Transform Your Garage Into The Perfect Children's Play Shed

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If you’ve got a garage that you’re not using for much other than to store junk, and kids that just love to make a mess, why not consider transforming your garage into the perfect children’s play shed? There are a few things you’ll need to do before it’s suitable to play in, and some considerations you’ll need to make along the way. Read on if this sounds like something you and your children would like!

Choosing A Theme 

If you want to transform your garage into a playroom, first consider the sort of theme that you want to create. This will depend largely on your kids, what they are into, and how long you think they’ll be using the space. Turning it into a room based on their favorite kids' TV show is all well and good, but you need to remember that kids change their minds and grow out of things quickly. It might simply be better to go with a theme or decor idea that will last much longer, so you don’t have to redecorate every year. 

If your children are old enough, you could even get them involved by asking them what colors to use. That is if you’re not having the playroom as a surprise! 

Making The Garage Suitable For Children

The garage isn’t often the most suitable place for children to play. This means you’ll need to make some changes before you can let them go in and play out their wildest dreams! Consider the temperature of the garage to start. If it’s freezing, there are ways you can insulate it to make it a more suitable temperature for kids to play. Of course, there are also personal heaters you can use. 

Making sure the garage is clean and tidy is important, so set about having a huge clean and clear out. Ensure there are no pests lurking that could pose a danger to your kids. You may need to get professional squirrel removal or find a similar service. Having the room assessed by a pro could be a good idea, as you may miss some of the signs of an infestation.

The flooring in the garage is crucial. Concrete is fine for parking your car on, but for your kids to play on? Nope! You can look at replacing the floor you have with laminate or carpet. Carpet is the best option if you want something soft and warm that your kids will avoid hurting themselves on. It’s also a great noise muffler, so you’re not going to hear excited cries from your children as they play, and neither will your neighbors. Bear in mind a dark color is usually best, as you won’t always be able to oversee their playtime and make sure they’re not spilling things! If you’d rather not install a carpet permanently, you could purchase a large rug or something to soften and warm up the floor instead. This way, once your kids have grown up, it won’t be too much trouble to remove them and continue using the garage for your car. 

Thinking about installing windows is also a good idea. After all, wouldn’t you like your kids to play somewhere light and airy? Natural light is important for health and development! Installing windows won’t be cheap, but it’ll make all the difference to the play shed. 

Installing a secure TV is another good option. If you also provide comfortable seating, then your kids will able to enjoy their programs and films here, without disturbing you as you watch yours. The TV must be secure, as kids can get a little rowdy at times and you’d hate to find it smashed to smithereens one day. Attaching it to the wall could be a good idea for this reason. 

Lastly, it may be a good idea to get down to your kids level and assess what needs to be changed from there. Are there ways you can childproof the shed further? What will they likely see/bump into when they enter? 

Hiring A Decorator Vs. DIY

Consider how much time you have to dedicate to this project, as well as the budget you’ll allow. This will help you to decide whether hiring a decorator or doing it yourself is a good idea. While hiring a decorator is more expensive, you’ll likely have the play shed up and running much sooner, not to mention completely to a higher standard. Make sure you spend as much as you can afford - don’t automatically go for the cheapest decorator. 

This play shed will be somewhere your kids make memories to last a lifetime, so you want it to look suitable. 

Getting As Organized As Possible

Finally, getting organized is a must. Your kids have plenty of toys, books, arts, crafts, and other items that you’ll want to store. Being as organized as possible is the only way to ensure that the room stays tidy, even when you’re not there to supervise. Stacking boxes are the perfect solution for this, depending on how much stuff you have to store. Make sure you label absolutely everything so that your kids have no excuse for making a mess when looking for certain things or putting things back in the wrong place. 

Ensuring Your Children’s Safety

While childproofing, as mentioned before, can keep the play shed safe, you’ll also want to take other safety precautions to ensure that your kids are as safe as can be while playing. Make sure there are no cords or anything that they can get tangled up in, and install alarms so that you are alerted should anything happen. 

