When you become a parent, life changes, your home changes and you change. Your house becomes a sanctuary for your children, a backdrop to their childhood, and a place you want them to call home. However, we can easily lose our personal style in the midst of Legos piled high in the living room and peanut butter hands searching for a couch to use as a towel. We want to provide a warm and comfortable space for our kids, but we may also dream of a home that we’re excited to show our friends and family and that reflects our own style. Here are four ways to maintain a stylish and chic home with kids:

Decorative Storage Is a Must

Kids come with stuff. A lot of it. They have train sets, a collection of headbands and dress-up wear, play-dough, and some well hidden clusters of snacks they plan to eat later. It’s part of their sticky, messy, and fun life. An absolute must when trying to maintain your version of a chic home is to have an abundance of stylish storage options. Look for decorative storage baskets or bins in canvas, wire, or woven rope in muted colors or bold patterns. Pick storage options that appeal to your aesthetic to pile in the items that don’t (for example, their collection of 400 stuffed animals).

Choose the Right Fabrics

Ok, so this might be the section where we have to be a little practical. We’re not saying you can’t splurge on that luxurious velvet couch and yes, it might be the very essence of your design style, but choosing the right fabrics with kids will save you a lot of grief (and possibly your sanity). Performance fabrics, microfiber, and leather hold up well for couches and entryway rugs meant for indoor/outdoor use can handle excessive traffic, muddy sneakers, and sporting gear. What you choose to do with that information is up to you :)

Find Children’s Furniture that Is Seamless with Your Own

No matter how beautifully you pull together your home, charm and elegance go out the door when an enormous, plastic play house or play kitchen enter the mix. Try to look for children’s furniture that is both fun and functional but also matches the design of your home. For instance, look at cedar built playhouses where children can add their own flowers to the front and maybe a spring wreath (a fun DIY craft project!). For a play kitchen, choose quality wooden materials like you can find in our Essential Play Kitchen. Wooden play kitchens can be chic, modern, and stylish while still inspiring little chefs to dream. Our play kitchens are expertly crafted in the USA from sustainable Baltic birch and solid North American maple, allowing them to be a gorgeous addition to your home, not an eyesore.

Create Kid-Friendly Spaces

A home should be lived in and you don’t need to rope off sections of your house in order to maintain your style. Instead, create kid-friendly spaces throughout your home. For instance, create a gallery wall or bulletin board in your living room where your little artist can put up their latest artwork versus having it on every surface. Take into account what your child enjoys and find ways to incorporate that into your home. Create a reading nook or a dress-up station to provide them space and storage for their favorite activities that also allows you to keep everything organized.

Creating a space that is both family-friendly and reveals your personal style is essential for a creative and stylish home with kids. Designing with kids in mind, while also taking into account your own design vision will allow everyone to live in space that they are happy to call home.