Creating New Kid Friendly Spaces in Your Home

CREATING KID FRIENDLY SPACES IN YOUR HOME

Over the past year, homes have become more than just homes. They've become workplaces, meeting rooms, classrooms, study halls, gyms, and places where families live and work. We've already reviewed some of our recommendations for converting space in your home to a home office, and below, we will review ideas for creating new kid-friendly spaces in your home.

Studying at the dining room table works for those studying only a few hours a day. Remember when after school homework was the norm? When more than two hours of studying is necessary, especially with more than one student, the dining room table is not a long-term solution.

The other option for studying in the home is the child's bedroom. The design of a bedroom is meant to be restful and promote sleep, so converting the bedroom to a school room is likely to cause problems especially for children who rely on routines to navigate their days and weeks.

So what's left?

For those who can afford adding rooms to the house, creating a library or study hall is a great idea and likely the best solution for those deciding to make learning at home a long-term plan. However, even if that is your plan, it can take months to implement, so…

We recommend reconfiguring walls and unused spaces to carve out storage areas and study spaces. Adding some of the following features to a living room, playroom, or den may be your short-term solution and may even work well enough to become a long term solution.

Built-in cubbies to store books and toys
A dropdown desk that can be folded up to become wall art or a family dry erase wall panel (think Murphy bed that is a desk rather than a bed and is in a living space rather than a bedroom)
Room dividers to help make several different "rooms" in one larger room
Step stools that can convert to study chairs
File and binder storage devices that can be mounted on walls or room dividers.

The key is to create spaces that have unique purposes throughout the day. Some of the features that make these spaces should feel permanent while others can be convertible.

It is also helpful to give each family member enough space and time to personalize their study space with colors, textures and smells that help them feel as though they "own" that space.

Making new spaces will create new routines for each family member that help them succeed even when they are all "under the same roof" for more hours than ever before.

When you are ready to create new spaces for your family, give us a call at 425-392-8301 or contact us.

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