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Decorating with Small Children: Is it Possible?
by Dani Jacobs
by Dani Jacobs
As I sit down to write this article, I have a hockey net set up in the middle of my living room. It doesn’t flow with the feel of the
room. The bright red color is all wrong. In fact, it doesn’t actually add to the room in any way, but it’s there, and it will be until this
afternoon shortly before our dinner guests arrive.
Decorating with small children to many people, is an oxymoron. The myth is that this can’t be done. You either have small
children, or you have a decorated house. To have both is an impossibility. But, the truth is, you CAN decorate with small children if
you follow a few simple rules of thumb.
Everything needs a place
First, and perhaps foremost, my mother used to constantly remind us of her grandmother’s favorite quote, “ there's a place for
everything and everything has its place.” Growing up under this adage, I simply found it irritating that my mother always wanted
everything so organized. Now, as I enter my mid-thirties and have become my mother, I realize the wisdom of her grandmother.
Her little quote has become my mantra, but can it apply to decorating with kids when despite many people’s best intentions,
their living rooms end up looking like Toys R Us?
By my daughter’s second birthday as the toys were lining up around my living room, I realized that something had to change, or I
would risk the chance of being lost in my home’s newfound chaos. The answer to this dilemma goes back to my grandmother. I
created a place for everything, and everything then had a place. The entertainment center, which had been filled with candles and
knickknacks that were rarely used, became a place filled with bins and games. I bought new end tables that could store things inside
of them, and I filled my bookshelves with baskets and bins filled with related toys. I still follow this theory today, and my children
can, as a result, put away all of their toys because they know where they go. Thus, lesson number one is to find places for
everything.
Focusing on function
Second, it is important when decorating a room to not only think about how the room functions, whether it be for play or for
studying, but also to think about the form of a room- if it is a living room or an office or a kitchen. It seems obvious, but brightly
colored bins do not belong in a living room; they belong in a playroom. So, when decorating, choose storage that compliments the
form of the room. For a living room, choose simple bookshelves or nice looking consoles or cubbies or an armoire. The toys do not
need to be displayed on the bookshelves. In a playroom or bedroom, this is not a problem, but in the living room, or any room that
serves multi-purposes, the toys can still be there but they should be hidden behind closed doors or in baskets if you really want the
room to look complete. The red, blue, and yellow bins belong in children’s bedrooms or playrooms; if you put them in your living
room, you have simply created another playroom for your child and lost your own living space in the process.
Be practical
The other myth is that you can’t have any decorative touches out or your children will wreck them. Granted, it’s probably not a real
intelligent idea to have a Waterford vase or your great grandfather’s pottery lying on the coffee table, but you can have decorative
accents if you teach your kids how to touch. I didn’t take my decorations down when my children were young. I taught them to
touch them gently or not to touch them at all, and after hearing it five hundred times, they listened. Also, when you have young
children, it’s not the greatest plan to purchase the most expensive accents money can buy. It’s important to realize that all children,
and adults for that matter, have accidents, and something could get broken. A simple rule of thumb in regard to decorations is: if
your life will be ruined if something is broken, don’t leave it out where anyone could possibly break it. If life will go on for you
without this object, it is safe to use for decoration.
Finally, the most important lesson I can offer goes back to the hockey net in the middle of my living room. It may cause me to
appear a hypocrite, but the truth of the matter is, let me shock you, my house is not perfectly clean and organized 100% of the time.
Despite all of my best intentions, sometimes I’m simply not perfect. We are parents, and decorators, and spouses, and workers, and
yet we are also human and thus not perfect at all times. And sometimes, your son turns four and thinks that his new knee hockey set
is the greatest thing since sliced bread. And sometimes, watching your husband and son laughing hysterically while hitting the foam
ball into each other’s nets is much more important than a perfect living room. Sometimes we have to concede to messiness, which I
have done. For now.
Three simple pieces of advice:
It really is that easy. I’ve got to go now, I’ve got a hockey net to put away before our guests arrive.
