Decorating and Having Kids: Not Mutually Exclusive

I was recently shown an article from the Washington Post talking about how to decorate when you have little kids.

In the article, the author states that "parents don't have to give up sophisticated home decor". Just because you have kids, in other words, doesn't mean every room shouts 'we have kids living here' with Disney characters everywhere. I wholeheartedly agree that you can still have an attractive, organized house that just happens to have little people living in it. (I know it has been possible in my house!)

"Set ground rules, such as no eating in the living room, no jumping on the couch, which are good for the furniture and for the children." I agree -- set the guidelines, and use your energies to implement that, as opposed to always trying to have kid-friendly items everywhere. You can limit the majority of toys to a playroom and then have nice-looking baskets (just a few) in a living room. Kids don't have to have their stuff everywhere. It makes it a lot easier to corral and clean up their items when kid stuff is confined to certain areas. Obviously you don't want to have crystal out in easy reach, but you can imagine a vertical line approximately the height of a 6-yr old, and place everything 'nice' above the line. Take advantage of wall space, shelves, and other higher options for decorative pieces.

Those who say, 'I'll decorate like I really want when they are older' really don't need to.