Whether you’re renovating your house or starting a new one from the ground up, a home construction project is a very exciting time filled with important decisions all around. If you have small children or are planning to start a family, the amount of important decisions involved in the process immediately increases. Planning out what your home will look like is one thing, but planning a home that will be beautiful and comfortable for you and also functional for your children is another. Fortunately, there are many great ways that you can accommodate your family with the features you include, so here are some great kid-friendly additions to your renovation or new build project to consider!

Open Floor Plan

Every parent knows that moment– your kids are in the other room and suddenly you realize that it’s just a little too quiet and they’ve definitely gotten into something that they shouldn’t be in. If you can arrange your floor plan to allow you to maintain open lines of sight, you’ll be able to keep tabs on where your kids are and what they’re doing more easily. Try to strategically choose locations in the house to lose a wall or two so that you get more of an open concept style, and you might be able to minimize the amount of times your little ones put glitter glue on the carpet! 

Play Space

Giving your kids a designated play space apart from their rooms and the family common areas isn’t feasible in every situation, but if you have an area that would work, like a spare room or finished basement area, it’s a wonderful addition to your home. It will definitely help to keep the clutter down in places like the living room that you might want to keep tidy for visitors, and when your kids outgrow the Legos and play kitchen, it can be upgraded to form a study space or a home office.

Safety Features

Baby-proofing your house is like a full time job, but there are options out there that you can include during a renovation that will do some of the work for you. You can add features like built-in sliding baby gates (which will also come in handy if you have dogs or cats) and sliding outlet covers that will protect your kids from sticking anything into an electrical socket. For kitchen and bathroom counters, you can opt for rounded corners and edges instead of sharp ones, and for spaces like stairs or outdoor decks, there are many railing options that can tie in with the design of your home while keeping your family safe!

Tough Materials

It’s a fact that no one ever tries to deny: kids can be really messy. Part of baby-proofing a house is about protecting the kids, but a small part of it is also about protecting the house! When you’re in the position to choose materials for your home, you’ll want to opt for ones that are durable and easy to clean so that they can stand up to your little ones and the messes they make. Hard countertops for kitchens and bathrooms like quartz or granite will be easy to clean, as will semi-gloss paint on the walls. For the floors, choose your carpet colors carefully and with future stains in mind, or go for EVP flooring that’s scratch and stain resistant!

Smart Storage

Life with kids means life with clutter, and there’s no way to completely avoid some mess in the house. However, if you live in a home with good storage options, you can definitely keep the piles of clothes, shoes, and toys to a minimum. You might consider cubbies in your entry hall to provide a place for kids to stash their shoes and coats, or closets in the playroom to tuck board games and other unused items out of the way. 

With these features, your house can easily do double duty as a welcoming home and a kid-friendly paradise! If you’re planning a construction or remodeling project in Berks County, PA, Eagle Construction can help you. Contact us here to get started!