The perfect children’s play shed will be comfortable, warm, look great, and be as safe as possible. You don’t want to have to worry about your kids when they’re supposed to be having fun! Take some of the tips here and you’ll end up with a room that both you and your kids fall in love with. 

Leave your own thoughts and ideas below!

Fine-Tuning Your Home For A Toddler

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Getting yourself a new home is fantastic, it's a new start, and it's a great opportunity to make this home a much safer one, especially if you have a young family. A lot of modern parents have to rent properties a lot of the time, meaning they can only make superficial changes to the house. So if your last home was a bit cramped with lots of items piling up everywhere, what can you do to make it safe, and more importantly, livable for you and your toddlers? Toddlers are very keen to get themselves into dangerous situations of course, so here are a few little nuggets of information to take on board.

Removing Trip Hazards 

There are wires everywhere now, from your television to your iPad, to your laptop, to everything. The one main thing to take away from this is not just to tuck the cables behind things because you know that your toddler can get into so many small spaces, but they will be grabbing those wires and chewing them before you can say Paw Patrol! Instead, cable ties are the way forward, they are cheap, and they will keep everything together. The other trip hazard is usually the toys that your children take out of the toy box and leave everywhere, so a solid solution to this is to create a playpen area where your children can make as much mess as possible. If you can try and limit it to their room, that would be great. The other main thing to be aware of is putting the expensive items out of reach. So this means making the most of the shelves, and putting up shelving where you can, during the first few years of any kids life, danger hazards are everywhere!

The Electrics 

Children love to stick their fingers in sockets so you can purchase some socket covers that go over your plugs easily, which will give you peace of mind. It's also important to check the voltage, and usually, the sockets are low voltage nowadays, but if you have moved into an old house, there is no point in running the risk. Make sure you get the lowdown on the best electricians in your area, for them to do a check on the electrics in your home. The other thing to think about is making sure that large bulky electrical items are stable and secure, such as the television, especially as these high-definition televisions now are very thin and can be easily pushed over. It's important to develop boundaries with your child in this respect (if they will listen to you)!

Baby Gates 

A lot of baby gates aren't built to last, so make sure you get strong ones. If you've got a strong toddler, they will be opening them soon enough. So if you can get good quality ones at the outset, this will give you a bit more peace of mind before they develop that superhuman strength! It is also important to be aware of them climbing over things when they are tall enough, so make sure the baby gates are at the bottom of the steps, not at the top.

The Bathroom 

There are plenty of slippery surfaces in the bathroom, and this applies to every room when you clean your home, and if you've got laminate flooring or material that takes a long time to dry. In the bathroom, the slippery-ness of these surfaces will be a big factor in accidents, so make sure you put down rugs as well as bath mats in the bath.

The safety of your children is always something that will cross your mind, but do you have enough things in place to make sure that they are safe? Try a few of these if you don't have them already.

Freshen Up With These Small Bathroom Changes

Your bathroom is one of the rooms you spend a lot of time in. You're in and out of it all the time, so it should be a room you enjoy being inside. While a big renovation of your bathroom can improve it, you don't always have to take on a big project to make it look and feel better. Some small changes can make all the difference and give you a better bathroom experience. If you think your bathroom could do with being elevated by a new look or just some additional accessories, try some of these easy ideas to give everything a refresh.

Wallpaper Patterns

In the past, wallpaper in the bathroom wouldn't have been a great idea. It would quickly have disintegrated, making the whole exercise of putting it up pointless. But now there are waterproof wallpapers available, which are perfect for use in the bathroom. Feel free to get steamy in the shower when you don't have to worry about soggy wallpaper. You can even use temporary wallpaper, which you can peel off when you no longer want it. Wallpaper will allow you to add fun patterns to your bathroom without any hassle.

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A Stylish Mirror

A bathroom mirror is an essential item for a number of reasons. Whether you're styling your hair or checking your teeth, it helps you with your daily tasks. A lot of people might just have a plain mirror mounted on the wall or perhaps one on the front of their medicine cabinet. But if you want to improve the look of your bathroom, you can make a big difference with a new mirror. One thing it can do is make your bathroom look bigger, which is great if it's a small room. It can also add extra style, improving the overall look and feel.