5 Ways to Include Your Kids as You Customize Your Home

Change is inevitable. But with change comes stress.

When you think of the most highly stressful situations in life, the larger the change, the more stress it causes. And if you’ve decided to move your family into a new home, chances are there’s going to be quite a bit of stress.

Moving is difficult in the best of circumstances. When you’re building a new home, you add in not only the process of moving but also the ability to design it according to everyone’s wishes. To Customizing your home means differences of opinions. Do you select that option? Do you make these changes?

Now add the kids. Maybe they don’t want to move away from their friends. Is there a way to make the situation better?

Moving should be fun. Customizing your home should be an exciting process. And while you may anticipate making those decisions with your spouse, have you ever considered bringing your kids into the process too?

Let Your Kids Become A Part Of The Plan
Kids take ownership when they have a say in the outcome.

Want them to eat healthier? Include them in your shopping trips and have them pick out the vegetables. Pull up a chair to the counter and let them chop and mix and stir.

It works in the same manner when moving to a new location. They may be scared to leave old friends behind. They may be nervous at the prospect of having a different safe zone; a different bedroom and place to play.

By bringing them in early, you can calm their fears and get them excited about the potential.

Even the youngest children can help make small decisions. Would you like this bedroom or that one? Do you like this fixture for your bathroom or that one? Small decisions give you a chance to narrow down your preferences while letting your kids feel like they are a part of the process. And as such, they will become more excited about move-in day.

Allow Your Kids In On Minor Decisions – Like Paint
When you customize your home, there are some decisions you’ll have to live with forever. (Or at least until you’re willing to spend a significant amount of money to make a change. You can’t move a wall easily.) Other decisions can be changed quickly and without a lot of money.

Painting your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to create a completely personalized living space. And studies show that color choices can have a massive impact on the mood and even the happiness levels of a home’s residents.

This is the perfect place to let your kids have a say.

The exterior is often designed with a plan in mind. Depending on where you are building your new home, there may even be guidelines in place that dictate your color palette. And in most cases, you’ll be repainting every few years due to the elements. Color has a massive change to a home’s look and curb appeal. And for many, they select natural colors to enhance their outdoor living space.

Greens, beiges, browns, and blues can all accent your place well. Want a pop of color? Play around with the color of the door. While you don’t want to give your kids an open question on what color to select – hot pink might not be the best choice to “fit in” with the neighborhood. But once you’ve narrowed it down to a handful, get their opinion too. It calms them down. Brings them into the process. Lets them think about the transition in a new way.

And of course, color choices don’t stop there. Let them have free reign with their own rooms. Aim to match colors based on their personal choices. Give them a chance to play. If they’re dying to have that hot pink somewhere in the home, one wall in their bedroom may be the perfect place for compromise.

Inventory Your Stuff Before You Move
Customizing your home doesn’t always mean making choices solely with your new home in mind. Sometimes it starts by taking a look at what you don’t have in your old home.

What don’t you like about your old home? What’s causing you to move? Is it the too small closets? Is it the lack of storage space? Is it the closed up rooms?

Also, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to move with what you currently have. Maybe this is the time to upgrade to a larger dining room table. Or buy the new sofa you’ve had your eye on.

The same applies to your kids. Maybe now is the time to upgrade them out of their toddler bed to something new. Maybe you can help them build desk space, giving them more of a chance to spread out and take ownership of their homework.

Make a chart that divides all your new home’s spaces. Then walk through your current home with plans for what stays and what goes. Be sure to include room sizes and dimensions, which may alter your final decisions.

Add Built-In Organization
One of the biggest reasons for designing a customized home is to improve your organization. That means more cabinets and shelves in the kitchen. Better use of the closets in the bedroom. Maybe even more storage space tucked into what is normally considered “wasted space.”

How about a window seat? Would your kids get excited over the opportunity of building a window seat into their bedrooms? It would be added storage for you, and a place they could snuggle up and read or play when they have times for themselves.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, head to Pinterest and start pinning your favorites. You’ll find a world of opportunity and organization methods you’ve never thought of before. We can also make suggestions as you visit with our design services along the way.

Match Your Furniture To Your Space
Remember the space issues that frustrated you in your old home? Anticipate them as you plan out your new spaces in your new home. If your sofa always looked too small in the family room, how will it look in your new one? If the sectional you adopted from your parents never quite fit in your living space, will it have a place when you move?

Sometimes furniture simply isn’t made for something new. You’ve outgrown it. It no longer works with your space or your lifestyle.

If you need a space for organizing your bills, how about a small desk space just off the kitchen? Build it in, and it’ll be both functional and practical.

Kids can use this tactic to grow too. Are there things in their current room they no longer use? If they choose to donate it before the move, can they upgrade to something new? Something more appropriate for their age?

Are you ready to select and build a custom new home for your family? How can we help?