To continue our series on child-friendly design, I'm bringing back a familiar name in the LFID community.
That's right, LFID alumn Sydney Kamaloski is sharing some of her tips from spending years as a nanny and organizer for families in her community.
Sydney has always loved home organization, and is just about to launch her own business helping families keep their places tidy! Stay tuned for more info on that, but for today, she's giving us six easy tips for creating kid-accessible spaces.
Let's dive in!
1) Using Clear Storage Containers
In both a playroom or storage room, I suggest using clear bins to categorize similar items and label them accordingly. When their tucked away, clear containers make it helpful to find something specific.
2) Take Advantage of Furniture with Storage
For living rooms and areas where family and guests come together, furniture and storage pieces that hide items that are used, but aren’t visually appealing, is a great way to maintain the design flow.
3) Create Kid-Specific Areas in Kitchens
For kitchen layouts, I suggest incorporating an area specifically for kids that is easy to access (i.e. lower cabinets) for kid’s plates, bowls, cups, utensils, school lunch materials, etc. This encourages them to be independent and learn life skills such as setting the table for dinner or getting a cup for water — this way they know where it is and they can access it easily without an adult.
4) Designate a Kid-Shelf in the Refrigerator
Consider freeing up some space in the lower part of the refrigerator for snacks that kids can access if they’re hungry and it’s not quite dinner time yet. Add some clear containers in a drawer or on a shelf in the refrigerator for healthy snacks such as cheese sticks, fruit/vegetable pouches, apples, etc. to keep everything together and not roaming around freely.
5) Design Around Household Tasks
Incorporating household tasks into your home design is helpful for not only children’s development, but helping with the flow of the home. For instance, having a laundry hamper for dirty laundry and designating/labeling areas in drawers/closets when there’s clean laundry to be put away.
6) Model Ideal Behaviors
Lastly, children are sponges and they will absorb everything that their parents/guardians do. Actions speak louder than words, so if you were to put something away opposed to tossing it on the floor and leaving it there for days - children will pick up those habits and think it’s okay to do that too. If you show them that there are coat hooks in the mud room for hanging up their jacket after school or where to put their soccer cleats after practice, those actions will go a long way in how to maintain an organized and structured household.
The Wrap Up
Each home functions differently with unique needs to perform on a daily basis. Understanding how the home operates on a day-to-day basis is important when designing and organizing a home — so I take this into consideration when re-figuring a space to be manageable for all individuals within the household.
Learn More About Sydney Kamaloski
Sydney worked as a part of the LFID team for the 2019 - 2020 season. Before and during that time, she worked as a wedding, lifestyle, and brand photographer, a local airbnb manager, and a nanny for families throughout West Michigan. Currently, she is preparing to launch her own home organization business helping families in her community maintain beautiful, chaos-free spaces.
Work with Lauren Figueroa Interior Design
LFID is a full-service interior design firm serving West and Southeast Michigan known especially for our Designed in a Day service.
We work with clients from Detroit to Novi to Clarkston, and Grand Rapids to Holland to Traverse City—and anywhere in between! We pride ourselves on creating bespoke, people-centered spaces—because after all, people are what this life is all about!
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