Ten Tips for Family Friendly Design #7: Nic Nac-ery

In post #6, I talked a lot about Thing 1 and Thing 2’s “stuff”. The propensity to collect Stuff must be genetic. I like having stuff as well. More specifically, I love accessories for the home. My husband calls it my “nic-nac-ery”. This term came to be after I went on a consignment store and Goodwill binge. Every day I would have a new find. At first, I was so excited to tell him about the great find I got for only $2, $5, or $20 dollars (maybe more, but always below market value;) He didn’t really pay attention to it in the beginning. He would comment how nice that table looked in the entryway or wall-hanging I got for the office. Then he started looking at our bank account. All of those bargains were starting to add up. Of course I got defensive. Even if he was right, I had to validate the reasoning for way that new collection of vases for the bathroom were necessary.

Even if everything fit perfectly and worked out exactly as I had visualized in a space (I give myself about a 91%), I never stopped to ask myself if it was needed “right now”. About 85% of the time it was not. I have the mindset that if it is a great find, and a great value, then snap it up right then. My husband on the other hand may do a little more cost-benefit analysis than I would. Now if something is really a unique find, the exact thing that you needed for a particular purpose, or an outrageously low price for the value of the item, then whip out the checkbook. But, if it is something that you buy just because it was on sale,even if you didn’t need it, you are not gaining anything.

You may ask yourself, “Why is this person writing about decorating and telling me not to buy anything?” That is not the case. Again, this blog is not about decorating alone, it is about decorating in the context of your life. In decorating, you may not always be able to afford what you “want”, but you should prioritize for things that will improve you and your family’s life in some way. For example, you find some intricately carved, solid wood book ends that would go perfectly on your bookshelf. You have been complaining how you are tired of the books on the shelf always falling over. This find will satisfy your need. On the other hand, if you are looking at a beautiful jewelry box, but have no where to put it on your already full dresser, you may need to skip it. The aim is to dress your home to fit your life, and that includes how you choose to accessorize your home. Just think, passing on a few “nic-nacs” every now and then could leave you with a bigger budget for that custom made sectional you were dreaming of.

Enough pontificating, let’s continue our series…

7) Do accessorize out of children’s reach.

The danger zone for young children is anything withing about 45 inches of the floor, so make sure that your tchotchkes under that invisible line are safe and realitively sturdy.- a piece of driftwood, a grouping of seashells collected at the beach, moss-covered balls in a pewter bowl, chunky wooden candlesticks, iron picture frames with the glass removed, metal vases. Safeguard that heirloom vase, on the other hand, by placing it on a floating display ledge mounted high on the wall, atop a cabinet or armoire, or behind doors in a curio cabinet.

Ten Tips for Family-Friendly Design #5 Plan for the Worst

I apologize for the delay…it’s been a couple of days since my last post on this series. Number 5 will be broken into two parts: 5a-Walls and Floors 5b-Fabrics, Rugs, and Windows.

I live in a house of males…enough said. My two year old twins seem to get extra creative with how they manage to damage or break things. I will call them by their code names, Chunk and Con Man. They seem to have some type of super power sense that knows when a door is left open or a cabinet unlocked. If you leave them unattended for two seconds, they will find a way to destroy something. There was one morning when we were leaving for school that I had to run back up stairs-quickly-to get a bag. When I returned exactly 4.5 seconds later, they were still standing in the same spot I left them in. “What big boys! You did a good job waiting for Mommy!”I exclaimed. I felt like the Miracle Worker. I thought we may have turned a corner and that they would actually start following directions. As I looked down at their beaming faces, I noticed that Chunk was missing a shoe. I looked around and did not see the rogue sole. I looked all around and could not find that damn shoe! Of course, we were already running late. So I had to hall them both back up the stairs to change Chunk’s shoe_ (notice the missing S). Chunk and Con Man strike again!

The point of this story…and there is a point…is that with kids you should always plan for the worst. Think of all the baby proofing that you had to do. Well, you can kid proof your decor. Think of the crayons on the wall, the spilled juice on the carpet, the vomit on a couch. You will probably encounter a million more things that will cause damage to your furniture, walls, floors, etc. Again, this does not mean you have to strip your home completely and replicate the dining hall of a prison. You just need to plan for the worst and make selections that can withstand the abuse.

