With any family, there are always several spinning plates to keep track of, but one area that is often overlooked is home design. It might be tempting to eschew the opinions of the kids and build your home’s design around your tastes and the perhaps tastes of your partner, but ultimately, your kids will be spending just as much time in the home as you will so it must reflect them too.
Here, we offer 5 top design tips for a family home for any family that’s unsure about how to progress with their home decor in a manner that keeps everyone happy.
- Starting with the living room, the first thing to ensure is that there is enough seating room for everyone in the family and perhaps some additional seating for guests. The style of the living room should be calling and cosy as it’s the room where you will be doing the vast majority of not only your socialising but your relaxing. Think plush and bouncy carpets, sofas that you sink into and lots of comfy cushions all framed by a colour palette that’s neutral and comforting and textures that lean heavily into floral patterns.
- The bedroom is one area where you are allowed to truly explore the polar opposites as your individual bedrooms are your personal spaces. In your bedroom, for example, feel free to lean into your more ornate impulses – go for the luxury double wardrobes and the chandelier light fittings and treat yourself to that feature wall. For the kid’s rooms, meanwhile, let them have an active input in the design and let their imaginations run wild! It’s their space after all.
- If you have the space for a separate playroom then we’d highly recommend it as it gives the kids an area to retreat to that is completely their own and doesn’t feel like a punishment when they’ve been ‘banished’ there. This room (or corner of another room if you don’t have the space) is where they are given free rein to be kids and make a mess. Segregating their messier tendencies to a separate area will prove a godsend – trust us.
- A house is not a home until it’s been given a few more personal family design flourishes. Without family photos, posters and the assorted toys and accruements that reflect our likes, loves and personalities, you might as well be living in a show home. So, without going overboard, ensure that each room of your home is given its own personal flavour – whether that’s photographs on the wall in the kitchen or posters of your kid’s favourite bands and TV shows on their bedroom walls.
- Finally, perhaps the most important tip we can offer is to stay on top of the clutter! Mess will happen in any family (particularly if you have pets) and that’s ok, but that mess will get progressively worse if you allow it to! And remember – ultimately, there is no perfect family home design, but there is a perfect design for you!
