Top five ways to design & organise your home with kids
My four children are now grown up but when they were young I had to come up with systems to organise my home to avoid the chaos before and after school and to create ways to ensure my house did not end up looking like a tip. Over the years I learnt that the best organisation systems were also based on the kids taking more responsibility for themselves as they got older.
I had systems including an Ikea locker for each child for their school bag and hat; shoe racks at the front door for school shoes and trainers; an organised laundry system using baskets for each child, and a floor to ceiling blackboard in the kitchen for all the activities for the week.
I always dreamed of a dedicated mudroom but we moved so much I never had the chance to build one so the metal Ikea lockers sufficed. I got my chance to design a mudroom a few years ago when I had a client with 5 kids and we designed a colourful mudroom for her family (see below) that ticked all the boxes.
Here are my top five ways to design & organise your home with kids to make your life a bit easier, less stressful and to ensure you enjoy your time with your children when they are young - although it seems like it will last forever it is gone in a flash.
1. Create A dedicated mudroom
Create a dedicated mudroom or space where all the school and sports stuff goes at the end of the day and is easily accessible on those busy chaotic mornings before school. If you have the budget, built in cabinetry including a locker for each child to store their school bag, school shoes, school hat, tennis racket and violin is a good solution for a busy family. A mud room is best located in or near the entry to the home or near the entry to the garage. If you are renting or do not have a budget for built in cabinetry, Ikea or Mustard Made have great ready made lockers in bright colours.
The colourful mudroom at our Pretty In Pink project in Newmarket for a family of 5 children. The kids got involved in picking the colours for the lockers and this space has been a game changer for my client as the kids stuff used to be strewn from the front door, down the hallway and into the living room.
2. Set up a laundry basket system for each child in the household
My tried and tested method (over 20 years) for a family laundry is to set up a system and space in your laundry for a clean clothes basket for each child in the house with their name on it. As the clothes come off the line or out of the dryer they go directly into the child’s basket. When the basket is full it is the child’s responsibility to empty the basket, put their clothes away and bring the empty basket back to the laundry. If they are too young you can do it with them so they learn the ropes. I used to put the baskets on my kids’ beds at bedtime and ask them for the empty baskets back the next morning. My go to baskets are from West Elm and Pottery Barn or Pretty Snippets personalised baskets are fun.
The family laundry in our Pretty In Pink project is designed with this basket system in mind. There is a basket for clean clothes for each member of this family of 7. Photograph from the article in Home Beautiful March 2020.
3. Use baskets on shelves in the kids bedrooms
Kids have a lot of stuff and they like to collect things and have their favourite toys and paraphernalia in their bedroom . A bedroom should have a calm and relaxed feeling to encourage good sleeping patterns so the less clutter the better. To organise kids’ bedrooms, control the mess and create a sense of calm, use baskets on open shelving and in their wardrobes and label them so the kids know where their stuff is and how to put it back and find it again.
In this little girl’s bedroom in our Pretty in Pink project, we designed shelving next to the desk for display and to house baskets to store all her favourite things in - without too much clutter.
4. Organise your pantry so your kids can help to cook and put the shopping away
Kids love to cook and it is much easier for them to do it themselves without your help if the food is labelled clearly and they can access all the ingredients easily. I started organising my pantry into labelled jars when my kids were aged about 8 - 15 and I was amazed how they started to cook more and were able to easily tidy up after they had finished. An organised pantry also helps when you bring the shopping home as your kids can help you put the food stuff away. Ikea has a good selection of glass bottles for pantries at an affordable price and I find black board stickers are the best labels as you can change what is inside the bottle.
A pantry organised with clearly labelled glass jars makes cooking easy for kids. This pantry was designed as part of our Pretty In Pink project and I also helped my client to organise the pantry when she moved in.
5. Set up a homework and activity area for kids near the kitchen
To be able to multi-task as a parent, the best place for a dedicated homework area is near the kitchen or family room. This also allows you to keep an eye on the kids while they are on their screens and to help them with their homework. If you are renovating or building, a custom designed homework area could include built in desks, notice boards, shelving and storage cupboards. Alternatively, you could purchase matching stand alone desks, colourful chairs, and ready made shelving and notice boards to create a homework area near your kitchen or family room.
Gabe x
An update of a lovely home office off the family room in our Hendra project incorporating new lighting, a fresh coat of paint, Ikea office chairs and styling elements.
For this family with 5 kids, we worked with the architect and the client to design a homework area off the kitchen to include space for the three younger children and a desk for my client so she could also work near the kids. This area which features iconic Panton chairs from Living Edge, came in very handy during the lockdowns and schooling from home.
Photography by Hannah Puechmarin
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