Hitting the Balance Between a Kid Friendly and Stylish Home Design

When it comes to interior design, there is a lot to consider – this is almost always true, but when you add kids into the equation, the planning process becomes even more important. In the pursuit of the stylish interior design of your dreams, you’ll need to adapt your vision to accommodate the needs of durability, comfort and safety. 

While it might sound like you have to compromise on what you’d otherwise want, the right planning process will ensure that your home is both elegant and a great place for kids. 

Choosing the Right Furniture 

There are a number of areas in which you can focus on when it comes to function and form in interior design, however one of the easier and more impactful areas to focus on is in regard to furniture. 

You’ll want to ensure that your furniture avoids solid edges and any sharp corners. Rounded furniture, a couch with upholstered arms, cupboards that aren’t a hazard while open, and shelving units that are secure and solid are all examples of what to look for. 

In addition to safety, durability is crucial in withstanding the wear and tear that kids can cause. For example, when you’re choosing your couch, a leather option is easily wipeable and won’t absorb spills. Furthermore, choose furniture that is sturdy, and stick to darker colours if you are worried about stains. 

If you don’t know what area of furniture to start with, outdoor dining sets are a particularly easy part of deciding on kid friendly furniture – they often have durability at the forefront of their design, even in the most stylish options.

Focus on the Kitchen

As one of the most busy areas of the house (and one that is always difficult to keep clean), your kitchen needs to be ready for whatever you have to throw at it. 

Firstly, if you have any control over the layout of your kitchen, a pleasant and kid friendly design will ensure that you maximise space and reduce narrow entrances, and can keep more dangerous appliances away from the kids. The right open plan design is a great way to achieve these goals, and almost guarantees style in terms of today’s kitchen trends. 

Another important part of a good kitchen design is appropriate storage – high ceilings are particularly useful as they will allow you to maximise vertical storage space, and you’ll be able to keep dangerous items out of the reach of kids. A well designed storage plan will also allow you to allocate dedicated spaces for a conveniently placed bin and other items such as brooms and mops. Ultimately, keeping things packed away and ensuring the kitchen is decluttered will ensure that your home is always presented at its best.

What Makes a Well Designed Kids Room 

Moving on from the kitchen, an often overlooked part of home design is in regard to how a kids room functions, and how you can maximise its safety. 

Firstly, bunk beds are a great way to save space if you have kids sharing a room – with this being said, make sure that the choice you go with is solid, kid friendly and not too tall. Next, a safe kids room will ensure that any heavy furniture is anchored to a wall – whether this is in terms of drawers or shelving, children love to climb things and a significant safety concern is the risk of heavy furniture toppling over. Anchoring furniture to the wall in general is a great solution to a kid friendly and stylish interior design – it allows you to go with the furniture you like, rather than having to include kids furniture (that is often plastic or brightly coloured) throughout the house.

Finally, kids love night lights, and often can’t sleep without them – with this being said, you should make sure that any lamps or lights are kid friendly, easy to operate, can’t be toppled, and don’t expose children to electrical hazards. 

How to Maximise Style Without Compromise on Safety

Ultimately, a good approach to designing your home will be to focus on how you can make stylish design safe (rather than focusing first on furniture designed for children) and then deciding how to make this furniture work with your interior aesthetic. 

With this being said, the main aspects of design that will ensure safety, durability and elegance are to consider how you can maximise functional storage in your home, improve on the layout and flow of each room, and take safety precautions to avoid the dangers associated with less kid friendly furniture.