It’s easy to take it for granted while growing up, but creating a loving, cosy family home is a huge undertaking. Lots of idealistic young parents dream of owning their own home and making it a house of light, love, and fun – but creating that space takes a lot of creativity and effort.
Play Space
One of the hardest things about adapting a space from two adults to include a child is finding storage! It’s hard to imagine beforehand how much stuff they accumulate, so having designated spaces for things is a lifesaver. A spare room, like a front room can be used to great advantage and turned into a playroom that grows with your kids – starting out as a baby-changing station with a toybox to eventually creating a shared space for video games. The advantage of making a play room is that you can still supervise without encroaching on your kids’ privacy, something they’ll value during their teen years.
Family Rooms
Of course, in communal spaces such as the kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room or office, it’s important to work to meet everybody’s needs. From a safety perspective, this means keeping adult stuff out of a child’s reach. Still, it’s easy to make features that allow them to get involved and make every room a family room – like a step to reach the kitchen sink, storage spaces, and using photographs and drawings as decor.
Children’s Bedrooms
Recently I wrote some tips for creating shared rooms for your kids, but in general your kid’s bedroom will be the area of the house where they get to make decisions, often for the first time. While you’ll make the bigger decisions about furniture and storage, make sure they are involved in some of the smaller decisions. It’s no use buying a bed your child finds uncomfortable, and it’s a good idea to let them also choose their own bedding and some of the pictures and photos for the walls. This way they have a space that’s their own and where they can feel safe and free.
Fun Backyards
One of the best things about a suburban or country house is having a gorgeous back garden. It has the potential to make so many great memories, so use it wisely. For playtime, a basketball hoop provides endless hours of fun, while a bigger space might involve buying and installing a play frame or swings. You can also get your kids involved in gardening with you, with easy plants like sunflowers perfect for budding green fingers, or find out more about how to attract more birds into the garden for nature lovers.
photo credit: Ikea
20 Comments
A great yard is everything for kids. I think it’s one of the most important things you can have for your kids.
Love the kids bedroom…our two girls have bunk beds and share a room. One is neat and tidy..the other not so much. They picked their own bedding and have decorated their rooms the way they want it but I totally feel sometimes I need to get a little more storage ideas going on for them.
The bookshelf looks like it just might work!
Love these tips. I always had to share a room with my sisters, but it was our little haven. I still remember when we got to pick the color we were going to use when repainting it! So fun. – Katy
I love that blackboard wall. I still need to do that with their playroom.
I think this is amazing. We bought our house four years ago, and in some ways, we’re only now making small dreams come true. We have four acres so anything seems possible. We just got our finished basement carpeted and turned into a lovely playroom! And now I want a bathroom with jacuzzi tub!
I totally agree with letting your kids help with putting together a room. I do that with my kids and they love being involved and it really makes it fun for all of us. Plus they love the result!
I love the idea of a blackboard wall. We have a decent size yard and my son was always outside playing when he was younger.
We are trying to take into account everyone’s likes as we look for a new house. I love the play space you have featured!
I love this post and I especially love the Children’s Bedroom and how bright and inviting it is for the Children
I agree, children need space to play and be kids in a home!