The other day I walked into my bathroom and saw that Jett had lovingly pulled down all the toilet paper. And then I walked into every other bathroom in our home to find even more piles of toilet paper.
My nice and clean home is being taken over by a one year old and I’m losing my mind. My coffee table books are always on the floor, the lamps are constantly on the verge of being tipped over and I am just waiting for the day I find marker all over my sofa…. I know it will happen sooner than I think.
So I decided to do a series this month on my blog. I am enlisting the expertise of some of my favorite moms/bloggers to give their advice on keeping a beautiful house with kids. I want to hear from you.
What advice concerning kids and design would you like to hear about?
inexpensive, simple toy organization. My 1-year old loves to spread her toys and books all over.
I'm a mother of 4 kiddos-ages 11,8, 6 & 3. We own several large French antiques. I've decided that it's ok to let kids be kids, even near "nice/expensive" things. You will find my 3 youngest dancing and doing gymnastics in my living room, not family room, daily. The antique curio w/glass is right in there with them, along with an antique side table & crystal lamp. Call me crazy, but I love seeing my kids enjoy ALL parts of the house. My recommendation is to provide a home that is fun and easily loved by all ages.
I would, however, love to see how others oraganize their toys. We have a 2 story house with no basement to hide the toys. The kids share a room (one room for the boys & one for the girls). We also have an extra bedroom that I've turned into a library/playroom. How do I organize LEGOS(I'm mean boxes & boxes of them) with dolls, play kitchens & cars? I'm overwhelmed with that task. Please share some ideas tah would work for both boys & girls.
I am shopping for a new couch. I have a one year old. Which fabrics should I be looking for that will hold up well and clean easily and still look stylish and comfy?
I'm looking forward to suggestions!
I can't wait to hear all the advice, what a great idea!
My 1 year old also does that trick with the toilet paper. I turned the toilet rolls around so that the paper comes from the bottom not the top and that confused him for a little while…
Your little Jett is very cute and would love to get up to mischief with my William 🙂
Janette x
My Sweet Prints
kirsten!!!! my kiddo, gideon, still does this and he is 4!!!! literally wastes a whole roll!! grrrr, too funny. I try and laugh and remember he won't be doing it forever. But I certinanly find the same challenges of you…scrubbing playdoh off the floor, chocolate milk on the rug, and marker on the walls!!!! oh the joys of mothering!!!! its good stuff though!! thanks for sharing!
Wow, I've been going through the exact same things with my 18 mo old!!!! He's a climber so now even my countertops are free reign for him. They aren't babies for very long, huh? I've cleared off all surfaces of decor because I've had a few expensive casualties at the hands of my little one and I'm actually liking the "minimalist" look we have going on. 😉
I've got a 28 month old and our house is on the market. I have a HUGE armoire in our kitchen/sunroom that houses all of her toys that used to be strewn around the main level. That way she has access to all of her stuff….but our home can look put together quite easily. I have also found it gets her excited to see her toys as she pulls only a few out at a time vs. having them all at her disposal 24/7. Knock on wood we haven't had any major disasters with markers/paint, etc. I usually sit with her at her play table or put her in her high chair when she is crafting. But, I've been there with the toilet paper….and another favorite is when the contents of the tupperware cabinet find themselves to be all over the kitchen floor!
Awww! I miss those days! Seriously! Mine are now 3 and 5 and I haven't had any tp or marker incidents lately. But I have found that it's still almost impossible for me to keep every room beautiful at the same time…
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/living-room/new-options-for-kidfriendly-upholstery-128358
we've just moved into a new home and it is bare! Thanks in part to my 18 mo old son! He does the same thing with the toilet paper, and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on. I've been hoping someone would do a blog like this! I want our home to be beautiful but everything I put up comes down. And toys are taking over my house! Can't wait to see the posts :]
I would love to hear about how to transition their spaces as they grow and meet all their different age and gender needs. For example I have a playroom that is my absolute saving grace.It is my answer to organization, storage and "adult" vs. "kid" space. It was a priority during our remodel as I wanted a place that was attractive where my kids can play and their toys were contained. That being said they are 8, 5, and 2 (two girls and a boy) and their toys and intrests are so different. My oldest is out growing the Barbies and play kitchen and wants a computer hangout/art studio (a la iCarly)! My youngest is all trains and action figures…Not sure how to balance both!
