can bang away happily pretending they are drums! however, it is incredibly important that all cupboard doors have locks on them, especially the ones that contain cleaning products, pet food, sharp objects e.g. utensils.
Fortunately, there are some amazing play kitchens on the market these days. You could even choose to scale down a few old units if you are handy with the DIY, and create their own mini kitchen, which your children will love playing in!
All children love to mimic their parents, and it could potentially create the perfect area for them to role play. Some kitchens for children even have mini fridges where you could store their snacks and juice’s. You could even combine a small seating area, where they can sit and eat using plastic plates and cups.
IKEA is a great place to shop for all things kitchen and child friendly. Having a small seating area for children is a great asset in the kitchen/dining room as it will avoid children having to climb up onto adult chairs as they can fall all too easily onto hard surfaces. Which leads us to discuss the types of flooring to choose in these areas.
Kitchen floorings obviously have to be easily washable, so most kitchens will be tiled, wooden or highly polished. Therefore it maybe an idea to invest in soft mats, that you can lay down when the children are around, to prevent unnecessary falls, bumps or scrapes. You could even include a cozy corner for children to read, or do their homework, whilst you prepare food in the kitchen and still be able to interact with them fully.
Although children love waterplay, it would be advisable to limit this to outside areas, and the bathroom to avoid accidents, such as slipping on wet surfaces.
BATHROOMS
Moving onto bathrooms, this is one area that children can have plenty of fun, usually at the end of the day. There are a wealth of bath toys on the market, including sensory toys that can make bath times exciting and relaxing all at the same time.
When your children are young, they will obviously spend more time in the bath tub than a shower, but it is also handy to have a shower available, as it is quite rare these day for teenagers to choose a bath over a shower. Bluetooth speakers are currently a very popular choice in both these areas, and by choosing the right music, and correct lighting it can take the word relaxing to a whole new level!
HALLWAYS AND LANDINGS
Although these are not spaces that you would spend much time in. These areas can be softened visually by choosing soft lighting, and warm colours on your walls. This will lead seamlessly into their cozy bedrooms where they can unwind further, by reading bed time stories and again by incorporating relaxing music, bed times will become a very pleasant part of the day as you count down the last few hours before you can have that much needed adult time to chill.
