School’s out so it’s time to make home a kids’ haven

The August holiday is with us, and the children will be spending more time at home. They will be inviting friends over to play, watch telly or do assignments. To cater for these activities, you will probably have to make some changes to the living room. PHOTO | FILE 

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By IMMACULATE WAIRIMU
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lt’s August. Some schools have closed. Others will soon follow. This means that children will be spending more time at home for the month.

 

With children either in school for most of the day or in boarding schools for three months, the holidays present the perfect time for them to relax and bond with their families.

Much of this relaxation and catching up takes place in the living room, when their parents are back from work or on weekends. This means the living room will no longer be strictly a formal space. It will also be used as a meeting point for the children and their families and friends.

It will be an entertainment spot and a play area for the younger ones. As a result, there will be a variety of activities in it, which might require some décor changes.

This presents a challenge for parents to design the living room in a way that accommodates their preferences and style with that of the play needs and ages of children. It is not practical to expect them to play outside all day long.

Depending on the ages of the children, the parents will have to consider the likelihood of staining, and the need to protect the young ones from electrocution and other dangers related to electricity, slips and falls, and burns or scalds.

It is also about playing around with spacing to accommodate the smaller children who want to invite their friends over to play or hang out.

Although the older children’s preferences might not be difficult to incorporate, they will also need to be factored in as they too will want to impress their friends when they invite them over for games, movies and sleepovers.

The parents might also invite their children’s cousins and relatives to spend the holidays with them. This will require the creation of additional space to accommodate them.

The challenge is to create a casual, comfortable and well-decorated space that is practical and also stylish by using durable and washable fabrics, sturdy furniture, attractive colours, and creating plenty of storage space for toys and other accessories.

Below are some ideas to help you make the living room more livable, enjoyable and relaxing, and child-friendly without compromising on its style. The ideas will also be easy to alter when the children go back to school.

THE FURNITURE

Comfort and style sets the mood for the time that will be spent in the living room. Therefore, the furniture should balance family-friendly with sophistication. This is achieved by including variety in colour, shapes, sizes and patterns.

Comfortable couches will be ideal for lounging, so that family members can make themselves comfortable while catching up, sitting, lying or even cuddling.

The couches can be accessorised with ottomans to create more sitting space when one wants to raise their legs for relaxation. Side tables can be added. On them, healthy soft drinks or snacks can be placed when the family is relaxing while watching TV.

A side table will also make a great addition to the couch when Dad wants to relax while reading his newspaper, and needs a place for his drink.

The same can work for the teenage daughter who wants to read her magazines and have somewhere to place her phone. She will need it nearby to update her friends on Facebook, WhatsUp, Twitter, etc.

When it comes to colours, bright hues appeal not just to children, but to adults as well, even though they tend to show the stains more.

For families with light-coloured furniture that is prone to showing dirt and stains, washable slipcovers will be useful. The furniture will look as good as new when the slipcover is no longer needed.

Meanwhile, those with dark-coloured furniture can create an airy and brighter look by pairing the dark furniture with bright and light-coloured accessories. One could include a transitional piece that will mark the move from dark to medium tone to light for a seamless look.

For instance, if the couches are a dark shade, the coffee table or the area rug could be a medium shade and the walls, curtains, and so on, could be a light shade to aid in the transitioning. The dark couch can also have throw pillows in light shades to achieve the same result and further enhance style.

This way, it will be easy to swap smaller accessories, such as paintings and other wall hangings like picture frames, mirrors, etc, and throw pillows, vases, table lamps, when a new colour scheme is desired.

One can also create a flexible seating arrangement that is anchored by the main pieces, such as the couch, but still with plenty of corners and open spaces to pull up extra chairs.

Also, be sure to add character to the room with personal knickknacks and family photos that represent every member of the family. Apart from character, this will create a sense of belonging that the children will be proud to show relatives and friends.

PATHS AND WALKWAYS

While working on the living room décor, remember to factor in the walking areas and traffic flow when arranging furniture. The room should have plenty of space for the younger children to play, an entertainment space for the older ones, with an arrangement that makes it easy for them to move easily from one area to the other, or in and out of the room.

For instance, it should be easy for them to move to the door and back without cutting through the main conversation area and inconveniencing others or tripping over the feet of those who are seated.

It is also important to ensure that all free standing accessories, such as vases, individual seats, and tables, among others are away from the paths and walkways, and secured near a wall to prevent accidents. There will likely be a lot of running around the house.

FURNITURE PLACEMENT

During the holiday, it is great to have the children feel the continuous presence of their parents around them, even while not engaging in activities together. This can be achieved through furniture and room placements, or colour transitioning from one room to the next.

Mummy might be working in the kitchen while dad is reading the newspaper in the lounge area, and the children are hanging out at the dining area doing their homework or engaging in another activity, yet they can still feel the presence of their parents.

For families without open-plan living spaces where togetherness is promoted, keeping distinct areas unified by the same colours throughout, or using furniture placement to divide the activity zones will have the same effect.

ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

This will be where the children will spend much of their time in the house – watching more TV and movies and enjoying computer or video games. Be considerate and make their time here enjoyable for the weeks they will be relaxing at home.

Parents can integrate a media centre into the family/ living room, complete with storage room for controllers, game systems, and other components.

Ensure the TV is at a safe level where the younger children cannot easily switch it on when you want them actively playing outside in the sun, and where they will not interrupt their older siblings or parents.

There are wall units that can stylishly hide the bulky cathode tube TVs and lock them in when not in use. And there are the wall mounts for flat panel TVs, along with the accompanying devices and DVDs.

Shelves or cabinets for movies, video games and small electronics like video game consoles and DVD players will serve the purpose of hiding what is not necessary for use. They also help to maintain a neat, clutter-free living room. Better still, if one is able to, they can invest in a large entertainment centre for such times.

For a family room that comes alive at night, parents could consider painting the walls a dark hue or accessorising light walls with a dark-coloured curtain and area rug to make the room warmer and the favourite area for television viewing.

COFFEE TABLE

A central coffee table can serve many purposes in a family room. It can be a place to position popcorn bowls, drinks and remote controls for movie time, or act as the main hub for game boards during family game nights. The younger ones can also use the expansive surface for playing and colouring.

STUDY DESK

As much as this is a time for relaxation, the children should not forget their studies. To encourage studying, parents could install a work table for homework time, away from the bustle of living room activities. This area, though part of the room, should face away from distractions.