Tips For Renovating With Kids
If you’re renovating your home with children in the house, first things first – we salute you 👏 Interior DIY improvements can be a fair challenge at the best of times, let alone when you have little ones running around, keen to explore their changing environment. The good news is that plenty of parents out there have got through their renos with the kids in tow, and you can too!
In this handy guide, we’re sharing our top tips on how to survive a home renovation with kids 👍 You’ll discover all the ways you can minimise the stress and make your renovation work for you, such as undertaking the most disruptive tasks during school holidays. Alternatively, you could focus on a few rooms at a time and save some money by going for a partial renovation. Either way, we've got some insights from Jasmin (@brickdustbaby), mother of two, about how she juggles completing renovations with kids around.
Like with all creative home projects, the key to a successful renovation is being organised and practical. You’ll want to plan how mealtimes work in advance if your kitchen is a construction site – the same goes for using the bathroom in the morning too. Then there’s the safety precautions you’ll need to put in place for exposed wires and open tins of paint, which your little monkeys just can’t help but touch 🙊 Above all else, you want to keep your kids happy – so we’ve included ways you can involve them and make the renovation feel FUN 🤗 Choose A Suitable Time
Just like when you move house, there’s never going to be an ideal time to renovate. But somehow, you need to learn how to live in your home with kids while renovating, fitting this around home, school and any other commitments you may have. Sounds like a lot, right? Well rest assured it’s all possible as long as you plan ahead!The last thing you want is no working bathroom or kitchen when you have multiple kids to get ready for school in a morning. So, time the most inconvenient or messiest renovation jobs with the school holidays. This will lower the pressure on you and mean your house is more liveable when the next term rears its head.When the school holidays aren’t an option, Jasmin has her own way of making do:Renovation life has become much more challenging ever since my son, Milo was born. We recently invested in a decent baby carrier with lumbar support which means I can do a few jobs while wearing him, but on the whole, nap time is when the renovating happens these days!
A family calendar can also come in handy when planning your DIY work during school time. You may already have one or just use the calendar app on your phone. Either way, this will help you schedule in your renovation work around everything from parent’s evenings to after school clubs and class plays. Since we all know how fickle the British weather can be, it’s also worth checking the forecast before days where you plan to do jobs outside, such as sanding or painting. Consider Partial Renovations
Even for a seasoned DIY-er, home renovations can be daunting. Then there’s figuring out how to renovate with kids in the house 🤯 Like with any task, we suggest breaking your home improvements into bite size chunks and going for a partial renovation. Yes, this means it’ll take longer to complete your home, but there will be less disruption to your family’s life. You’ll be able to keep the dust and mess restricted to one room at a time and have untouched, communal areas to relax after a hard day's work 🙌 Here’s how to get started with your partial renovation…Decide which rooms to renovate
We recommend prioritising the areas of the home you use the most and are less likely to be destroyed by the kids – i.e. the kitchen and bathroom. By all means, start with your living room, bedrooms or playroom, but don’t be surprised if these look 😬Determine what you can do yourself and where you need a contractor’s input
We’re all for getting a handle on your renovations and picking up new skills along the way 🛠 But don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. You may not be too shabby when it comes to replastering and painting the walls, but if you’re struggling with the plumbing or electrics, it’s worth paying the money for an expert’s help.
Set Realistic Expectations
One of the best home renovation tips for families we can offer is to learn to live in the chaos 🤪 No-one wants to be living off a mattress in the living room with their children asking where their toys are *every five minutes*. But remember, it’s only temporary and will be worth it once that Pinterest board you’ve been lusting over becomes your reality ✨You definitely want to explain the upheaval involved in renovating to your children. Those morning and night time routines you’ve so painstakingly put in place will have to change, so why not write their new routine down on a whiteboard or piece of A3 paper. For example, if you’re all finding yourself sharing one bathroom, it could help to have a morning timetable.To help your children make sense of the upheaval they’re living in, why not show them pictures of how beautiful your home will look once it’s finished? This should get them more invested in the project and give them something to look forward to.
Be Organised
Whether you live your life by multiple spreadsheets or are satisfied with simple pencil and paper to-do list, organisation is the key to a successful reno ✅ Here’s what we’d recommend…Store items away and declutter
Space is precious when you’re living through renovations, so you’ll want to ensure that everything is clearly labelled and packaged away. While you’re sorting, it’s worth considering whether there are any baby clothes you could take to charity shops, or forgotten toys that could go to a new home.Wrap any items that could be damaged by dust
Dust is unavoidable in a reno and no matter how much you clean it, it will reappear. Before protecting your kids’ items from dust and fumes, explain why you’re putting them away, so they don’t think they’re being punished. You could even take this a step further and try to create some clutter free games where the whole family gets the house ready for the reno.
