A new person in the family is a great joy and great challenge. Everything changes dramatically – the usual way, ways of spending time, and even relationships with loved ones and the world around. The perception of space also changes: a cozy one-room apartment for two suddenly becomes too small for raising a child.
And now we will touch on life hacks for parents: how to organize the space correctly and not forget anything.
1. Zone the room correctly
The most important thing to do is to determine the number of living areas and distribute them so that there is room for yourself and your child, and even for unplanned guests. Use partitions and unoccupied under the ceiling spaces. Throw pillows and rugs on the floor to eliminate the sofa, zone space with bright colors, and intelligent lighting. And remember, if you try, there will be room for everything.
2. Privacy is important!
If there are three tenants in one room, there is a high probability that the child will go to bed much earlier than adults. Try fencing off the sleeping area with doors or curtains. Kill two birds with one stone: you will not interfere with the child in the evenings and get a corner hidden from prying eyes.
3. Curtains are the best friends of order
Small children are a huge amount of necessary little things that are not so easy to hide. To make the room look neater, try using curtains for more than just the windows or the bed – in a small apartment, curtains can cover storage places, hide a pantry or shelving.
4. Multifunctional things are the best
We have known this life hack since childhood. In the modern world, a transforming bed, a coffee table-work area, pantries pretending to be poufs and, of course, cribs for growth have appeared.
5. Prioritize
We can’t give up the kitchen, but we can make it smaller. How much – decide for yourself. Minimalism can be almost ascetic – only a stove, a sink, a dishwasher. Another kitchen variant is space saved due to a folding table, a competent location, and the absence of a wall in the room.
6. Don’t forget about the balcony
If you insulate the balcony, you will get a few extra square meters. The won space can be used in different ways: organize a children’s corner, put additional wardrobes, arrange an office or a small dining room. In many apartments, you can demolish a wall, but here you have to choose – to enlarge the room or save space for those who want to be alone?
7. Use partitions
If you do not want to live in the same room altogether, separate the children’s area from the adult using a portable partition. So both you and the baby can feel their own space. Do not forget to think over the lighting, natural light from the window can not enter the second half of the room.
8. Where do toys live?
If you live in a small apartment with a child, you have two options: either you figure out in advance where the child will store his toys, or these toys will be everywhere. In some cases, improvisation is possible – use a curbstone for a basket with dolls or replace the sofa with a full-fledged storage system.
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9. Shelves can be anywhere
If you have a small child and there is absolutely no free space, you already know everything: there is no place where you cannot attach a shelf. Over a toilet or radiator, over a bed or TV. The last one is especially good when you need to remove something higher from small hands.
10. Bunk beds – the basis of the children’s corner
When you are a toddler, sleeping on the second floor of the bed feels like an adventure, and allows adults to unload the space. Below you can put another bed (for example, yours), arrange a play area or put a table for work or study.
11. Replace tables with suitcases
The main rule of living in a small apartment is the absence of useless things. Whether you need a coffee table is a controversial question in itself, but if you need one, put a chest instead, in which you can put seasonal items. And vintage travel suitcases, for example, can replace the curbstone and drawing table in the children’s area.
12. Sofa as storage
Let’s be honest: unless you use a sofa as a sleeping place, you don’t really need one. What you really need is some more storage space. Use a window sill, wardrobe, or bench for seating – throw a blanket or pillows on them, place drawers or baskets under the bottom and enjoy the cleanliness and order.
13. Let there be color
Color will help to visually adjust the interior and separate the children’s area from the parental area. To visually enlarge the room, use a maximum of two or three light shades: white, beige, light gray, peach, pastel colors.
Large and bright prints should be avoided, but sometimes the soul asks for a holiday (especially if it’s a baby soul). Please him or her and let arrange a colorful riot on the wall. It is important that the emphasis is on only one of the walls, and the rest remain neutral.
Kids love catchy colors that visually hide the cherished free space. Do not take this as a reason for sadness. Better to take advantage of the circumstance and buy more colorful toys and accessories! Then at first glance, it will be clear where is the world of childhood, and where is the place for adults.
As practice shows, small apartments are not at all a sentence, even for a large family, if you approach the matter seriously and responsibly. The main thing here is to pay attention to the little things, but not to get hung up on trifles and boldly divide and improvise.