How To Create An Elegant Style When You Have Kids
Having children doesn’t have to mean your home takes a back seat, in fact it is possible to balance a truly elegant home with the chaotic fun that kids bring. It’s all in the detail.
When they are newborns the kitchen and the bathroom tend to take most of the battering. Between the sterilising of bottles, the extra washing and bath time fun, you will see little impact on the other aspects of your home, other than the fact you may be too tired to keep up with the dusting, newborns create far less mess and drama than the dreaded toddler!
Fingerprints on walls, lego all over the floors and a merry trial of destruction behind them, you’ll be forgiven by your friends and family for having a home that shows the signs of little hands and growing minds. Looking at the homes of your childless friends or beautiful interiors in magazines can seem like a distant dream in your life. However there are ways of balancing it all without making your life a constant battle.
Firstly let’s look at your paint. Okay so going for a super expensive low sheen matt is not going to be a good idea. Your walls are going to take a battering of spills and messy fingers. If you head to your local hardware store you will find a selection of easy clean paints designed especially with you in mind! Even better, a lot of these brands do a colour match service so you can have a beautiful soft grey which wipes clean easily with a cloth. So your walls will completely hide the fact you have a little terror popping their signature all over the place.
Your furniture is another place that takes a battering. Buying a beautiful sofa may seem impossible when the risk of food squished between the cushions, vomit, wee and all kinds of other nasties are a regular occurrence. The best way around this is to buy leather. Spend a little extra on a piece you can be proud of like one of these beautiful Chesterfield sofas, leather is way more forgiving than fabric and can be prepared to protect it against water marks. With a little help from baby wipes you will be amazed how easy it is to keep clean. Talk about elegant style! If you want to make it special with a few designer cushions, these can be removed during the day and added when the kids are in bed.
Adding a little grown up lighting through candles almost seems a no no. The fear of your children mimicking mum and dad by lighting up one of your stunning pieces, or even you falling asleep with a candle going and burning the house down, means that a lot of families stay clear of this gorgeous form a lighting. However there are loads of battery powered candles on the market now, you can even purchase tea lights that gently flicker, without having to worry about any fire hazards.
Think outside the box and you will find a way to balance the two. Then show off your home and enjoy your guests wondering how you manage it all!