5) Do choose indestructible materials and finishes

Walls

There is no getting around it: Walls take a beating with young ones around. Cleats are casually tossed against white baseboards. Bedroom doors become backboards for basketball practice. A fresh expanse of dry wall morphs into a blank canvas for that new set of crayons. Wipeable paint is a must! You can’t go wrong with eggshell, satin, or semigloss, which will clean with a damp sponge. If you prefer the rich look of a matte finish, try one of the new washable flat paints. You can even dedicate a wall to your budding artist and paint it with chalkboard or whiteboard paint. You can also mix a magnetic additive into the paint you’re using in the kitchen or the hall to create a handy display space for children’s art. Areas that will get extra abuse, like high traffic hallways, skip the flat paint altogether and install a beadboard and paint it semigloss.

Floors

For entries, hallways and family rooms, look for flooring that cleans up with a damp mop. Tile, wood, laminate and linoleum work well. Rustic, pre-distressed hardwood floors with a matte, non-skid finish are very forgiving. Well-to-wall carpet provides padding for crawlers and unsteady walkers but is difficult to keep looking good during these early years. If you do go for wall to wall, keep it in a medium-to-dark tone, and be sure to request stain protective finish. Nylon and wool-nylon blends feel soft, resist stains and wear well.

Ten Tips for Family Friendly Design…#3 The Trampoline

Hopefully, the first two tips in this a series has put you in the mindset to start visualizing the look you want to achieve in your home. Keep in mind, your “dream room” and the one that you are creating with your family in mind may not be the same. I think that a legendary quote from Coco Chanel about fashion applies at this stage of preparation for your home…”Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory.”

So let’s say that you are working on your family room. What you see right now is definitely not what you want. Now start to visualize what you would like to see in the room. Now, go back to step one…does the new room you imagined fit with your actual life? For me, I had to think about my kids activities in the room I was redecorating. Though it would not be an ideal interior design choice, I had to figure out how to make a trampoline, a brightly colored trampoline at that work in the room I was creating.

Why couldn’t I just move it somewhere else? Of course, the ideal situation would have been been to move the darn thing to the kids bedroom or playroom. I think some parents that have children with sensory processing issues, Autism, or ADHD know why having the trampoline readily accessible in the living room was important. Instead of my sons either bouncing off the ottoman or spinning around and around because they are over stimulated, they can bounce on the trampoline for a bit. They can get the sensory input that they need, but in a safe way. I ultimately made the decision to get rid of a coffee table altogether and utilize an oversized ottoman-stain treated of course- that could be easily moved (and provide one less hard space to fall on). It was a good compromise for my family. I got an upgraded piece of furniture (form) and created a space for that colorful trampoline (function).

This leads us to number three on our tips list…

3) Do go for a no-fuss look

A clean-lined but casual and comfortable look is the way to go. Style strategies: Avoid couches and chairs with skirts (which attract pet hair, dust bunnies, and dirty shoe prints) in favor of exposed legs. Same goes for fabric covered tables (sooner or later your kids are going to give that fabric a tug and send everything crashing to the floor). Well-loved vintage items and contemporary pieces with a slightly weathered look survive kids more readily than precious antiques or pristine new items. And, a softly layered, slightly boho look melds well with the happy chaos of family life. Whatever decorating style you choose, low maintenance is a must, who has time to fluff pillows, comb fringe, primp curtains, dust around tiny trinkets and constantly clear clutter from room that look good only when they are practically empty?

Ten Tips for Family Friendly Design

As promised, today I will begin the series on family-friendly design tips. While this series may seem like a change in direction from “Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew”, it is actually a natural progression (at least for this blog). When the average person typically thinks of interior design/decorating, the image may either be of a glitzy New York penthouse, a grand study in a mansion, or even the plastic and doily theme of their grandmother’s house. Few people realize that the decor decisions we make consciously or subconsciously in our homes is actually a form of interior design. The wall hanging that caught your eye at Target. The vase that you could not live without at a garage sale. The hand-me down dining room table, these all speak to your personal style and aesthetic. Now throw in a set of twins, a couple of kids involved in sports, and another child with sensory issues. How will this effect your design decisions? However, you do not have to live in a sterile environment full of baby gates and plastic storage totes either. A room can be warm, inviting, and yes, stylish, while taking into consideration function and durability. This leads us to number one on our “10 Tips for Family-Friendly Design”, by Leah Hennen for HGTV.

1) Do consider how you really live.

A room that looks beautiful but doesn’t take into account the demands of everyday family life will quickly be destroyed or end up like Grandma’s no-go zone. Instead, incorporate a decorating style that will stand up to sibling food fights, vomiting babies, indoor hockey matches, incontinent pets and slobby spouses. Consider who you live with and decorate accordingly. Hint: This means checking the color of the stains on your sofa before choosing a hue for the new one.