I often get asked if my house looks like my showroom - the quick and easy answer is no. We are about to start another renovation so the walls in my house are an odd shade of creamy white, with a timber stained chair rail around the room. The floors are a natural stain of hardwood timber and I have gross sage green tiles in my kitchen with an ugly timber bench top. To be honest going to work is a relief because my house drives me insane but its home and I love it anyway.... All that said, when it is renovated I still won't fill it with everything from the shop. I like everyone have a budget. Unfortunately the money tree I tried to plant a few years back never took off. With a little boy about to turn 2 and a husband who comes home from the worksite covered in dirt and feels he needs to lay all over my blue and white ticking sofa still covered in said dirt, I need to get crafty sometimes and learn to create a home that both husbie and child can feel comfortable in and I don't have to get precious.
So here are my top 5 tips and tricks for a family friendly home:
1. Cover your sofa in a ticking slip cover. Ticking is a great stripe that tends to play with your eye so little spills and dribbles don't show up like they would on a plain fabric. The slip covers pull off and wash up perfectly every time!
2. Use throws! Husbie has his end of the sofa that has a pretty pink throw on it. He knows thats his spot and it stops the dirt from getting everywhere and the throw is easy to wash every week. Not to mention the layering effect of the textures is a bit of a designer secret...
3. I bought my island bench stools from Super Amart. They are the copy white Tolix bench stools and they were $29 each. They wipe down easily, they get pulled outside when we are entertaining and its one less thing I have to wash. I loved my slip covered stools and I will get them again when the Child understands that his doodle doesn't need to be fed Ravioli.
4. Have a shoe basket. Maybe my family i.e.. me.. just have a ridiculous amount of shoes that never make it back into the wardrobe, but ever since we have had a shoe basket I have been able to find everyones shoes easily and not broken my ankle because I have tripped over them in the middle of the lounge room. I invested in a really good quality basket with handles and at the end of the week I clean it out and put all the shoes away.
5. Ikea and Kmart are 2 of my favourite go to spots for easy cheap updates. Its amazing what you can find there you just have to see through all the stuff... and but stuff I think you know I mean sh*t. If you follow me on instagram you will know about the awesome $29 mirror I have purchased for a couple of clients now from Kmart, they even have fun clocks for little girls rooms and a lovely set of 3 vintage looking mirrors that would make beautiful trays around the home. Ikea do these great picture shelves which are amazing for kids rooms and really great affordable rugs that you can trash and throw out and not feel guilty about because lets face it - with day care gastro coming into our house too often to mention, our lounge room rug has seen and smelt better days.
Hope thats helpful in some way! As a designer I love a beautiful home, but as a mum I love a functional and beautiful home.
So here are my top 5 tips and tricks for a family friendly home:
1. Cover your sofa in a ticking slip cover. Ticking is a great stripe that tends to play with your eye so little spills and dribbles don't show up like they would on a plain fabric. The slip covers pull off and wash up perfectly every time!
2. Use throws! Husbie has his end of the sofa that has a pretty pink throw on it. He knows thats his spot and it stops the dirt from getting everywhere and the throw is easy to wash every week. Not to mention the layering effect of the textures is a bit of a designer secret...
3. I bought my island bench stools from Super Amart. They are the copy white Tolix bench stools and they were $29 each. They wipe down easily, they get pulled outside when we are entertaining and its one less thing I have to wash. I loved my slip covered stools and I will get them again when the Child understands that his doodle doesn't need to be fed Ravioli.
4. Have a shoe basket. Maybe my family i.e.. me.. just have a ridiculous amount of shoes that never make it back into the wardrobe, but ever since we have had a shoe basket I have been able to find everyones shoes easily and not broken my ankle because I have tripped over them in the middle of the lounge room. I invested in a really good quality basket with handles and at the end of the week I clean it out and put all the shoes away.
5. Ikea and Kmart are 2 of my favourite go to spots for easy cheap updates. Its amazing what you can find there you just have to see through all the stuff... and but stuff I think you know I mean sh*t. If you follow me on instagram you will know about the awesome $29 mirror I have purchased for a couple of clients now from Kmart, they even have fun clocks for little girls rooms and a lovely set of 3 vintage looking mirrors that would make beautiful trays around the home. Ikea do these great picture shelves which are amazing for kids rooms and really great affordable rugs that you can trash and throw out and not feel guilty about because lets face it - with day care gastro coming into our house too often to mention, our lounge room rug has seen and smelt better days.
Hope thats helpful in some way! As a designer I love a beautiful home, but as a mum I love a functional and beautiful home.
The pre purchase building inspection that could cost you thousands of dollars in repair bills post completion of the purchase.
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