Lately I have been thinking of the way we incorporate children’s’ things into our homes.
As someone who is drawn towards a less-cluttered, more minimalistic space, the thought of bright and colourful toys taking over every room makes my anxiety levels rise ever so slightly..
However, I have always wanted our lives and home to be a reflection of what season we are in as a family. I love the idea of an ever-evolving space to be what we need at that moment in time.
As our son entered the toddler stage, and his interests started to increase: cars, trains, music, cooking, puzzles - it was fun to begin collecting things in those categories for him to play with! One of our favourite outings together is visiting some of the local thrift stores and letting him pick a couple things to bring home (with the idea that we also will try and recycle something he is no longer using). As someone who tries to be mindful of what comes into our home, and the way we consume products - shopping second hand allows us to somewhat “redeem” plastics and give toys a second life.
I like to let him pick (within reason), and have tried not to be overly strict about what he chooses. It’s fun to empower him to choose what he wants to play with. What has resulted is, naturally, are toys that stray from the perfectly neutral palette that I love so much.
Having the mix of objects in our home has caused me to think a lot more about the ‘Carefully Considered Home’ and how children put their stamp on your home decor. It’s unrealistic (and not something I want) to have a home that doesn’t look like children live in it. There are definitely some days that I dream of how the house will look when our children move out (ha!), but overall, I love that our home feels just as much our children’s as it does ours.
I remember visiting the stunning home of John and Juli Baker of Mjolk Shop in Toronto (see more photos here), and something that really stood out to me was the way that their meticulously designed home very much reflected a young family. There were toys in every room - not just the pretty wooden ones, but colours too ;). It was so refreshing! The pairing of these designer furniture pieces alongside real life with children was inspirational to me!
Doesn’t it feel much more relatable to see homes that have a bit of life in them? Don’t get me wrong - one of my favourite times in the day is after the kids go down and all their toys go back into their baskets, but there is something to be said about the way we portray what life with kids really looks like. I’m craving seeing more homes that are beautiful, but also realistic. Don’t you think?
Low shelving unit from Kroft in our sons room.