The Ultimate Guide to Renovating with Kids: How to stay sane and keep your design child-friendly
Are you renovating with kids soon? Worried you won’t be able to make progress as fast as you’d like? Concerned for their safety on site or that all the change and their routine will be disruptive for them?
Well, I’m here to tell you, you can do it.
It won’t be easy. No way.
But if you’re contemplating getting a renovation with kids in tow, or if you’re in the thick of it now with wee ones running around a building site, there are techniques you can adopt to reduce the stress and disruption for you and them.
You might be thinking…
“But Fi and Neil, you don’t have kids and you’ve never renovated with children before. How do you know??”
The reason why I know you’ll come out the other side with a home that is beautifully renovated for your family to enjoy together for years to come is because parents in our Reno Club are doing exactly that every day.
Our community (and my amazing clients) prove to me if you work on your renovation project step by step, in the right order, prepare well, and apply some of the tips below you can make the whole renovation experience easier on you and the kids and there’s no reason why having children should stop you taking on a house in need of work.
In this post I’ll cover 2 areas to support you…
1. How to keep your sanity as a family during a renovation
2. How to ensure your design is child-friendly when making those key reno decisions
In the first section I’ve called in advice from parents inside our buzzing and supportive Reno Club community for this post.
You’ll get to hear from parents just like you, perhaps a few steps ahead having got the keys to their project and work has begun. They’re sharing all their tips for you to retain your sanity in a dusty, manic house.
This second area I feel more qualified to advise you on myself.
As an interior designer working with many parents (and future parents) to design their properties, I’ve researched and experienced first hand their needs as a family – flooring, layout and material needs that make up a home design that’s practical as well as beautiful.
Side note: I’m also a VERY proud aunty to a gorgeous niece and nephew. This is Niamh who comes to visit us all the time. She’s the queen of the house when she arrives, bouncing around every room! 😍
A huge plus point to having gorgeous babies hanging out at our place (apart from the hugs and kisses!) is experiencing first hand the sticky fingers on our glass doors and velvet sofa 😂 It’s invaluable for me to learn design principles that I can pass on to clients which I’ll be forever grateful to them for!
First up, how to keep your sanity as a family when you’re renovating
After receiving a few DMs from parents with concerns about whether renovating was the right move for them, I put this post out to our Reno Club community asking parents in the group for their experience and advice:
The replies I received were real and raw. Not glamorising renovation life (that’s what I love about the community we’re building, there’s no “omg look at me juggling everything perfectly and living in a perfect home that always stays clean”).
These are real parents, working through our online course to plan their reno projects, opening up and sharing ideas to support each other and other parents joining the group.
So many tips for renovating with kids right there.
I also got an AMAZING response from a parent who wanted to remain anonymous sharing all of her top tips for anyone worried about the disruption renovating will cause to children’s mental headspace.
Top tips for keeping your kids happy during reno work
Get kids engaged by picking paint samples, drawing on old wall paper, feeling like they are making the rooms their own
Don’t forget to spend time with them not decorating - it’s easy to focus on just getting rooms done and miss out on quality time
If you are living with dated decor etc try to get some nice things like a rug they can play on or blankets for sofas
Lots of reassurance and helping them get excited
I’ve done things like get the kids to make cookies for the bathroom fitters so they feel happier there are strangers in the home
Keep your grumbles until after bedtime - they pick up on annoyance with contractors - it can be unsettling
Cry when they’ve gone to sleep ! 😂
To add to her list, I recently worked with clients on design plans for their detached family home. They weren’t renovating as such – they were actually building their house from scratch with a 3 year old in tow!
I bought their child a little tool station, a hi-vis jacket and a hard hat which kept him occupied for hours while we planned their design and they could get on with spray painting walls and ceilings.
Think about how you can make the experience more fun for them? Can they learn while the projects are in progress?
Before jumping into design tips for making your house child-friendly, if you’re a newbie renovator like we once were then sign up to our free Survivor’s Guide to Renovating which will help you get to grips with how to budget for your reno, how to find tradesmen you can trust and more.
