Your home should be a place that changes with you, not one that holds you back, and the fact is that what worked when you first moved in might not feel as practical as your family gets bigger (both in number and size as little ones grow up). Maybe your open plan space suddenly feels like it’s a danger to toddlers, or the spare bedroom has become an office, playroom, storage room (or all of the above). Instead of constantly rearranging, trying to squeeze in more furniture, or just basically wishing for extra space, the key is to design a home with flexibility in mind so it works just as well now as it will in the future. Keep reading to find out more.
Make Spaces Flexible
It’s a home office today, but could it be a nursery next year or a teenager’s hangout spot a decade from now? Well, the answer is it should be – you need to make rooms more useful by making sure they can evolve over time and be used for whatever it is your family needs.
So instead of locking in a space for a single purpose, you’ve got to think about how to make it multi-functional – a spare bedroom can double as a home office, for example, and a playroom can easily turn into a study area. And as for your open plan living room, that can shift to suit your family’s changing routines as well – which means everyone’s comfortable all the time. To make it happen, you’ll want to choose furniture that adapts, which could mean extendable dining tables, fold-away desks, or storage ottomans, for example.
Make It Comfortable And Efficient
As your family grows, so does the wear and tear on your home, and if you’ve got more people in there, there’s going to be more mess, more noise, and you’ll use a lot more energy too. That’s why it makes a lot of sense to invest in durable, energy-efficient upgrades sooner rather than later because that’s going to make things a lot easier and more cost-effective in the long run.
Take your windows, for example. Replacing old, drafty windows with Window Nation replacement windows can boost how comfortable your home is and reduce your energy bills all on one fell swoop, and that’s going to benefit everyone.
Add As Much Storage As Possible
One of the biggest challenges of having a growing family is that there’s just stuff absolutely everywhere, and the amount of stuff doesn’t change over the years, it just turns from toys to clothes or whatever else it is your kids are into. But whatever it is, the clutter can build up really fast, so having good storage like built-in shelves, under-bed drawers, floor-to-ceiling cupboards, and so on, can all help keep the chaos under control.
The key to this idea – like everything on this list – is to choose storage that’s going to grow with you. That could mean a variety of things, such as adjustable shelving, modular wardrobes, multi-purpose benches or coffee tables, etc, so you know there’s always a home for everything. In that way, you’ll always be able to find whatever you (or your kids) need, and that’s going to save a lot of stress and potential tantrums.
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