Combining great style with parenting is something that many mothers and fathers have been battling with for a long time. When it comes to your space at home, it can be difficult to find your style, when you also have to work out what's best for your kids. Here are some ideas on how you can make your living room the perfect child-friendly zone.
Find The Right MaterialsFirst things first: you need materials that will cover up a multitude of sins. If you have a carpet on the floor, it's time to add another rug. A pattern or stripes is a good idea - it's a lot easier to cover up child induced stains on materials if there's already a pattern or a variation in colours on there. When it comes to your couch, go for an extremely comfortable one like those at Buoyant Furniture. Fling a blanket or a sheet over the top of it, preferably one that's easy to throw in the washing machine if there are any accidents or spills on there. You might also consider a leather couch - there's nothing better than soft furnishings that wipe clean.
When you are a parent to small children, you probably spend a significant portion of your life feeling absolutely exhausted. That means that you need to ensure your living room is physically comfortable for you as well as your kids. It may not feel like it during the most hectic parts of the day, but at some point they'll go to sleep and you'll get some time to yourself or with your partner to chill out and watch TV. That means that you should invest in soft pillows for your couch, a coffee table that you can pull close so you can put bowls of chips and dip that you can easily reach on there, and that you should keep a soft blanket out of reach from your children during the day that you can curl up in during the evening.
If you don't have a separate space, it's a good idea to create a play area in your living room. When kids are little, some parents set up playpens so that they're confined to one small area. This can keep your kids safe as well as ensuring that their mess doesn't spread too far. If you'd rather not do that, a good idea to indicate their space is to set up a rug in one area of the room that's clearly designated as the kid zone, and put your offspring's toy boxes and the occasional larger toy like a play kitchen on there. Having a play area in your living room means that it won't spill out into the rest of the space, which you can use more easily if the toys are confined to one smaller area.
Finally, when parents bring their kids home they instantly start to child proof their lives, and this is true in your house almost nowhere more than in your living room. Chances are, your little ones will be running around causing havoc in there, so you need to be careful with your choice of furniture. Go for tables with curved edges, ditching anything made of glass, and putting away fragile ornaments for the near future. You could also consider using a soft ottoman instead of a coffee table.
Your home doesn't have to lack style just because you have kids - all you need to do is amend it a little and then you'll be set.
