Renovating your house takes time. Renovating with young kids roaming around the house is hard, if not impossible. We’re pretty sure you’re stressed out only at the thought of having children running around the house while construction materials are spread everywhere, and hazards are lurking around every corner. Renovating with children is disruptive, stressful, and even messier than renovating itself. But you don’t have to despair. Other parents managed to remodel their houses, so you can also do it.
Renovating with kids is one of the most common topics discussed on interior design forums. And honestly, even if most people struggle to offer recommendations because each family is unique and what works for one household doesn’t for another, there are some tips everyone can follow.
Here are all the recommendations we gathered from interior design experts and parents who survived to tell their stories.
Develop Strategies
Plan to refurbish as much at once as you can and plan the order of the renovations tactically. Consider what rooms you use the most before you start. Leave them at last because your children spend most of their time. After you remodel the rest of the house, convert the other rooms into working spaces your family can use while remodeling the ones you usually use. Renovating the kitchen is the most disruptive part of the process, so you should consider converting one of the other rooms into a temporary kitchen while you’re at it. If not possible, consider updating it in steps to make it liveable and limit the dangers you expose your children to.
Set Realistic Expectations (For The House, Renovation Process, And Your Family)
Interior designers recommend setting expectations for every factor involved in the process. Renovations are dirty and disruptive, and it takes time until you put everything back in its place. Don’t expect the constructors to leave your house clean at the end of the working day or meet all deadlines because unexpected instances often happen, and they can deal with them only as they occur.
It’s crucial to explain what the renovation process involves to your children. Tell them what they should expect at each stage of the process, so they’ll know how it’ll affect their activities. Show them pictures of how the house will look, so they’re more interested in changes than in how long it takes.
Identify Your Family’s Needs
Before renovating the house, try to identify your family’s needs to design solutions for them. Your home should serve your needs and make everyone feel relaxed and welcomed. After you set the goals for each room, let the contractors know what you want from each room. Inform them where you’re living, your kids’ ages, and their mobility so they can plan accordingly. They can employ several strategies to protect children from hazards and keep them away from spaces they shouldn’t access. They can even install full barriers if your needs require it.
Put Safety First
Constructors recommend turning off electricity, power, and gas lines during renovation. Keep the children away from the house when major work is being done. You can ask a friend to accommodate them for a couple of days or send them to a camp to spend a week or more. Before enrolling children in a camp, discuss the reason behind your decision and ask them what kind of camp they prefer. Present them with multiple Queens day camps choices and allow them to pick the one they find most entertaining.
Even with barriers installed around the house, kids can find ways to sneak around and put themselves in danger. The last thing you need is children being close to heavy machinery or fumes. Talk with the contractor about fall hazards to ensure everyone knows where they’re located and restrict access to the area.
Organization can keep you sane during a home renovation. Section off the areas with windows and install barriers children cannot pass. Use the crawl test to ensure they stay away from debris. When you enter a room, crawl around like your children would do to ensure no staples, nails, or construction debris can harm them.
Include The Whole Family In The Process
Keep everyone engaged in making sure they are aware of each change and understand its purpose. This affects your family positively because everyone understands the strategy and outcome. Allow everyone to express their opinions because you’re all living in the house, and you must ensure it accommodates your needs as best as possible.
Interior designers advise parents to let their kids have a say in the planning and design to make the process fun. It would help if you also asked them to help you complete particular tasks so they can feel they have an exciting role in the renovation process. They’re less likely to complain when they’re busy working around the house. Renovation involves more than breaking down walls and installing the floor. Once you’re ready to pick decorations and furniture, ask your children to accompany you shopping. Allow them to pick the bedding for their room and other decorations to make the house feel more welcoming.
Don’t Rush The Renovation.
The reality is a renovation process takes longer when you have children living in the house, and working around kids limits access for contractors, and daily clean-up takes longer because you need to be more thorough. But even if children can slow down the process, it’s a trade-off you should be happy to make because it allows you to save money and create a home where you all feel comfortable.
Don’t rush your family to move back into spaces that aren’t yet liveable because you can experience health issues. If you just painted your kids’ bedroom, leave it a few days to air dry before they sleep there. It’s tempting to get your children back from your friend’s house because you don’t want to bother them, but it’s wiser to give the process a couple of days.
Renovating a house with children comes with significant disruption and chaos, and it’s easy to get stressed out. But if you maintain a positive attitude, you can survive the process.