You have my sympathy! We don't have any bambinos (yet), but we do have 4 cats. And they're very naughty! Like unrolling the toilet paper, knocking things off surfaces and uprooting the plants kinda naughty. 😛 I use a squirt bottle with water on 'em (if I can catch 'em in the act!) Too bad there isn't an equivalent for kids! 😉
I am so glad I caught this here blog post! I have a 6yr. old and a 10month-old and sometimes I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. It is great to hear that I am not alone in trying to be the best mom I can while maintaining a fabulous me and a beautiful home 😉
The best advice I can give is to start teaching your kids early on that everything has a time and a place. I taught my son from an early, early age that all his toys have a home and they can all come out but must all go back when he is done. Also, keep ALL chalk, crayons, markers, clay, paint, pens, pencils etc. up and out of their reach! If my son wants to paint, we paint, if he wants to mold some clay, we mold. We put on our aprons and out come the supplies. He knows what rooms in the house are used for arts and crafts. I have tried hard to not stunt his creativity and when the art supplies are out he can be as creative and wild as we wants. My problem now seems to be getting him to stop throwing balls in the house!!
Also with Christmas not too far away I'd like to share a tad bit more. I absolutely love Christmas and my Christmas tree! I am extremely particular about the placement of each ornament so the kids get their own 4ft. trees. We put them in their rooms and they get to buy and make their own ornaments. They can design and decorate their own trees however they'd like and momma gets to keep hers just the way she likes 🙂
Can't wait to hear all the advice headed our way!
Just wait until potty training begins…that's a REAL party.
i am so glad that you have a little one the same age as mine. this means you can get lots of great suggestions and ideas for me! great post idea!
My twins are now 17 and my daughter is 11. Little people – little problems, big people, bigger problems.
I think the thing is to raise them with an appreciation for nice things, to know what is off limits. They do keep life interesting.
Organization is key and putting things away is too.
At any age!
pve
I also have a one year old! (and his brother is 4). They are messy, they don't mind playing IN the toilet, and other gross things I'm discovering!
Would love hints from all these designers. All we see are the beautiful spaces with all the toys pushed aside out of the picture == I want to see HOW they actually, in real life, deal with those bright colored Fisher Price toys. Those toys that don't seem to have a space all for themselves. And I would love to see spaces that don't the luxury of a 'playroom' to store it all in either!
Jett is darling! I loved this photo. Every kiddo does this at some point!
I am a firm believer of living with a house you love and teaching the kids (although thoroughly tiring and sometimes annoying) to not pull the lamp of the side table. Any advice on patience? 😉
Can't wait to read your tips! Abby
My only advice so far has been not to have children in the first place… but that's no fun! Kids are a wonderful blessing and unfortunately they also make huge messes, so just enjoy them for now and remember that you'll have reasonably clean house again in, say, 16 years. 🙂
I would stay move stuff around for a while, like the coffee table books and things like that. Get things high off the floor and keep access to lots of interesting things for your son to get at. Honestly it's a losing battle. It's more important that your son explore and play than having a perfect house. Great photo of your little boy doing exactly what little boys do. Enjoy him and consider a good strong drink at the end of the day.
I have a 5 year old and a 2 and a half year old. I also have about 6 neighborhood kids a day in my house. What can I say I love having all the kids around but I also love my white slipcovered chairs! The key word here is slipcovered! I can take them off and throw them in the wash! Although who wants to do laundry like that everyday so we have RULES! We keep ALL toys in the playroom, if you have a whole room specifically for playing in than I think it's not to much to ask that the toys stay in there. Furniture is for sitting on, not climbing on! The kitchen is the only room for eating in! The basics. We try our best. Thats what matters. EXAMPLE: A much older, wiser women was visiting me the other day and I apologized for my house being a bit of a mess! Her reply was "Honey, I would only worry about you if it wasn't!" I found a a lot of truth in that, I hope you will too!
What a cutie pie!! Can't wait to hear the suggestions- I'll be taking notes!
Oh, this naughty act is a classic, isn't it? This mischievous phase can be so frustrating, especially when you want your house to look nice, but funny and endearing (in retrospect maybe) none-the-less. I think a mom invented a little device to put on your roll of tp to prevent this exact thing from happening….you could google it. We just started putting the tp on the counter (out of sight) when my son started doing this and soon enough he outgrew the phase. And as The High-Heeled Momma said, I would definitely keep all your crayons, markers and what-not locked up tight on a high shelf until they can be trusted :)! And don't even let your sharpies see the light of day. They will find them. Oh, and buy washable markers just in case.
