When couples invest in renovation plans and decide to overhaul certain aspects of their home, it’s all about forward-thinking and preparing the house for when the family gets bigger, and they’ll need all the extra space they can get. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to squeeze out a bit more value from the property and maybe even refinance the place to get into a better financial position before they even start considering any family planning.
However, sometimes life has a surprise waiting as you turn the corner, and even though you may have your hands full with managing a living room renovation project, it’s not that rare to suddenly be greeted with news of a baby. And while working on these two things may sound extremely difficult on paper, it’s not impossible to reimagine your living room renovation and restructuring plans now that you’re expecting a cute new member by next year.
#1 Switch Your Bases From A Baby’s Perspective
For starters, now that you’ve got babyproofing and safety on your priority list, we recommend revisiting your flooring and other bases, but this time view them from a baby’s perspective. You see, many things can be hazardous and become a risk when you’re a lot smaller and moving around on all fours. So, you must consider all the potential dangers that could be lurking about in your current living room layout.
- Reconsider New Flooring Options: If you were considering hard-tile options or something closer to the tune of polished cement to get that modern aesthetic, we suggest reconsidering new flooring options that are more baby-safe. For example, carpet and hardwood flooring are both safe, durable, and not that hard on the impact for fun activities. Remember to avoid spilling any baked spaghetti or delicious lasagna if you choose the former.
- Be Wary Of Edges And Corners: Whether it’s a coffee table or a chair, don’t forget that your baby is quite the curious cat, just ready and willing to run into all sorts of objects and things they didn’t know any better about. So, to avoid injuries, getting cuts, or even bruises from the furniture, we recommend that you cover up edges and corners to make the living room a lot safer.
#2 Declutter And Keep Things Out Of Reach
Apart from looking at things from a baby’s perspective, we recommend that you declutter and design the living room in a way that anything important or stuff they might accidentally play around with is well out of their reach. You see, other than crawling everywhere and going where they please. Babies love putting their hands to work and might grab hold of the TV remote, wobbly objects, or anything else that can fall flat on their faces.
- Secure Or Mount All Living Room Appliances: We understand that you’re in the process of finalizing stellar deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but once renovation work is done, and all that’s left is placing the furniture, please secure and mount everything. You don’t want the risk of the entire TV set falling right on your kid’s crawl path, so the baby’s safety is much better off when you prevent these things from happening in the first place.
- Push Up Any Decorative Pieces: Wall-sized paintings and free-standing art pieces are excellent additions to a living room that lacks a bit of creative expression and visual appeal, but you might want to push them up and go for ones that don’t touch the floor. At the end of the day, if the baby can reach, then the baby will play with it, which will end up ruining any decoratives you recently bought. So, stick with decoratives that don’t get in the baby’s way.
#3 Create Baby-Safe Zones In The Layout
Last but not least, it’s always a good idea to create baby-safe zones where you don’t have to worry about what the baby does or what’s in reach. Sometimes, babyproofing every inch of the living room is just impossible, so instead of making everything 120% safe, you can go ahead and dedicate a space that won’t keep you backpedaling every five seconds.
- Baby Gates Can Prevent Headaches: If you’ve got quite the busy household that’s constantly moving to and from one room onto the next and back to the living room all over again, then investing in a few baby gates can prevent headaches. As a result, it squares off a section of the living room for the baby to stay active and stops them from leaving your field of vision. Plus, if you’re looking for door accessories and other panels for a bit of DIY, don’t hesitate to do a quick search on Banner Solutions or drop by your local hardware store.
Just Because You’re Expecting Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Keep Expanding!
Overall, just because you’re expecting a new member into the family doesn’t mean every previous plan you had for the living room renovation has to go up in flames. What’s important is that you acknowledge the need for a bit of babyproofing and implement safety measures to prevent anything bad from ever happening.