Dani Jacobs is home interior expert and co-owner of Solace Design. She can be reached at
(612)210-9343 or through e-mail at Danielle@Solace-Design.com her website is www.Solace-Design.com
room. The bright red color is all wrong. In fact, it doesn’t actually add to the room in any way, but it’s there, and it will be until this
afternoon shortly before our dinner guests arrive.
Decorating with small children to many people, is an oxymoron. The myth is that this can’t be done. You either have small
children, or you have a decorated house. To have both is an impossibility. But, the truth is, you CAN decorate with small children if
you follow a few simple rules of thumb.
Everything needs a place
First, and perhaps foremost, my mother used to constantly remind us of her grandmother’s favorite quote, “ there's a place for
everything and everything has its place.” Growing up under this adage, I simply found it irritating that my mother always wanted
everything so organized. Now, as I enter my mid-thirties and have become my mother, I realize the wisdom of her grandmother.
Her little quote has become my mantra, but can it apply to decorating with kids when despite many people’s best intentions,
their living rooms end up looking like Toys R Us?
By my daughter’s second birthday as the toys were lining up around my living room, I realized that something had to change, or I
would risk the chance of being lost in my home’s newfound chaos. The answer to this dilemma goes back to my grandmother. I
created a place for everything, and everything then had a place. The entertainment center, which had been filled with candles and
knickknacks that were rarely used, became a place filled with bins and games. I bought new end tables that could store things inside
of them, and I filled my bookshelves with baskets and bins filled with related toys. I still follow this theory today, and my children
can, as a result, put away all of their toys because they know where they go. Thus, lesson number one is to find places for
everything.
Focusing on function
Second, it is important when decorating a room to not only think about how the room functions, whether it be for play or for
studying, but also to think about the form of a room- if it is a living room or an office or a kitchen. It seems obvious, but brightly
colored bins do not belong in a living room; they belong in a playroom. So, when decorating, choose storage that compliments the
form of the room. For a living room, choose simple bookshelves or nice looking consoles or cubbies or an armoire. The toys do not
need to be displayed on the bookshelves. In a playroom or bedroom, this is not a problem, but in the living room, or any room that
serves multi-purposes, the toys can still be there but they should be hidden behind closed doors or in baskets if you really want the
room to look complete. The red, blue, and yellow bins belong in children’s bedrooms or playrooms; if you put them in your living
room, you have simply created another playroom for your child and lost your own living space in the process.
Be practical
The other myth is that you can’t have any decorative touches out or your children will wreck them. Granted, it’s probably not a real
intelligent idea to have a Waterford vase or your great grandfather’s pottery lying on the coffee table, but you can have decorative
accents if you teach your kids how to touch. I didn’t take my decorations down when my children were young. I taught them to
touch them gently or not to touch them at all, and after hearing it five hundred times, they listened. Also, when you have young
children, it’s not the greatest plan to purchase the most expensive accents money can buy. It’s important to realize that all children,
and adults for that matter, have accidents, and something could get broken. A simple rule of thumb in regard to decorations is: if
your life will be ruined if something is broken, don’t leave it out where anyone could possibly break it. If life will go on for you
without this object, it is safe to use for decoration.
Finally, the most important lesson I can offer goes back to the hockey net in the middle of my living room. It may cause me to
appear a hypocrite, but the truth of the matter is, let me shock you, my house is not perfectly clean and organized 100% of the time.
Despite all of my best intentions, sometimes I’m simply not perfect. We are parents, and decorators, and spouses, and workers, and
yet we are also human and thus not perfect at all times. And sometimes, your son turns four and thinks that his new knee hockey set
is the greatest thing since sliced bread. And sometimes, watching your husband and son laughing hysterically while hitting the foam
ball into each other’s nets is much more important than a perfect living room. Sometimes we have to concede to messiness, which I
have done. For now.
Three simple pieces of advice:
- Keep a place for everything and everything will be in it’s place
- Remember the room’s form
- Cut yourself a break once in a while.
It really is that easy. I’ve got to go now, I’ve got a hockey net to put away before our guests arrive.
Dani Jacobs is home interior expert and co-owner of Solace Design. She can be reached at
(612)210-9343 or through e-mail at Danielle@Solace-Design.com her website is www.Solace-Design.com
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