New Parents Home Style Guide

Room-By-Room Home Set Up Tips For Your Baby

Baby or babies are on the way and new parents can easily get extremely overwhelmed with all they have to do to prepare a safe home for these little ones. Some might think this means throwing personal decor style out the window. We’re here to reassure you that little ones don’t have to take over your home sanctuary and there are many ways to merge the various needs of the household creating a functional and beautiful result. Quality design and comfort can still exist with kids in the mix. The goal is to look at the overall design of your home and work on finding ways to optimize the space without it feeling overcrowded.

FIRST: Get Organized & Declutter!

New baby means lots of new items will be entering the home. Also meaning things can get cluttered and messy much easier. So before you begin styling and setting up your home for the new member/s, take time to sort each room of the home and declutter as much as possible.

• Go through all of the toys and kids contraptions to figure out what are must keeps.
• If you’re having a hard time deciding what to keep and what to get rid of in each room, evaluate your hobbies to see if you’ll have the time or energy to do them after your baby comes.
• Imagine life with your new baby: will there be time to continue your many sporting activities, tennis, golf, yoga classes, your artistic crafts, or other similar activities? If not, consider selling related items, or putting them in storage.
• It’s easiest to do this now before the baby arrives.
• Make sure you have lots of functional storage space so you have easy places to tuck things when you're done using them. You definitely want to keep things off the floor (tripping hazard when carrying the kids around all hours of the day and night).

Babyproof Your Home

Now that you have decluttered and have a fresh view of the home, it’s time to look at it from the little one’s height. Make sure every area in your home is safe by considering the baby’s point of view.

• Babies can begin to crawl as early as 6 months and most usually by 9 months.
• The best way to see what could be hazardous to your baby is to see their point of view by getting on all fours and crawling around each room to see what your baby will be seeing.
• Install safety locks on cabinets while also moving any hazardous materials to higher storage shelves.
• Child-safe outlet covers. Make sure to add in every room of your house.
• Add baby gates to any stairways in your home. These are also useful for closing in rooms once your baby starts crawling.
• Anchor furniture (especially in the nursery) to the walls. Crawling babies love climbing on furniture, thus to prevent any heavy items from tipping over, anchor them to the wall.

Living Room: Open Layout

The living room and dining rooms are the main hangout spots in a home. Thus opening up the layout by moving furniture back instantly creates a better flow of space with more room to play. Having a simple design with minimal furniture creates the best play space for kids and new parents to not feel cluttered once the toys come out.

• Upgrading a new parents living room into a well-thought out and functional space for their new family most likely also means adding loads of storage solutions.
• Area rugs frame furniture areas nicely as an anchor to a space.
• Basket ottomans are easy to move around, use to play with, climb on, plus act as bonus storage pieces that parents can use for foot rests when the kids aren’t playing.

Child Friendly Furniture

Adding furniture that is child friendly yet still appeals to your decor style can be a challenge but not impossible. When choosing what to add that is appropriate for the kids, remember what height they are coming from.

• Shelf units or consoles are perfect as they come in all different heights. These are great for storing toys and such while still staying true to your aesthetic.
• Magnetic closures so they catch instantly are a convenient bonus for an easily securely closed door.
• Add baby-safe cabinet locks.
• Make sure you set aside room for the following kids items in the living room or family room:
  • Playpens
  • Bouncy chairs
  • Toy containers

Furniture

• Sofa
  • opt for slipcovers so your family is able to wash things fairly easily with kids and pets around. Covers replace easily and hide stains.
  • Or choose upholstery that’s easy to wipe off.
  • Having couches or chairs that are a bit up off the floor creates extra storage for items that were too big for the console storage table.

Coffee Tables

Side tables and coffee tables are ideal for your living room needs and you can still safely include them in your layout if chosen in the right shape.

• Tables with rounded corners are best for babies and kids who are still learning to walk.
• Oval, egg, or circular shapes work too.

Floor

Choosing flooring options that are kind to the baby's body is an important consideration. There are a few options.

• Cork- at the top of the list is cork. This material offers easy maintenance, sound absorption, warmth, and comfort underfoot, AND it’s an eco-friendly choice!
• Rugs & carpets- if you already have your flooring in place, it might be helpful to add some throw rugs where the baby will be hanging out. Layered carpets (throw rug on top of a carpet) is an attractive look and extra comfy for babies too.

Shelves

Low bookshelves and storage units like this in the living room create a space for children’s books and toys. When kids have easy access, it fosters independence in their choices and decision making.

• Having a small shelf in the living room for the young one’s materials gives them the opportunity to engage in quiet time with books, take out a basket of toys, or blocks for building.
• Bonus: they also know where everything goes when playtime is over.
• Sliding cabinet doors allow for either displaying or hiding the kids' things as you desire for your decor look.

Kitchen

The heart of the home, the kitchen is the one place where everyone spends time day in and day out. The secrets to a new family-friendly kitchen are:

• Lots of space for mingling.
• An ample kitchen island.
• Comfortable stools.
• Extra seating.
• A cozy breakfast nook.
• Open layouts help everything flow seamlessly.
• Food processor- takes care of anything from steamed vegetables to sticky oatmeal in seconds and purées them into smooth meals for kids to gobble down.
• Make sure you set aside room for the following: cabinet space for baby’s bottles, bowls, plates, silverware, bibs, and a high chair.

Nursery

New parents will probably focus a lot of their home decor efforts on designing and setting up the nursery. When getting ready to organize baby's room there are a few “must-haves” that new parents recommend:

• Changing table
• Cradle, crib, or bassinet
• Dresser
• Laundry hamper
• Rocking chair or glider
• Toy bins
• Washable wallpaper around the changing area.

Some additional set-up tips include:

• Make sure everything you could need is within easy reach of the changing table: diapers, wipes, laundry hamper, diaper pail, burp cloths, pacifier, etc.
• Make sure you set aside room in the closets for strollers and diaper bags.

Theme

As new parents, a fun thing to consider is a theme for your baby's room. Some wallpaper, paint, and decor accent ideas include:

• An animal theme.
• A travel theme.
• A jungle theme.

Art

Displaying art is definitely an adult endeavor and will make all the difference in a new parents home when decorating in your preferred style.

• Art makes the difference.
• Framed prints can define any style you choose and elevate your space.
• Tip: framed printed fabric swatches were an inexpensive upcycled unique craft to display art elements.

Bathroom

Things new parents will need to add to their bathroom set-up for baby specifically will include:

• Baby tub
• Bath toys
• Bath and body products

Shelves

Consider purchasing shelving units and installing them at different heights on the wall above your changing area.

• Helpful in organizing toys and supplies out of the reach of your baby.
• Take advantage of vertical space on your wall, especially when your baby is small and can’t reach the space above where they’re lying when you change them.

Bins & Containers

You can use bins, baskets or other types of containers as storage for baby clothes, toys and more.

• Repurpose what you already have first before purchasing new solutions.
• Clear, basic, and sturdy units are best. Makes it easy to locate items in a pinch, and you’ll be able to reuse these storage solutions later.

Drapes

Something new parents may not have thought of, are window coverings.

• Make sure the lighting in your nursery can mimic nighttime anytime, meaning a heavy enough curtain or shade to fake the dark when it's time for a daytime nap.
• Baby will learn that darkness means bedtime.
• No need to make the nursery a cave, but give yourself the option to fake it and life will be a lot easier.