Whether you have one on the way, or you’re thinking ahead about to wanting to start a family sometime in the near future, your home needs to be ready for it. This doesn’t just mean ensuring that it’s a safe and welcoming space to be in, but also thinking practically about design features which may help to make family life a whole lot easier further down the line.
Think About How to Make Your Space Functional
If your home currently has a separate rooms, where the kitchen is completely separate from the dining room or living room, for example, you may want to rethink the layout. It will be much easier when you have a baby to incorporate the kitchen and a seating area together, especially when you’re busy cooking but you want to seat your baby nearby.
Furthermore, as the family grows, communal spaces and open-plan options might be more preferable and more family-friendly, in order to socialize better together.
Consider Your Flooring
Family life is going to get messy. Not only that, but you might not be able to dedicate as much time as you’re used to for cleaning when you have your hands full with a growing family. Flooring is a place which is often the most difficult to keep on top of, due to the amount of walking, movement and spillages which can occur on a daily basis.
This is why you might consider switching any carpet for laminate or wood flooring. This will be much easier to clean and to attend to any spills without having it affect the integrity of your floor. You can try companies such as woodfloors-farnham.co.uk who can offer tailored wooden flooring solutions that are right for you.
You always have the option of throwing down a rug if you need a soft area for your baby to play and crawl.
Think About Your Pets
There’s no reason why your current pets and your new baby can’t be best friends. However, when you first bring your baby home, it’s going to be a shock to your pets, and you need to ensure the comfort and safety of everyone involved.
It’s a good idea to set up safety gates to separate pets when needed, and to ensure that any pets such as large dogs can’t get into your baby’s room without you being present. You can then work to introduce them slowly and safely, but have control over where they can freely wander to.
Give Your Home a Safety Check
A newborn won’t yet be ready to crawl around and begin peeking into cupboards, but it’s best to prepare ahead of time and make your property baby-friendly straight away. Consider using child locks and moving potentially dangerous items out of reach in all rooms. You should also install child gates where needed.
Also consider storing away any sentimental or expensive items, rather than having them on show, in order to avoid them being knocked over or broken. You should also child-proof any bathroom or medicine cabinets that hold harmful substances.