How often have I heard, “I will think about living more beautifully once my children are a little more grown up.”
Teaching your children to respect the space they live in can go a long way in how your kids will treat their home and in the life of your furniture!I am a mother of six; adopted, blended and biological, and I know firsthand how damaging kids can be to a home. I have made it my passion, however, to find ways to live more beautifully and function as a family. Teaching your kids at an early age that their surroundings are important and are to be respected is an essential part of shaping their character.
There are many things that you can do to make your home aesthetically pleasing while making it kid – and family friendly.
Get your kids organized and enlist them to help in the design of a space they can “call their own”Designed with love by Kimberly Grigg for Knotting Hill Interiors
Design kid-friendly spaces
If you have the space, convert one room in your home into a playroom or TV room for your kids. This gives them a space of their own and allows them to express their personalities.
When decorating children’s rooms, be sure to enlist their help. Doing so roots them into helping take care of their spaces. label and organize bins and baskets for storage. Insist that your children learn to respect the spaces you have created by having them put their belongings away. Stressing the importance of everything having its own place will go a long way in teaching your child to respect his or her space.
Also, consider installing 16-inch carpet tiles in the playroom or TV room as well as other living spaces. Fully installed, it appears to be a total carpet. Individually, however, the tiles can be replaced as needed when damaged.
Love this kids playroom I found on Houzz.com where you can search for thousands of design ideas!Use durable upholstery
Upholstery fabrics come in many styles, shapes and degrees of durability. If you are living the family lifestyle, forgo the fancier, more delicate fabrics for your upholstery pieces. For sofas and chairs, consider heavyweight linens, chenille and boucle’s.
Using durable upholstery can still be beautiful as well as live with the wear and tear that children bring to your home as they grow up.I look for 50,000 runs when considering upholstery. This means that the upholstery can sustain 50,000 rubs before it starts to show wear and tear. Even then, the runs aren’t that visible.
You can also choose prints when selecting upholstery. This makes for a great disguise when spills adn stains occur. Prints and nubby, multi-patterned textiles are nice on bar stools. However, fun and funky pleathers are also great for this application.
So, no more excuses! The time to live beautifully is NOW! I will be sharing my “How to Live Beautifully” design idea advice all this week on the blog. My tips first appeared in The Sun News where I write a regular monthly column about southern design.
For help with your home or room design please contact us at Kimberly@
