Turning your home kid-friendly
My psychologist has taught me that we repeat patterns or fall into the opposite extreme. Instead, balance should be the goal, and that’s an internal conscious hard work that needs to be done.
You must be wondering what this has to do with kid-friendly spaces. Well, Let me share a story with you… I grew up in a “hand-curated clutter” style home. My mother could find the right item to fit and hang on the 5 sq inch space left on a wall. Also, even though it was a large house with plenty of unused sqft, I never had a designated space but my bedroom.
I was into oil painting and set up my easel, paints, etc. on a table in the covered patio. But, my art didn’t sit well with my mother’s plants and orchids décor. Every day I would encounter fingerprints and smudges on the fresh canvas. Eventually, I got fed up fixing the smudges, and she won the war! I moved my art studio to my bedroom. Eventually, I quit painting when I couldn’t stand anymore sleeping with the strong smells of the oils and turpentine.
Well… That “hand-curated clutter” didn’t ever resonate with me, nor did the fact of not having a designated space for myself aside from my bedroom. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I planned and re-adapted our home so she would have a designated area aside from her bedroom, while keeping our home clutter-free.
It is also important for me, as I know it’s important to many families out there -perhaps yourself- to not have an eye-sore primary-colored kids’ space that clashes with the look, color scheme, and ambiance, we picked for our home.
I’m always noticing how common it is to see bright colors (Red, blue, yellow, and green) as the protagonists of child spaces. I’m in love with the European/nordic approach, which supports calm, soothing, grounding spaces.
Color plays an important role, for example, fast food spaces are painted with bright colors for a reason… Neuro-linguistic programming, as in the bright colors doesn’t create a relaxing, enjoyable ambiance, so you don’t get comfortable nor remain in the locale for long periods. Think of a spa instead, how the atmosphere helps us relax, wind-down, enjoy ourselves.
I’m a follower of Maria Montessori, her philosophy, and her teachings. Also, I’m a fan of Marie Kondo and the uncluttered spaces. With this in mind, I set to prepare to create designated spaces for our daughter to thrive in. That would allow her to do her thing, and let her brightness, and loudness, become the focus rather than the space itself. Let her shine!