Don’t Rush It
As much as you may want to speed through your renovation work, we can assure you that slow and steady is the better approach of the two. You need to find the delicate balance between family and renovation time, as well as carving out a few precious moments where you can chill out 😴The fact is that rushing DIY jobs can lead to you making mistakes, which means you’ll have to waste more time doing the job again or settle for a disappointing end result. Much worse though, you could slip and have an injury – which is the last thing you want.To limit the risks you’re exposing yourself to, we advise you:Ensure you wear the correct protective equipment, such as gogglesRead the instruction manuals of all tools before using them for the first timeInspect your power tools for any damageTake extra care when using laddersHave a well-stocked first aid kit in the house for any bumps or scrapes
Then once you’ve finished the work, don’t try to rush back into a space that isn’t liveable. For example, if you’ve painted your child’s bedroom, let them wait a few days for the fumes to air out before sleeping in there.Set Up A Temporary Kitchen
Having a new kitchen fitted but don’t want to keep taking your kids for meals out or takeaways? You may be surprised to hear that even during a renovation, you can whip up your family meals that are healthy AND tasty 😋Construct a makeshift kitchen counter
Start off by boxing up all the utensils and ingredients you don’t plan on using any time soon and stack the boxes on top of one another. Then, lay down a scrap board or folding table on top of this. Cover with a plastic table cloth and voila, you have a counter to prepare food! Alternatively, hack it by getting hold of a workbench instead.Plan your meals ahead of time
Now is not the time to try your hand at becoming the next Jamie Oliver 🧑🍳 You simply need to plan your meals ahead of time and go for simple, quick-to-cook recipes. There’s plenty you can cook in a pan with little more than a handful of ingredients and some seasoning. Did you know? As well as reheating leftovers and ready meals, you can also make scrambled egg, boil pasta and cook potatoes in the microwave too!
Keep Children (And Yourselves!) Safe
If you think back to when you baby-proofed your house with stair gates, safety padding on sharp furniture edges and covers over outlets, your home mid-renovation will need a similar approach. With hazards left, right and centre, you can’t afford to let the kids run wild unless you know you’ve put the relevant safety precautions in place.While we’re on the subject of electrics, we wanted to quickly remind you and your little ones to never unplug an extension lead without being totally sure what it’s for. One minute curiosity could get the better of you and you have a plug in your hand, then in the morning you find your freezer has defrosted 😬Get Everyone Involved
Some children will see renovating as one big adventure, while others may struggle to accept parting with their much-loved old bedroom. To make the transition easier, why not try to find fun, creative ways to get the kids involved? Before you prep and paint the walls, you can all write messages on them or even have a family photoshoot to collate your ‘before’ renovation pictures. You could even take pictures throughout the renovation, keep hold of colour charts or pictures from magazines and eventually put them into a family scrapbook 📔Once you’ve narrowed down your choices of paint, let your little helpers choose between the final approved options so they feel they’ve added their own stamp to the home. If you do plan on giving them a paint brush or roller, we suggest they paint the big walls rather than any difficult areas 🎨Jasmin’s tips & tricks
Jasmin's daughter is obsessed with wallpaper stripping and painting walls. She gives us a few tips for getting kids stuck in with renovations:- Give them gloves and proper safety wear and have a safety chat before you begin.- Get them excited about helping out with jobs and make it fun by taking part in a challenge or even filming your progress.- Do a job where they can see clear progress to keep them motivated.- Work together and keep them chatting, or create a playlist to keep them entertained!- Snacks, snacks and more snacks!- Give them plenty of breaks.- Above all else, remember to praise and reward hard work.
And now it’s time for you to get started on the crazy journey that is renovating with kids! Remember to have fun along the way and celebrate every win – however big or small it may seem. Because even on the days where renovating / parenting life feels like a whirlwind, we can guarantee your hard work will be worth it in the end 🥰 🏠See our post on storage ideas for children's bedrooms.We’d love to see what your family-friendly renovations look like, so keep us posted on your progress by tagging @plankhardware and #PlankProjects 🛠
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