kid decor Archives - A.Clore Interiors

Today, everyone is stuck at home. Even without quarantine in place, sharing a home with a large family can be a struggle. Whether you’re hosting parents, growing out of your current place, or working from home for the foreseeable future, we recognize your struggle. Here at A. Clore Interiors, it is our goal to elevate your home by working with what you have. And luckily, our two designers, Amber and Ariel, are Aging-in-Place specialists, meaning you can trust our designs to accommodate you for years to come.

When your living situation grows beyond what it was originally intended for, it can make one feel overwhelmed and trapped. This blog will help you accommodate those not-so-ideal situations within your four walls.

Adapting design for all ages

Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) is a program by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that teaches the essential skills to complete home modifications in residential remodels. This includes meeting the needs of older citizens and finding solutions to common barriers. You may need this assistance if older family members reside at your home; problems can arise around their accessibility. Some common issues are a raised shower tub, a 2nd-floor bedroom, or using the toilet. A couch may even be too squishy for your grandmom to easily stand up from.

If this is your situation, contact us about how we can help resolve this trouble. For now, here are some simple solutions. A minor bathroom remodel may be required to keep grandmom happy. Walk-in showers are safer and placing a chair or bench within these make it even more comfortable and lessen the risk of tripping. Handrails placed next to the toilet are an easy safety installation. If there are no designated bedrooms located on the bottom floor, it may be worth it to switch an office or bonus room on the first floor for the room the grandparents sleep in now to ensure their safety over an extended period of time, too.

Our CAPS, Amber and Ariel!

Designating spaces

More often than not, the reason one gets frustrated by their current living situation is that it is not meeting its full potential. A common problem: Where should I work? Is your dining room table always covered in homework or are you trying to get work done in the living room with rowdy kids? If this is the case, find a quiet corner in the house to place a desk. We recommend against this being in your bedroom, though, for working where you sleep can often be unsettling. To set up an effective small work area, all you need is a lamp for decent lighting, clear organizers to avoid messiness, and a table near an outlet preferably. It is important to set up ground rules with your family, like established work times and no-play zones (where kids can’t keep their messy toys), so you can avoid stepping on each other’s feet too much.

A kid’s art nook tucked off the eating space with storage as a space separator.

Accommodating a crowd

The best way to adapt to an overgrown space is to think outside the box. Innovative storage solutions are a good start. If your house lacks organization, look into multi-functional furniture pieces that cover less space. If the walls seem to be closing in, remember to design up! This means tall dressers, not low wide ones.; think wall bins and hanging storage on the backs of doors to keep items off the ground. This can come in handy for the pantry, closets, and entryways with little kids. Stackable bins and sliding wire baskets come in affordable kits you can find off Amazon then label to work best for you. Sometimes the problem is too overwhelming for one to handle, that’s where we can step in with expert design insight, too.

Here’s our own studio’s way of designing up! These panels ensure we neatly display all of our fabric inventory.

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One of the hardest things to keep up with as a parent is the changing of your child’s room as they grow older. Typically, there’s at least three ages a child reaches in life when their room should change: around 2 or 3, 10 to 12, and 17. So that you don’t have to pay to completely re-do your child’s room (furniture and all), I’m here to inform you of easy, inexpensive ways to give them the change they would like without breaking the bank.

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First, because it is the child that wants the change, you should have them make a list of all the things they want new in their room. Look at the list and pick the three most important items. They should understand the compromise and will be thankful that you included them and cared about what they wanted.

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The most essential item in the bedroom is the bed. The best way to go about not buying two or three beds from the time they’re born to the time they are 18 is by buying a convertible bed. Convertible beds go from cribs to toddler size beds all the way to full size beds. If you don’t care for the convertible beds, start with a bunk bed when they become a toddler, because in that case, you can change the bottom into a desk and chair area as they get older. It lets them enjoy the fun bunk bed stage, but also gives them a very useful study area. Try your best not to get a twin bed. You should get at least a full size bed if the room can handle that size, because that growing boy or girl will grow out that twin bed very quickly. Also, take into account when they are much older, they’re going to want some nicer, higher quality furniture. You might as well get it while they’re younger, at least a few items that they will enjoy.

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Changing the accessories will do wonders. Take full advantage of the fact that you can throw a lava lamp on the dresser, and their room will suddenly be cool again. Little things like that can change the child’s happiness with the room. It’s a cheap and easy way to make them happy without changing around the entire room. The accessories have to be practical for their current age as well. Sometimes, what the trend is isn’t practical for everyone.

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The activity area of the child’s room should gradually change with their age as well. Start swapping out toy trucks for ipads and docking stations. A cool thing to hang up that can stay up from when they’re born to when they leave for college is a bulletin board. You can continually change what is up there from their kindergarten artwork to their heavy rock band posters. You’ll love it the first half, and they will love it the second half.

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Lastly, we come to the paint. This is a simple way to change it up that can be a fun thing to do with the kids. They’ll enjoy picking out the colors and painting next to you. Changing the wall colors immediately changes the mood of the room, which is normally all the child is wanting. If you do want to go all the way, look for new bedding, window treatments, and area rugs to bring it all together.

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You always want to enjoy everything you do with your kids, so make sure they’re having fun and feeling included in this change they want to occur. It might be your final overall decision, but the kids definitely want to have a say in their room. Keep it updated. Keep it fresh. Have fun during the time you get to spend together doing little projects around the house like this.

Thank you for being an A.Clore Interiors Blog reader…..

Don’t forget: you can find us on Facebook – “like” us to keep up with the latest and greatest!

You can always find more design inspiration on our Pinterest and Instagram pages!

Connect with us on Google+ and LinkedIn

Visit our Website for more information on what we are about and how interior design can change your life!