When you decide to start a family, there can be a lot of change, including how you decorate, and designate, your home. While designing an interior around your children might conjure up images of robust, practical furniture and plastic toy boxes in every corner, it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s still possible to create a beautiful, luxurious home that is completely child-friendly.
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the living room — the hub of your home, where you will spend most of your family time together. A few simple design choices can maintain the stylish look that you loved before the kids came along while making things more child-orientated. Here are our five IDEAL ways to create a luxurious family living room.
INVEST IN AN ELEGANT BUT HARDWEARING SOFA
We’ll start with the item of furniture you’ll probably use the most — your sofa. Just because you’ve got children doesn’t mean you need to encase your cushions in protective covers — by making a smart buying choice, you can own one that can stand up to the rigours of family life.
Leather is a great choice for your upholstery for its hardwearing and easy-to-clean properties — plus it looks fantastic, especially if it is a luxury leather that ages beautifully. Choose a classic design — such as one of these Chesterfield sofas from Timeless Chesterfields — for a look that won’t go out of style. These particular pieces are handmade with strong beech frames, sturdy suspension, and premium leather so you can be sure they will withstand daily use by your family.
WOOL RUGS ARE NATURALLY BRILLIANT
An area rug is a great way of adding something extra special to your space. You can use a rug to add more colour or make a statement, as well as softening the look of a coffee table by positioning it beneath, giving you plenty of options. It can, however, be tough to pick a material that is family-friendly if you’re not in the know.
In our opinion, you won’t find a better material than natural wool for a family living room rug. Wool has many inherent characteristics that make it an obvious choice, such as its resistance to stains, its resilience to wear and tear, and the fact that it is hypoallergenic. Modern Rugs have a great range of wool rugs with both contemporary geometric and more traditional patterns available. They’ve got free delivery on everything too.
CHOOSE A CHILD-FRIENDLY COFFEE TABLE
The aforementioned coffee table is a great option for your living room — not only does it tie a space together, but it also provides a practical surface for when you’ve got friends and family round for a visit. However, many people think they have to lose their coffee table once they’ve got small children who may be unsteady on their feet thanks to the hazard posed by their low height and sharp corners.
This simply isn’t the case, as there are plenty of stylish tables with a rounded design that are much more child-friendly in shape without any right-angles at all. Many furniture makers produce these tables, so you should have little trouble finding one that suits the luxury design of your living room.
GET SOME STYLISH SHELVING TO KEEP ITEMS UP A HEIGHT
Young children learn by picking things up (and dropping them), so you may be tempted to part with many of your sentimental knick-knacks when redecorating your living room. Instead, why not put up some stylish shelves that can be used to store your belongings safely out of grabbing range of your little ones? Plus, the space beneath the shelves may even provide extra space for your kids’ belongings too. Take a look at Houzz’s 13 ideas for living room shelving, where you’ll find some clever suggestions about how you can add extra storage to your home.
A TV UNIT CAN HIDE UNSIGHTLY CLUTTER
If you’ve got children who are a little older, you’re likely to spend time together watching their favourite cartoons and playing their favourite video games. Unfortunately, with every new game console and Blu-ray player comes an abundance of extra wires, boxes and controls that can clutter up your living room.
By investing in a nice TV unit, you’ll have an item of furniture that can not only enhance the focus of your room, but allow you to hide wires and provide storage for DVD cases and other gadgets. The Independent rounded-up their favourite flat screen TV unit designs, recommending a variety tables and cabinets to suit all tastes and budgets.
Take these five recommendations on board to create a living room that balances both luxurious style and child-friendliness. You can look forward to many hours spent together in the comfort of your beautiful space.
