Advice On Renovation With Kids In Mind

[Kari 0]

I will be getting my own new flat soon. More stressed than excited.

Wondering how you guys design your flats if you live with terrible two.

I seriously need advice on how to renovate the house without them destroying all the new furniture or getting hurt.

For example, I was advised not to use parquet for bedrooms flooring as the children are still too young. They may cause a dent to the flooring when they play rough with heavy toys. However, I understand that parquet is better than tiles should we place a mattress on the floor for them to sleep... Haiz

I hope to make the house cosy and warm yet stylish. (Will that be possible?)

Greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks!

[yoongf 11]

My kids have destroyed 2 of my homes so far.

Put it this way.. if u wanna maintain the home as if it's a showflat look, then u will have a very stressful time making sure the kids behave like monks. For me, I believe a home shd be peaceful, so let the kids destroy them. It gives the home a live in homely feel, with stickers in odd corners, safety gates etc.

Parquet is best for rooms cos is warm and nice to sit on the floor to play toys. Natural stones got to worry about acidic drink spills, and homo tiles got grouting to clean, so no one flooring material is perfect. Parquet at most is just a resanding and varnishing if want to restore to showflat look.

I firmly believe that lighting makes all the difference in making a home look stylish. For example, spot lights aimed at a plan white wall, will create some conical designs on the wall. Ppl will think of art gallery!

For me, I think a home with kids.. seems like storage space is always an issue. I suggest having those large sliding doors that hides a wall full of shelving. so when come to play time, just slide the door, and voila, wall full of toys to select!

[Kari 0]

Thank you yoongf for your advice.

I guess I really have to accept their artisitic drawing and stickers in the house.

However, I was wondering whether it is necessary to have built-in wardrobes for their bedrooms (one ID told me the pricing for built-in and off the shelf is not much difference, so might as well customize - TRUE?)

I prefer not to have to many built-ins, so that I can change the theme and design of their rooms as they grow. You know kids are fickle-minded, sometimes they love Doraemon, the next moment they tell you Disney Princess and so on.

Will that be a good ideal? Appreciate your help again.

[yoongf 11]

If is own home, and not rental, shd go for built in as is more durable and significantly more storage space.

Take note.. as a mommy, I am sure u wld like tons of deep drawers for kids clothes. I self designed my wardrobe.. end up.. very practical and functional.. but looks terrible. Ideally, me wanted full height mirror doors, but.. scared kids will bang into it.

On the topic of "change design", not sure about the size of yr apt, cos most rooms these days.. are so small... not much option to move furniture ard, so might as well stick to a permanent layout and go for built in. At most let kids draw and paste sticker/ hang toys to change the theme. Most important is the lighting, shd have provision for night lighting as well as bright enough for general cleaning (think of Best Denki standard of lighting)

I have seen my fren's place.. integrate a custom made bunk bed with wardrobe / study table.. upper deck like a kid's loft. Kids love such private corners. Can also consider add a slide.

[Kari 0]

Well, mine's is a 90sq m 4 rm HDB flat (own house).

Their bedrooms are 28 m x 41 m big. Can squeeze in 1 wardrobe and bookshelf for their future books?

Mind sharing your design as reference?

Thanks.

[Starscream 0]

Door-stops, non-slamming covers, nothing protuding at the kid's head level, heavy duty tiles, low-maintenance furniture, round instead of square edges and non-slip designs off my head, and a good education..

perhaps a google or two will easily reveal more

[LittleDevil 0]

With kids around, I guess when selecting furnitures, consideration should be given to the selection of material (e.g. avoid using too much glass) and design (avoid sharp corners).

Material/colour chosen should be easy to maintain e.g. white sofa not recommended here, materials which are prone to staining and more difficult to clean should be avoid as well.

Use of mirrors and glass are still possible at a height out of reach of the little kids e.g. cystal hanging lights, frosted glass door panel for top cabinet, mirror/glass incorporated into the top part of the feature wall.

Although educating the kids of the danger of playing near window is more important, you may consider intallation of window grille to put your mind at ease.

To allow your kids to display their creativity, you may give them a wall in the kid's room to draw? Probably you could paste large pieces of plain/coloured papers on that wall? A fresh coat of paint every year is all you need to make the wall looks new.

Kids also need lots of space to run about. Avoid cluttering the house with too much furnitures or decorative items.

Use lots of bright colours will also help to cheer up the kids!

Edited June 25, 2008 by LittleDevil

[gumbokins 5]

parquet floors are great. very lasting and can tahan everything your kids throw at them. we grew up with parquet floors at my parents house and 20 yrs on, they still look great!

[Kari 0]

Thank you all for your advice.

However, I keep hearing contractors advising me against parquet as they say it will not last a year.

I do know that my kids will use pencils or anything they can get their hands on to scratch and draw the floor when I turn my back on them. Monsters!

