Movies and TV shows will probably have you thinking that once your kid learns to crawl, your entire living room will need to be covered in bubble wrap, duct tape, and foam.
The horror! While parents will, of course, need to arrange their homes and lifestyles for the sake of safety, there is no reason they should have to skimp on the style. For the sake of your sanity, you might need to upfront a little cash for this one, but it will be worth it for every moment you feel like you aren’t living at a playgroup.
Optical Illusions – One of the easiest and cheapest ways to instantly minimize the baby-proofing on your home, is to change the color. Clear bubble wrap and white foam are going to stand out against any Mid-century Modern decor, so don’t even bother.
You can buy foam in a lot of colors, so do it. Your glass coffee table is in a black wrought iron frame, get the black foam and wrap away. The sharp corners of your walls are robin’s egg blue, a little tougher, but sites like Etsy will have your back.
Change Your Layout – With a new baby in tow, you are going to need to be re-thinking a lot about how you do things. Here is another thing to re-think, that will definitely help out in the long run.
Take a look at your living room, dining room and other spaces that your child might find their way into, and think about it from their perspective and needs. Is there a way to pull out your couch a little further and create a small play corner in the back? Do you really need the large potted plants on the floor of the living room or can they be moved to safety? Your life has changed, why not change the way your home looks too, for the sake of your sanity?
Storage Storage Storage – We can´t say it enough, but please for the sake of all that is holy, step away from the giant plastic bins. Just because your home is now littered with plastic blocks and rattles, does not mean your stuff has to match. Get on board with the earthy trend and grab some woven baskets, wooden crates or even wire baskets and use them for toy storage. Pick a style that not just suits your decor, but compliments and adds a graphic or cozy element. Make sure you have changed your layout.
Think Before You Buy – Buying furniture and household items are never easy, but there is another person you need to keep in mind now. Before you splash the cash on a new coach, consider waiting until your tot has passed the food-throwing stage.
If you are in desperate need of furniture though, think about getting pieces that do some of the work for you. Look for items like softly rounded couches (none of the modern metal for you…) and cozy chairs that don’t have metal or wooden frames. For tables, look for higher living room pieces that will allow for less grabbing by little hands and when purchasing tablecloths consider going for a runner or something else that will limit fabric that can tantalize your tot and leave you with all your dishes on the floor.
Baby Items – Baby clothes, beds, and strollers all seem like a world unto themselves. Printed with puppies and elephants, it’s all very cute and endearing. Still, an easy way to keep things coherent at home is to choose your new baby items wisely and aim for things that fit with your look and life already.
The plastic high chair with giraffes looks adorable, but it is going to be screaming against the soft creams of your kitchen. Opt for a wooden frame and a quieter color palette for the fabric to keep things in sync with that you already have.
Having a baby will change everything about your life and it is really up to you and your sense of style to make those changes in the way that is best for you. Do not get caught up in the mama drama – there are plenty of items and options that are right and keeping your kid safe and your home hip.