Decorate your home...even when you have kids

Now continuing that post I had last month about the home...the holidays got in the way :) And am sure your house just got another roomful of toys and other gadgets...

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While you may not have that HGTV, interior-designed space, it does not need to look like a toy store or a day care either. There can be a happy compromise. Granted that you will have to put away the precious (and sometimes fragile) knick-knacks for now, make this an opportunity to redecorate your home. A little retail-therapy might help keep you sane as well even when you are up to your ears with the clutter.  Here are some tips:

Unify. Think of a theme or a look you want. This will be the basis of your new decor. You need not go out and buy everything at once. On days when you are not at the grocery, toy store, or doctor’s office, you may chance upon that perfect piece—a painting, a basket, a non-breakable vase. Splurge a little. You deserve it. My husband and I found a nice painting only three years after we moved into our home. We did not just want to buy any painting or wall décor. We wanted art that would match the theme we wanted for our living room. It was well worth the wait. The painting not only serves as a nice focal point when we don’t want to look at the make-shift playhouse our daughter made out of pillows and chairs, but it also is an interesting conversation piece when we have guests over. If you can afford an interesting, original piece, then you can rationalize your purchase by claiming that this might inspire a future Picasso in your child.

Color your world. One way to revitalize your home and make your living room or personal space look fresh is to paint. A change of color will do wonders for your mood and might just make you focus less on the clutter. There are a lot of non-toxic, biodegradable paints available now, so a weekend or two of therapeutic labor (with the kids at grandma’s) might just do the trick. Think of this as a fun project for you and your partner. And when you go get your paint at the local hardware store, you can also pick up some color swatches to help you pick out the matching colors for your other decor. The wall color my husband and I liked thankfully came with the house so we did not have to repaint. That color also helped us pick the furnishing that would match our living room. 

Go waist-up. Get wall art and décor and hang them nicely beyond the reach of the kids. By the time they are tall enough to touch them, they should be old enough to not touch them. There are also nice, stylish hanging shelves available on which you can display the figurines and other articles you really do not want to put away. Make sure not to overdo it, or your shelf will be another source of clutter. Select pieces you really cannot bear to store. You may not have your whole living room back, but you can certainly have the upper half!