Are you a parent with a mountain of your kids’ toys all over the house? If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone in this challenge. It’s natural to want to give your children all the latest toys and gadgets, and every birthday or holiday only brings more.
As an interior designer, I’ve seen many homes where the toys have run amok. Not only does it look like a disaster area, but it’s also dangerous, since people tend to step on or trip over small pieces.
Our busy lives don’t leave much time for cleanup, and the task can seem futile when what took you an hour to put away is spilled out again in the blink of an eye. I know most parents feel overwhelmed and don’t wish to become “Nag Monsters,” so they put on a level of acceptance, or even selective blindness.
There are organizational solutions for this problem that help keep your kids as part of your living space without taking it over. To create this balance, you’ll need a few furniture pieces, some of which you may already own.
Dedicate a piece of cabinetry that can hide and hold clutter behind closed doors. It may be that a tall, two-door cabinet works best for you space, or perhaps a long, low cabinet placed under a window. Once you have a piece that works for your room, I invite you to add some baskets. These baskets will live inside the cabinet most of time and allow your kids access to the toys they want to pull out while leaving the rest neatly behind. For example, you may have a dedicated Lego basket that your child will pull out, play with and then put back. There may need to be a thinning of the toys they don’t play with much and some ground rules applied, like only 2 baskets out a time.
I also encourage my clients to leave space in TV wall units for games and smaller toys. If you have one or two spaces within this type of cabinetry, it too will help keep the toy mountain under control.
If you don’t already own appropriate furniture, it’s easy enough to find, and you can often get inexpensive or discounted pieces from places like Ikea. The furniture you choose for your kids’ toys should look like it belongs in the room with the rest of the adult furniture. If you buy a brightly colored piece of plastic, you’ll only add more visual chaos to your room.
I invite you to take a look at your house with fresh eyes, and if it looks like a daycare center, it may be time for a change. You can have a stylish home and happy children at the same time. It is my privilege to ensure that every member of my client’s family loves where they live, and I hope you will, too.
These are just a few design tips you can use to decorate your kids bedrooms, for more ideas check out older blogs on the topic like: Fun Decorating Tips for Kids Rooms, and Decorating Tips for Dorm rooms. Expert help is only a phone call away if you would like me to just take care of it all for you. Whether it’s your kid’s rooms, your master bedroom, or any room in your home, I would be happy to ensure you love where you live. Contact us today.
Heather McManus
Artistry Interiors
February10, 2015