On the other hand, I know of people like you "Gumbokins" whose house's parquet flooring really last them decades as compared to what contractors said. (Haiz I have no mind of my own. Sorry!)

I believe I will do built-ins as you guys advised since it will allow me to create more storage space for their toys and clothes.

However, does anyone know whether it is fine not to have a backing for the wardrobe? (i.e. to use the wall as the backing - Save $$ on another piece of wood )

Or is it possible not to glue the wardrobe to the wall, so it will be easy to remove and reuse if we move out?

[hihihi 0]

one renovator that I met with, adviced me that kids outgrow very fast, so don't do any built-in for their rooms. I kind of agree, so will be buying those off the shelf for kids room.

[Kari 0]

haha tats the thing! Everyone gives different advice that makes my head spin.

I agree that kids outgrow fast esp mine is only 2 and 4. They may not like the design that I plan for them as they grow older and if I have to pull out that built-in wardrobe it will be such a waste of money.

On the other hand, off the shelves wardrobes have limited space storage & they may have too few drawers or shallow drawers whereby I cannot put in big items etc.

Please be patient with me. I'm a lousy decision-maker.

[gumbokins 5]

don't get me wrong, kari, the parquet lasts very long, but it has its battlescars. my parents revarnished it a couple of years back, which restored some of its glory and i think they might hv tried to fill in the deeper scratches and grooves. i'm puzzled as to why contractors says parquet won't last..it's hardwood flooring, isn't it?

we also grew up with built ins and my main gripe about them is that you cant change them as you grow up and go through phases in your life i was stuck with some ugly pink striped laminate for the longest time. but built ins let you maximize space and if you go for something neutral, like greys or browns it can last a while. or you can just have the doors changed. i'm not sure abt using the wall as the back instead, most wall surfaces are not very smooth and not only do you risk letting bugs and insects into the wardrobe, stuff can get stuck b/w the gap too?

IMO, 'theme' furniture have a very short shelf life. and they dont come too cheap either. i guess i'm just a practical person, and i blame my parents for this. i often envied friends and relatives who had beds in the shape of cars or had colourful painted rooms or even those with MATCHING bedroom furnishings. my parents kept it 'real' by painting the walls white and bought us regular beds which i slept on till i got married and moved out. in retrospect, they probably saved a lot of money and hassle by doing so.

[Starscream 0]

I don't quite get the part about being stuck with a pink striped laminate for the longest time. The laminate covers can be easily removed and replace with new a new skin and design so long the carcass of the built-in cabinet remains sound. More like your parents who are unwilling to get it changed?

don't get me wrong, kari, the parquet lasts very long, but it has its battlescars. my parents revarnished it a couple of years back, which restored some of its glory and i think they might hv tried to fill in the deeper scratches and grooves. i'm puzzled as to why contractors says parquet won't last..it's hardwood flooring, isn't it?

we also grew up with built ins and my main gripe about them is that you cant change them as you grow up and go through phases in your life i was stuck with some ugly pink striped laminate for the longest time. but built ins let you maximize space and if you go for something neutral, like greys or browns it can last a while. or you can just have the doors changed. i'm not sure abt using the wall as the back instead, most wall surfaces are not very smooth and not only do you risk letting bugs and insects into the wardrobe, stuff can get stuck b/w the gap too?

IMO, 'theme' furniture have a very short shelf life. and they dont come too cheap either. i guess i'm just a practical person, and i blame my parents for this. i often envied friends and relatives who had beds in the shape of cars or had colourful painted rooms or even those with MATCHING bedroom furnishings. my parents kept it 'real' by painting the walls white and bought us regular beds which i slept on till i got married and moved out. in retrospect, they probably saved a lot of money and hassle by doing so.

[gumbokins 5]

I don't quite get the part about being stuck with a pink striped laminate for the longest time. The laminate covers can be easily removed and replace with new a new skin and design so long the carcass of the built-in cabinet remains sound. More like your parents who are unwilling to get it changed?

yup, my parents are ngiao that way.

[yoongf 11]

However, does anyone know whether it is fine not to have a backing for the wardrobe? (i.e. to use the wall as the backing - Save $$ on another piece of wood )

Or is it possible not to glue the wardrobe to the wall, so it will be easy to remove and reuse if we move out?

wooden based built in wardrobe normally comes as a box, and the installer will simply put a board to cover the small gap between wall and box. The box is sitting on the floor and is not stuck to the wall. Only those aluminium pole system has no box and the interal structural system is seperate from the aluminium sliding doors. I find the aluminium system is not really practical, as things tend to drop off between the gaps unless using tons of boxes to store things inside.

I moved hse about 4 yrs ago.. and brought along the built in wardrobes...so.. is good to invest in a good design and quality hardware. Just remember to use standard dimensions for the box.. like.. 50 cm widths.

Post layout of room leh, include location of doors and window.. and how big the bed u want..

Edited June 28, 2008 by yoongf