Making your home child-friendly on a budget

Posted on Friday, June 8th, 2018

Exactly how you lay out and decorate your home can heavily depend on your current priorities in life – and, while you might be content with rudimentary furniture when young, you shouldn’t necessarily settle for it once you have children. After all, children can wreak havoc on fragile furniture…

However, having already spent big on clothing, toys and other items for your kids, you might have little money left over for revamping the house as well. Relax, as it doesn’t have to be too expensive…

Opt for low-maintenance decor

Buying furniture built to withstand abuse from your children does not have to be overly difficult or expensive. In fact, you might be able to tweak many pieces of furniture that you already have.

For example, if you currently have a table covered in fabric, you should probably remove that material before a child tugs it and sends everything on the table falling onto the floor. Meanwhile, keep weathered vintage items, as they can be more resilient than new pieces, says HGTV.

Choose window coverings that can be easily wiped

Windows with drapes coming right down to the floor are also hazardous; children could too easily trip over them or be tempted to tug on them.

Hence, it would be a good idea to swap those drapes for roman shades or wood blinds which you could wipe relatively simply if food accumulates on them. If those window coverings comprise natural reeds, like bamboo, you may not easily notice food smears on them in the first place.

Incorporate storage spaces into play areas

It can be tricky to encourage children to gather their toys after using them; however, you could make the task easier by building storage compartments into areas where your kids play.

You might be able to devise some rather clever ways of doing this. For example, if your child has a play kitchen, you could add some standing baskets to it. Those baskets can effectively display pretend food, as House Beautiful explains.

Convert small spaces just for your kids

Your home might include various awkward spaces for which you haven’t found a use. However, such spaces could be converted for children’s’ enjoyment.

For example, you could turn a space into a quiet reading spot, a home library of modest size, or simply a place where your children can safely hide and play.