They’re short, quick classes which will jump start your renovation knowledge. Pop your email in here and your first class will be emailed to you tonight at 10pm.
Next, how do you ensure your design is child-friendly when making key reno decisions?
Layout
I’ll start with layout first as it will be one of the first crucial decisions you make.
^Me sketching out a kitchen + bathroom plan layout for a family in London
When you’re brainstorming layout ideas for your family home, you’ll need to settle on a layout that will work for your growing needs now and as you/your children grow older. There are a few practicalities I often find myself discussing with parents:
Open plan vs Closed plan vs Broken plan. It’s imperative to work out which layout works for the way you and your family like to live. How to Renovate a House has helped many parents nail this
If noise can be an issue, consider at least 1 closed plan room you can contain play dates in while not disturbing other family members / guests
If you have younger children, keep their play area in your eye line so you can carry on pottering while watching them do their thing
Try to avoid rooms that lead onto other rooms – if you hear an accident, you need clear walkways
Avoid a noisy bathroom/shower room or utility room next to a nursery
Underfloor heating is more suitable for family spaces where hot radiators or column radiators can pose a hazard
The list really is endless and your needs will be so different for you and your family. To really understand what your layout needs are now and in the future, and prevent any regrets, you’ve got to be digging deep to unearth your wants and needs for every area of your home (something my Home Design Lab students and clients get huge value through doing with me).
Flooring
Another big decision you’ll be making early is which flooring to choose. There are a few techniques you can adopt to ensure your flooring will be child friendly and stand the test of time.
If you’re choosing carpet, get a marl or speckle running through the colour to make crumbs and pet hairs less obvious
Avoid wool carpets – they’re not quite as easy to clean when accidents happen
Avoid very dark and very light floors (unless they show varied texture such as wood) which can highlight crumbs and hairs more
Always choose a thick, quality underlay that will insulate and soften heavy footed jumping (especially if you have wooden floorboards, live in a flat or you’re renovating upstairs)
Limit the use of very hard flooring like tiles and flagstones which could make falls more dangerous
If you’re opting for laminate flooring go for the thicker (12mm usually) option rather than thinner (8mm) which will be higher quality and last longer
There are so many flooring options for you to choose between which can be a headache in itself. I try to make decisions simple by giving our students cheat sheets with the pros and cons for all popular flooring, worktop, and sink types. It’s all about acquiring knowledge at this stage. You need to know your materials to make the best investments practically.
Paint finishes
You need your walls and woodwork to be wipeable so those sticky fingers or any spillages come off with a sponge without taking the paint off with it! So which paint finish should you choose?
Remember paint finishes can differ based on your wall-type. You may need specialist finishes such as breathable paints like distemper or limewash if you live in a historic building.
Choose Modern Emulsion for walls and ceilings. It’s normally fairly matt, washable and wipeable
Avoid anything that’s “flat matt” or described as chalky which won’t be washable
Choose Estate Eggshell for woodwork. It offers a soft sheen that’s washable and pairs well with Modern Emulsion
Avoid gloss. Although it’s washable it’s very hard to paint with kids running round (crumbs and hairs can settle on the paint as it dries which is a nightmare to get out).
Opt for satin or silk for woodwork (not walls)
Remember the higher the sheen % the more obvious the imperfections on the wall will be
Those are just a few key design considerations for parents looking to make their home child-friendly.
I hope this post has proven to you that although it won’t be easy renovating a home with little ones in tow, you can do it just as the amazing parents in our Reno Club community are :)
Get support with your renovation – for free
If you got value from this post you will love our free Survivor’s Guide to Renovating email series. I’ll send you 3 days of emails at 10pm each night (after the kids go to bed) to kick start your renovation knowledge covering:
How to effectively budget for your reno
How to hire people you can trust
The order to do the work in
It’s free to sign up, just pop your email address in and your first class will be sent tonight at 10pm!
