Your Bedroom
First of all, is it ever really possible to turn your bedroom into your own sanctuary if you have children? A lot of parents start their kids’ lives by co-sleeping with them, which means that your bedroom may just have turned into a free for all, for your kids to wander in and out whenever they want to. But it’s important to make sure that you have a chill out zone away from the craziness of your family life. Even if you can’t stop your kids from coming in, make sure that they don’t leave any toys in there, and keep it tidy and clutter free at all times. A tidy space means a tidy mind, after all.
Your Kids’ Rooms
The most important thing to consider about your kids’ rooms is what kind of space do you want them to be? If you want their rooms to be mostly for sleeping and you have a separate playroom then why not go for a chill out vibe with pale blue walls and soft carpets? If you’d rather have a room that’s full of things that will make your kids think and play and create, then it’s a good idea to set up a room divider at night so they aren’t distracted when they’re trying to sleep.
Your Living Room
You need to ensure that your living room has plenty of comfortable seating like a big deep couch that you can all curl up on together. If you have teenagers, make sure they have plenty of space so you can tempt them out of the rooms and downstairs to have a family movie night in the winter. Your living room is the best place for you to display family photographs – make your mantelpiece a sort of timeline from babies to teens!
Your Bathroom
The bathroom that your kids use needs to be practical above all else – there’s no use in just having a shower cubicle if you need to bathe your toddler! Make sure that there’s a bathroom radiator for your kids to sling their towels in front of, instead of ending up in damp mildewy puddles on the floor, and make sure that you have a no running rule so your kids don’t end up slipping over in some water on the floor and hurting themselves. You should also ensure that you have plenty of storage for bath toys and extra towels (you’ll be thankful for the extra linens when stomach flu pays its yearly visit to your family).
Your Kitchen
A lot of parents want their kitchen to be a hub for their family life, so make sure that you have plenty of chairs around your table and that it’s somewhere warm and comfortable where your kids will want to come and do their homework and hang out with you as well as eating dinner. Install lighting that’s golden and warm instead of simply white strip overhead lighting, and put comfy cushions on the chairs. Although breakfast bars look great, they aren’t always practical when you have a family.
