Decorating tips for young families

With these handy interior decorating ideas, you'll be well on your way to a stylish home that all family members love!

To view more of this project see "Get your kids involved in your reno"

When you raise a family, you'll no doubt want to create a safe, nurturing environment for your children. One way to achieve this is by embracing the right colour scheme into your property.

But what is the best way to create a family-friendly home, without going over the top? Striking the balance might seem difficult, but with these handy interior decorating ideas, you'll be well on your way to a stylish home that all family members love!

Look in the right spots

If you're bringing up babies or raising toddlers, it's worth looking to the ground.

Before little ones are truly capable on their own two feet, rolling around and crawling is how they explore their environment. Accordingly, you want to ensure they can do this comfortably.

A living space with plush, high-pile carpet is a good bet for this. Alternatively, you might have beautiful hardwood floors, which you're unwilling to cover over with carpet. A good compromise is to invest in a bright, bold rug that little ones can crawl around on comfortably. It's a great way to add colour to your living area without making more permanent changes. Look for a rug that embraces colours such as Resene Rapture, Resene Hemisphere or Resene Origin.

Consider your furniture placement when adding a rug in your living space. Placing the front legs of your sofas and chairs on the rug will help integrate the rug into the space effectively. Scour the living space for any sharp edges, from furniture legs to coffee table corners, and cover them with foam.

Celebrate little artists

Finger painting and drawing are some of kids' favourite activities at childcare. These prints can be used to liven up your living space, kitchen, the nursery and even the bathroom!

Pick up some budget picture frames – opt for those with simple, thick borders in black or white. Then grab your favourite colours in Resene testpots and let your children experiment. It's best to do this in your garage with a dropcloth underneath, just in case any of the paint wanders further than you expect.

You can frame your children's pieces of art and hang them throughout the house to bring vibrancy to any space. Unlike painting your walls bright pink or zesty orange, this approach won't affect the re-sale value of your home. However, it still ensures your children get to contribute to your property's aesthetic and makes sure there are plenty of bright colours throughout your home!

If you're living in a double storey property, consider hanging framed artwork on the stairway. Bright paintings also look interesting when placed on an archway, between rooms.

Kids also love measuring themselves, while this can act as a precious memento for parents. Pick an area – such as a doorway in the kitchen – to measure your children's height as they get older. You could paint the door frame itself a bright colour for a unique point of difference, without having to go all-out on all the kitchen walls!

Keep things neutral

A themed playroom is an exciting DIY project for new or soon-to-be parents to embark on, while bedrooms that take inspiration from your little ones' favourite picture books or fairy tales can also be a hit.

However, don't go all out before considering things a few months or years down the track. Sometimes, it's a safer option to paint walls throughout the house a neutral shade such as Resene Spanish White. This helps achieve a seamless flow between various rooms, rather than visually separating the nursery or playroom from the rest of the home.

Then, invest in bright bedspreads, wall decals and playful furniture for kids' rooms. Not only does this shade act as an ideal blank canvas for any space in the house, it also helps give the impression a space is bigger than it is – making it perfect for smaller areas.

Colours mentioned in this blog...