Any parent knows that childproofing is fundamental to a happy and healthy family environment, hence why you likely installed those child safety gates well before your youngster took their first steps without even thinking about what it meant to home decor overall! Luckily, as your kids get older and these restrictions ease, it’s entirely possible to get back on the interior bandwagon. In fact, you may find that you’re even able to go as far as completing total renovations with your kids in tow.
We know that it can seem like madness to even contemplate this kind of overhaul, but countless parents make this work, and many of them end up with a more child-friendly and appealing home as a result. While you might not want to jump into works while your kids are still in nappies, then, you certainly shouldn’t hold back for fear of extreme renovations with older children. Instead, simply make sure that the process is as safe and non-invasive for your family as possible by following this crucial step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Plan so that your space stays livable
Perhaps the main issue with renovations in a family home is the disruptions that are inevitable as a result. This is especially the case if you’re renovating crucial spaces like your bathrooms and kitchen, but it’s something that proper planning could help you to at least offset. If you’re planning major renovations across multiple crucial rooms, an intricate plan drawn up to keep every space functional is especially going to make a difference to the discomfort experienced by your family overall.
Making sure to tackle projects like these one job at a time also enables you to more easily navigate issues like bathrooms that are temporarily out of order. Equally, taking the time to plan and, more importantly, develop a timeline for projects like kitchen renovation enables you to both reduce the time that you spend without a cooker, etc., as well as meaning you can make plans for alternative accommodation or simply a whole family takeout on nights when disruptions are expected.
Step 2: Always arrange alternative accommodation for your kids
While your partner and you might not mind bunking down on a floor-based mattress for a night, it’s also important to note that sleep disruptions can be significantly bad news for kids, especially if they’re going through important school events like exams at the time. Hence, it’s also vital to ensure that you have a go-to alternative accommodation for the children should you need it. Not only does this mean that you can keep them out of the way when extreme works are taking place, but it also ensures that you’re better able to plan for and manage emergencies that can arise during renovations of all kinds, including burst pipes, lost water, general power shortages, and much more.
Step 3: Avoid mess as much as you can
Your typically pristine home is going to get messy during renovation, if only because of the sheer levels of dust these projects create. Still, from a safety standpoint, you need to avoid/tackle the mess as much as you can if you intend to keep your kids around.
Specifically, you’re going to want to take precautionary steps to reduce their exposure to building rubble and dust, both by placing dust sheets around renovation areas in advance, and by investing in a dumpster rental service that means piles of rubble are never left to linger.. Aside from this, it’s also important to complete the messiest tasks of any renovation while your kids are away, as well as prioritizing daily cleanups that ensure little fingers are less likely to find their way towards mess that you’d rather they didn’t mess with.
Step 4: Maintain routine
Outside of the practicalities of renovating with kids, it’s also important to remember one family fundamental – the need to maintain a regular routine.
In part, this comes back to your ability to plan renovation works during a time when it’s least disruptive (e.g. while the kids are in school), but it’s also about finding new ways to fit old habits into even renovation lifestyles. For instance, keeping the same bedtime routine regardless of where they’re sleeping, or simply ensuring the same bathroom regimen even in your temporary ensuite arrangement, can help to keep your kids feeling safe, settled, and generally unaffected by the whole thing.
Renovations don’t need to renovate your life, especially not if you consider these ways to manage even major household upheavals with a family in tow.
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