How to Create the Perfect Home for Your Family

Life as a parent can be hectic at the best of times, but if you are living in a house that doesn’t suit your needs, life can become pretty stressful. If your family has outgrown your current home, you will be familiar with the sound of the kids annoying each other as they don’t have their own space, not to mention a daily battle with a lack of storage resulting in cupboards stuffed to bursting with toys and games. 

There is no doubt that having a family home that suits the needs of your brood can make life a whole lot easier. Having the space to let your family grow can help to reduce the chaos of family life a little and make the home (slightly!) calmer. 

While many parents dream of having an endless space to call home, in reality, this often doesn’t seem possible. However, there are many ways that you can create a spacious family home; here are some ideas to get you started:

To Move, or Not to Move?

The most obvious solution for a lack of space is to move to a bigger home. The biggest influence on the decision to move is, of course, affordability. Before dismissing the idea of moving entirely, it is well worth looking for the best home loan options to suit your needs, as you may find that moving home is possible, after all.

If moving house isn’t feasible, don’t be disheartened, as there are plenty of other ways to make your home a workable space for your family. 

Extend and Improve

Getting an extension is a go-to solution for many families looking for more space. An extension cuts out the need to move home while still gaining extra square footage. While the extension is being built, you will need to prepare for the chaos level to be significantly ramped up in the short term, but the results should make the disruption more than worth it in the end.

If you aren’t ready for a major building project, then the addition of a conservatory will add to your living space, but with far less disruption when compared to an extension being built. Often, the most precious times spent with family are when everyone is all together having fun. Adding a conservatory gives you a flexible downstairs space to be used as a dining room, a playroom, or an extra living room. However you choose to use a conservatory, you will find that it provides a useful additional area that will receive plenty of use by all the family.

Storage Solutions

Your kids may be small, but you can guarantee that they have a lot of stuff. Clothes, toys, books, arts and crafts supplies, tech… the list goes on! While it is great that they have all these things, the issue comes from knowing where to store it all. If you can’t see the carpets in your kid’s bedrooms because of all the toys covering them, it is time to take action. There are many, many ways that you can save space in the kid’s bedrooms, but choosing multi-tasking pieces of furniture is one of the most effective. Cabin beds are a real winner in the fight for extra storage in kid’s rooms. These handy beds come with all sorts of useful extra features, and there are many options available. Beds with a desk and cupboard space beneath them are particularly helpful in shared bedrooms or box rooms where floor space is limited. Hi-sleepers are useful in older kids and teen bedrooms, as you can store pretty much all of their furniture beneath them. Some even include a sofa bed underneath which is handy for sleepovers and accommodating visiting relatives.

Smart storage ideas aren’t just limited to the kid’s bedrooms. There are plenty of storage ideas that can be used downstairs too. Choosing to use a chest as a coffee table is an excellent way to incorporate toy storage into the living room – just make sure the kids know not to open it while there are cups on top of it!

Paint Brush

Image Pixabay CC0 License

Choose Colours Carefully

If you want to create a light and airy feeling within your rooms, then your choice of colour will need to be carefully considered. Colour has a strong influence on the feel of a room, so making the right choice of colour when decorating your rooms is crucial. Lighter shades help to maximise the natural light in your home, but that doesn’t mean that you need to paint the whole house white. Look out for muted shades of your favourite colours, such as pale greens, and lemon if you want to add a colourful touch without overwhelming the space. 

Your choice of paint is essential in a family home. Rucksacks scraping against walls, and grubby hands leaving behind fingerprint marks can all leave your paintwork looking worse for wear. Where possible, try to use paints that are hard wearing and can easily be wiped clean so that you keep your freshly decorated home looking good for longer.

Wallpapers are an excellent way to add some pattern into your home, but to retain the feeling of space and light, it is a good idea to use them just on a feature wall, so that they don’t dominate the room. Adding wallpaper to a feature wall or chimney breast, rather than on high traffic areas of the home should help to prevent the wallpaper from becoming scraped and scuffed too. 

Make it Homely

Rustic Home

Your home is at the heart of your family, so even though it is useful to keep it practical and easy to maintain, you don’t want to forgo achieving a homely feel. Achieving a balance between low maintenance décor and creating a homely space may feel impossible, but adding accessories such as cushions and plenty of photos is the ideal way of achieving this. Introducing texture and colour through cushions and throws will make your home cosy and perfect for those family nights snuggled up together.

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