Managing Your Home With A Young Family

Mummy says…While there is no doubt that children bring a sense of wonder into our lives, this wonder is not without its price! If you’re an interior design fanatic, then you may find your choices being restricted when it comes to what furniture you can have in your home. I have some fab tips for managing your home with a young family.

There is a way to have all the choices you could possibly want if you just make a few child-friendly adjustments. Here are some suggestions to show that you can continue living in style, and the children can enjoy it as well.

1. Felt and Velcro

What do you need the felt and velcro for? It’s to cover any sharp corners on furniture, of course!

As part of the minimalist trend that has been in fashion for a few years now, many pieces of furniture have a tendency to have very sharp edges. From glass dining tables to kitchen chairs, it would be awful if your child was playing and accidentally collided with one of them. So for many parents, that may mean they just go without and choose pieces that don’t have such straight lines and sharp corners.

You can get over this if you’re willing to do a little amending to anything that you buy. Use velcro tabs over the corners themselves, then apply a layer of felt over the top. It should hold in place but if you want an extra layer of cushioning – often necessary if you have particularly young children – then use foam over the corner itself.

This method will protect your children from any unwanted knocks, and it’s also fairly easily removed if you have guests over.

2. Buy Washable Upholstery

So you decide to invest in a gorgeous, cutting edge sofa and blackcurrant juice is spilled on it -aarrgghhh! It’s disheartening, but you surrender to the inevitability and opt for a variety of rugs and throws to try and hide the stains.

While it won’t remove the problem entirely, opting for washable upholstery will make a huge difference to what you can have in terms of furniture. Ideally, you want sofa cushions, chair seats, rugs, etc, to be able to be fully removed. That way, you can throw them into the washing machine and they’ll come out looking as good as new.

Some designs don’t include options where the cover can detach, however. In those cases, look for fabric technology that can handle water cleaning – a steam cleaner is usually the best thing for the job.

3. Use shelving

Interior decor is all about the finishing touches. It’s about the photo frames, the lanterns, the , all the little decorative pieces that can really bring a room together. While it’s possible to have a room look good without these things, they do add your personal touch to a room.

If you have a young family, pretty trinkets are just asking for trouble. They risk getting knocked off, and are magnets for young and inquisitive minds. 

You can use shelves to display items rather than on furniture. Keep the shelves as high as you can, out of reach of little hands.

There’s no doubt that it can be a tricky job when it comes to trying to have a young family and a stylish, home as well. By using some of the ideas above however, you should be able to be a step closer to having a home that works perfectly for your family.

Do you have any tips to add?