Friday, January 23, 2009

Hi Lisa…
“I have two young children — Can you help me with a durable design that won’t leave my house looking like a pre-school?”
Chris

Oh, Chris. The romper room years! Nothing is worse than stepping on a Barbie doll in the middle of the night as your trying to sneak a snack from the fridge. My prince let out a yell one night about 10 years ago when he stepped on Barbie’s Sun Raider Jeep and took a nasty spill. No worries, he weathered the spill just fine. Over coffee and Tylenol the next morning he asked……..”Darling, it’s (wince) bad around here, do you think we will ever regain control of our house?”

It’s never a good thing when the husband of an interior designer needs to ask that question!!

So I took a good long look at the castle……….which truly looked like it had been through a war! Every room looked like a day care center, an unorganized, cluttered day care center! The house was just unacceptable, it didn’t matter if I had a 6 1/2 year old and a 6 month old I needed to take my home back! And I did!!
So here are a few of my secrets………..

Organize! It can be done in fashionable and clever ways.

• Trade the sofa table for a shallow bookcase, fill it with baskets for toys and games.
• Use a coffee table with a large storage drawer as well as end tables with storage.
  
• Any room you spend time in, your children will spend time there…….so have some of their toys there too. For example, in your kitchen dedicate one lower cabinet to toys…….this way specific toys can ‘live’ in the kitchen. In your bedroom have a small basket of books and toys, it can be tucked under your bed or under a night stand with open legs.
  
• Rotate toys! No child needs every toy at their finger tips. Keep say half their toys out, store the other half in an attic or basement…….every six months trade the toys out, it will be like Christmas all over again for them! And only half the toys to keep organized!
  
• For larger toys such as kitchens or art centers well let’s face it unless you truly have a play room you might just need to live with those in the family room………… dedicate a space for them them in a corner, so that when company comes the toys can be tucked behind a decorative screen

Furnishings…….your furniture doesn’t need to look like it’s the jungle gym or trampoline

• Purchase good quality upholstery. Use Sunbrella fabrics or microsuedes, they are easy to clean and designed to take abuse. Higher end upholstery have strong frames and sturdy cushions, ready to withstand the superman dives or Hannah Montana dance moves.
• Stay away from fine finishes on occasional pieces. Tables that are already distressed and aged, really can’t be harmed by Hot Wheels skidding across the top………and if the black marker is left open on the coffee table all day long…….well no worries it will most likely look like a worm hole!

Color palette, texture and patterns………think dirt!

• Seriously……….. neutrals especially darker ones hide a multitude of sins.
  
• Busy patterns will show less staining than a solid
  
• Textures are a great way to add interest and also tend to hide booboo’s, keep this in mind when choosing carpet. A carpet with texture and a tweed like pattern will be great at masking stains.
  

Chris I’d be lying if I said everyday my house is perfect…….instead of Tonka trucks and Barbie Jeeps we have an occasional stubbing of the toe on the Lego box ……… or even worse cell phone lost in the sofa repeatedly beeping that a text message is waiting! Uuugghh, nothing is more annoying than hearing that beep and not being able to find it! See what you have to look forward too?

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