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Nursery Ideas

Decorate With Intention: Love Your Kids and Keep Your Style

Don't resign your home to kiddie characters and endless vinyl. New options let you design for high style and real life

Laura Gaskill October 1, 2012

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More

Comment28

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First it's the little plastic outlet covers, then safety gates and cabinet locks, and all of a sudden your not-so-little one is clambering over the furniture and creating "art" on the walls, windows and anywhere else crayons can reach. Rugs get crusted with Play-Doh, keyboards get ruined by rampant juice drinking, and pretty soon you start to wonder if you will ever have a stylish, pulled-together home again. The short answer is, yes. It may take a bit of extra planning and creative thinking, but there are some wonderful ways to build an elegant home that also caters to kids' needs. Here are 10 ways to get started right now.

Alice Lane Home Collection

1. Pair formal shapes with tough fabrics. Tailored furniture shapes (like wingback chairs and tuxedo sofas) feel fancier than loose, overstuffed pieces, so your space will instantly feel more pulled together. The trick is having them covered with hardworking fabrics: Neutral or dark colors, tough natural materials like linen and burlap, and stain-repellant fabrics will all hold up well against shoes, crayons and food spills.

Keep some stain remover on hand as well and be willing to live with a bit of imperfection. We live in the real world, not a museum — and it's much more fun that way!

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

2. Know that leather upholstery is a kid-friendly choice. Go ahead and get that sleek leather sofa or armchair you had your eye on, because it's actually one of the easiest materials to care for. Spills wipe right up, and a little wear and tear only makes it look better. Light-colored leather may stain more easily, and very delicate leather can get scratched up, but otherwise there is not much to worry about.

One of my favorite leather pieces is the superversatile Moroccan pouf (shown here). Used as a footrest, a coffee table or extra seating, it can fit in anywhere.

Pottery Barn

Tauna Recycled Yarn Kilim Indoor/Outdoor Rug - $49

3. Take advantage of the new indoor-outdoor rugs. Many of these new rugs (like the one shown here) are made from recycled plastics and can withstand spills with ease but look just like the real deal. Save yourself a lot of hassle by using these virtually indestructible rugs in areas that get a lot of use or are likely spill zones: the kitchen, dining room, entryway and playroom.

Contemporary Dining Room Contemporary Dining Room

4. Use walls and high spaces. Fragile vases and delicate table lamps may be out when you have young kids in the house, but you only need to look up to find your new design playground. Bold, deep wall color; fancy sconces and chandeliers; artwork; wall-mounted sculpture and any other wall decor pieces you can lay your hands on are fair game. Have a big collection of breakable trinkets? Install high shelving over doorways and windows to display your treasures out of reach of small hands.

Rustic Dining Room Diningtable in conservatory

5. Go for wicker and rattan. They can take a beating and still look great. To get that simple-chic French country look (that's also resistant to spills), seek out sturdy pieces in wicker, rattan or sea grass, along with wood, tile and washable natural fibers like linen and cotton.

Kathleen Walsh Interiors, LLC

6. Bring outdoor fabrics in. The range of patterns and colors available for outdoor fabrics has expanded tremendously in recent years, making these sturdy fabrics much more appealing to use indoors. Try them on dining chairs, cushions in a breakfast nook or even on a sofa.

escale design

7. Borrow design ideas from the wee ones. An indoor swinging bench is unexpectedly cool and fun for everyone, and chalkboard walls are just as useful for jotting down menus and shopping lists as they are for doodling. Get creative and invite a sense of play into your home; you may be surprised by what you come up with.

8. Choose grown-up pieces for little ones' spaces. When it comes to designing a nursery or young child's room, I tend to veer away from furniture aimed specifically at kids. Real, grown-up furniture and lighting are perfectly appropriate in a child's space and will last far longer than something with a cutesy motif. Add the fun and whimsy with art and accessories instead.

Contemporary Nursery Contemporary Nursery

9. Set the stage for a stylish future with wallpaper, lighting and more. Just as with the furniture, it makes sense to decorate the shell of your child's room in a way that will still feel appropriate a few years down the road. Gender-neutral color schemes and prints tend to have the most staying power whether you have a boy or a girl. You can always tilt the decor in a different direction with your choice of bedding, nightlight, hamper and other accessories.

The yellow wallpaper and bright green overhead light make a fun, graphic statement in this nursery. The neutral area rug and gray door will be easy to blend into a new scheme if tastes change in a few years' time.

10. Create instant elegance with symmetry. Matched pairs of furniture or decor arranged symmetrically make any space feel more pulled together — an especially impressive feat in an impossible-to-keep-clean kids' room. Even if toys and clothes are flung all over the room, when you glance in your brain will register the pair of chic upholstered headboards and crisp window shades, and you can tell yourself it's OK to ignore the rest, at least for now.

JayJeffers

Tell us: We want to hear about your experience creating a family home. How do you balance the reality of kids with design? What ideas (or belongings) have you had to let go of, and what have you gained? Join us in the Comments section to share your stories and ideas.

Comment28

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Comments (28)

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Kif

Wood floors are great for the same reason as leather sofas: spills wipe up easily, and imperfections add to the character.

1 Like December 14, 2013 at 6:11AM

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sophiebertheau

Style

Like April 6, 2014 at 8:16AM

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Elza B. Design, Inc.

Great article! As a design professional, I work with families with young kids all the time. Outdoor fabrics used indoors rock! I would also ad that keeping ample amounts of smart storage will help both kids be happy (toys can be stored in multipple rooms) and help parents clean up fast: storage ottomans are fantastic for this for instance!

1 Like July 30, 2014 at 11:25AM