I once heard a seasoned Designer talk about how, in the 80's and 90's, it was common to wait until after your children were grown up and out of the house to make any updates to it. That best practice was to live what you have, let it take all the wear and tear it could possibly withstand, and then, when you were an empty nester, sweep through the house updating everything to new. Sitting and thinking about this, it makes sense on the surface because, as we all know, kids are messy creatures that put our space to the test and have a particular talent for testing the durability of all things, from flooring to furniture to the dinner plate that just fell on the floor. So why, then, would we invest time and money into our homes, knowing they'll get steamrolled by our kiddos? Especially when there are so many other things tugging at us.
image via Red Land Cotton
As a family-first design studio, naturally, my instinct is to say that this doesn't have to be the only approach to how we evolve our homes. There is a reason to make your home look and feel how you want it now: not to wait but to go for it while the desire exists.
There are a couple of macro things that have shifted since the time that this old "wear-it-down" approach to our homes was the norm. The most obvious being the Pandemic, and that all the quarantining, working from home, schooling from home, and being in our homes full time showed us that we want to enjoy our homes now, no wait! It was no longer acceptable to overlook the things that weren't working for us before or stopped working during this phase of time. Even now, many of our work routines have changed to hybrid or remote, and we have more of an attachment to our homes that reminds us that this needs to be a place that works for us.
Image 1 via Breanna Weston. Image 2 via Country Living. Image 3 via Pinterest
Within the home industry, the ability to get kid-friendly materials in all price ranges has also allowed us to bring design into our homes, allowing these furnishings and kids to not only coexist but also to have design make our homes better by working for us. It's in the ethos of family-first design that the goal of our homes should be to work for us by making our daily lives easier, simplifying our routines, and minimizing the upkeep. Thankfully we have an abundance of products that do just that, which include things like washable wall paint in all sheens, performance fabrics, machine washable rugs, zipper cushions and pillow covers, endless storage and organization options, engineered hardwood, and that's just the start. Thanks to all the new developments in these products, you can make your home as beautiful as a Pinterest photo and, at the same time, totally kid and pet-friendly.
Image via Izzy + Co
Speaking of Pinterest, while social media often gets a bad rap (sometimes deservedly so), it also has exposed us to so many things we can do to our homes while the kids are in them. There is no shortage of ideas for home improvement and design. Want options for top paint colors? You've got it! Want to DIY box molding or add shiplap to your walls? There's a YouTube for that! Do you simply need inspiration for a starting point in your new home? Just a scroll through Instagram away! And while it can be overwhelming and decision fatigue is real, social media has brought us accessible ideas that allow us to let our homes grow and change alongside our kids. Even within the Interior Design Industry, a couple of decades ago, most of the industry was geared towards the high-end luxury consumer, delivering beautiful but also precious design. Today, you can certainly still find that, but there are even more options for Interior Design help at all different service levels and price ranges. So you don't have to save up and wait to get your home the way you picture it in your head. You can get help and start right now.
When you add up how the use of our homes has shifted, the variation of home goods available to us and the increased access to knowledge, plus help from a professional if you need it, the ability for kids and design to coexist has never been more present or more accessible.
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