To Steph & Zach–I just read an article on Ohdeedoh about upholstery and kids and found out about a way to waterproof and stainproof any couch or chair. It's called nanotexing and it makes any fabric waterproof and stainproof without changing the texture of the fabric. I think it's offered at a lot of chain furniture stores, but I saw that the Sofa Company does it for sure. Check it out. Hopefully that gives you another good option..
I feel your pain! I am the mother to two boys (ages 1 and 3). I'll be anxious to see the advice of other mothers.
Hey Kirsten,
Hope all has been well since school! I don't have kids but I have suggestions: as far as the TP goes you could maybe put these-http://www.redbarnmercantile.com/store/rh_rubberbands.html
-around the roll for a little while- at least long enough till your little guy knows not to pull all the paper off the roll. Also for the Lamps and things, put sticky-backed Velcro on the bottom so things won't topple over onto the little one!
Love this idea! I can't wait to hear the advice, I can never hear enough with a very active two and half year old!!!
One of my friends always gets the 5 year stain protection on her sofas. She said she has used it many times already for crayon, marker, fruit punch vomit, etc. She swears it pays for itself. I have 2 kids but have yet to have a horrible upholstery stain. I'm knocking on wood now.
Honestly, if someone has a trick for keeping the house clean with children, I'm all ears!!! I have a 3 and a 1 year old and I just pretty much spend most of my time following them around picking up after them! (c: But I do think a lot of creative storage is great and also just using more "kid friendly" decorating items (i.e. cheap and/or indestructable)…Can't wait for the series!
Design?!? You can have a beautiful home and kids at the same time?! Hah!! I really need some help here!
All my throw pillows are trampolines, side tables, sofa tables, kitchen tables… well, any horizontal surface in my home is a dumping place for rocks, toy cars, homework and the really weird contents of 4 boys pockets.
As an interior designer and mom to a 3 year old and 1 year old, I believe that nobody will be happy in the house if there are places that are "off limits" . I tried that and found myself frustrated that I was always saying "no" or having to put up gates and my kids were frustrated about being confined to certain spaces. Our main living space is very kid, adult, dog friendly…there IS such a thing as family friendly design! Keeping the toys cleaned up and dog hair off the floor is a whole other topic…
HAHAHAHAH! My little one does the same.
See:
http://randomroro.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-i-need-costco-card.html
I hope you buy in bulk! lol
Very cute!
i'm all about the "lock it up" method of parenting mixed with the "leave it out" method. things i can't change – lamps, doodads, curtains, etc…i just constantly would pull them away and remind them that they can't play with those things…it takes two or three days of this and they learn to leave things alone. as far as toilet paper and markers – i put those funny doorknob plastic covers on the bathrooms and front door…and markers – well, they're in a kid proofed closet and only came out with supervision and at the table. sharpies immediately went into my locked file cabinet drawer – i don't think there's a magic eraser or martha stewart trick for sharpies. anyhoo – lots of locks and hounding on the bigs stuff. it's cool though, i now have a five and three year old and we barely have a lock left in the house – they just know not to get into things. it doesn't mean they don't – it's just that they generally stay out of stuff. good luck.
Having 4 kids (6, 4, 2, and a baby), I've learned TONS of tricks throughout my young years of being a mother. I've also learned that each child is different (and I'm VERY worried about our youngest…;) and so the tricks may need to vary with each one. But first and foremost, if it's dangerous, just get rid of it (think poisonous plants and chemicals) or lock it up (knives, scissors, *safer* cleaning supplies). Why even risk it. Second, if you can't bear to see it broken (heirlooms for example), store them away for awhile. You'll have plenty time later to display them. And third, just like so many before said, make your house livable. Teach them early on no. And why. (You'll fall, you'll break it, you'll make a big mess, etc.)
Oh, and one more…washable crayons and markers. They are the only ones I allow in my house. 🙂
I have tons more tricks and advice, so if you want more, I'd love to help you out!
This is such a boy thing. I hate to play the gender card but for me its so true. My first, a little girl was just normal, tantrums, the usual but copeable. My little boy is like CRAZY and sounds just like Jett x 10! I need advice on dealing with boys! I hate constantly feeling annoyed or shouting NO! Somedays that's how i feel with Seb! My soul purpose in life at the moment is just keeping him alive. He's a danger to himself!
My 15 month old (I have a sneaky suspicion our boys are the same age)is my new design inspiration…on Thursdays at Flor.com/blog I try to cover design from a parent perspective…everything from containing the clutter to my (horror of horrors) white, slip-covered couch. Would love to participate here sometime 🙂