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Imagination Space: How To Raise Creative Kids at Home

Imagination Space: Raising Creative Kids

I recently read this infographic by Life Hacker on ‘how to raise happy kids’ which got my thinking, how can a home be turned into a space to foster a kid’s creativity. A lot of people talk about the importance of creativity in childhood development, and how important creativity is in modern jobs:

Creativity In Schools

“Creativity now is as important in education as literacy”

Sir Ken Robinson: “How Schools Kill Creativity

Children Artists

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” 

Picasso

We know it is important for kids to be creative, but what can we do about it? What can parents do to foster a child’s creativity and imagination. There is a lot that can be done at home. It is tough to control what goes on outside the home – at school, or when your kids are with their friends. But at home you can create a safe place, an Imagination Space, for your child to think differently, to play, experiment, learn and grow. I think the home is one of the best places to foster a child’s creativity. The most important place for it.

A Play Space vs. A Living Space

If you look at the work spaces of visionaries in their early days, such as Steve Jobs, their desks were messy. Things pilled up. This chaos fuels creativity. BUT take a look at their homes. Steve Jobs lived very minimalist. All he had was a Tiffany lamp and a record player.

When it comes to playing, being creative, and letting your child use their imagination, there needs to be some patience and willpower to hold back on correcting them, telling them to be tidy and clean, and getting them to be organised. If your focus is on making sure your kids are tidy, that they’ve put all of their art supplies in the right place – this goes against nurturing their creativity. You are nurturing the other side of the brain, being logical and systematic. If you teach your kids they have to be clean, disciplined, and not messy when they are playing how will they explore, experiment, make mistakes?

Find a play space in your home where your kids can be messy, imaginative and have fun without worry. But when it comes to their living space, like their bedroom, this is where you can teach them about organisation and neatness.

When it comes to the playroom, use simple storage containers that lets them grab stuff and put it all back easily. Large boxes, a trunk, or buckets can be used to store art supplies. Don’t worry about it being orgnazied, color coded, and having everything put back in the right spot.

An Art Space

Art is a big part in a child’s development:

Art helps children communicate their ideas. Children’s drawings are their first written communication years before they can read or write.”

Crayola

“It helps enormously to prevent kids from depending on a TV or computer to entertain them. Kids who regularly use the TV or computer are more likely to feel bored than other kids” 

Aha Parenting

It is important to have a space where a child can be artistic, but it is also important to encourage doing it on a weekly basis, as much as possible. Their art will let you know how they are feeling, and what they are thinking about.  Art lets your child communicate. Being able to communicate well, and getting them to share their ideas builds confidence. So as important it is for them to be artistic and creative, ask them to talk about what they are creating.

A Place to be Messy/Imaginative

You can use the kitchen counter, dining table, or even the living room floor. But why not take it to another level.

You can carve out a small space in your home where the kids can get messy. A place where you won’t worry about the mess.

Some ideas of places around the house where the kids can get messy with art include:

  • Maybe out in the garden. But you will want to make the art supplies easily accessible. So the kids can pick up markers and draw when they want.
  • In the basement
  • The space under the stairs can be converted into a mini playroom: The Space Under The Stairs: Ideas and Designs.
  • The best place would be a dedicated playroom. This way you can have all of the art supplies out in the open for your kids to grab.
  • I would advise against the kid’s bedroom. The bedroom is a place where you can teach them about discipline. Picking up clothes, keeping it tidy, etc. The art space needs to be free, fun, and messy. Maybe you could have a drawing table in the bedroom. And keep the supplies pretty straightforward – colouring pencils, markers, crayons. But you will want to create a space where the kids can really let out their imagination.

An art space needs to have some freedom to it. Just like Alisa’s studio space below. You don’t want to limit your child to much in what they can and can’t do – this will take away from their imagination and creativity. Where is a place in the house that you don’t mind the kids wreaking havoc?

Home Painting Studio Space

What Materials to Have in Your Art Space

Coloring books are good for developing motor skills, but it doesn’t help in letting kids be creative. Instead, get a roll of plain paper. Let your kids draw and paint whatever they want.

If you want your kids to be creative, then get creative with the art space.  Ask yourself what can your kids paint or draw on: paper, walls, canvas, on the snow outside, or use chalk on driveway. Maybe they can use icing to draw on a cake or cupcake. How about using Sharpies to color in their own shoes, cups, or pillows (Home Decor Ideas: The Sharpie Touch). Don’t just stick to paper, let them explore all the possibilities – this will really help nurture their creativity.

A Lil Workshop

You can build on this art space idea by creating a little kids workshop. Creativity or coming up with ideas is really just about putting different things together – mixing and matching. With this in mind, have as many different materials as possible that your kids can use to build and create things with.

  • Legos
  • Playdoh
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Cardboard rolls
  • Air drying clay
  • Glue
  • Building blocks
  • Little Bits

What about old appliances? Gever Tulley, founder of Tinkering School, has a unique video titled 5 Dangerous Things you Should Let Your Kids Do. Some of the dangerous things include: giving them a pocket knife or letting them drive a car. Watch his video here to see the solid reasons behind letting kids do these things. In the video Gever also talks about letting kids play with old appliances. Letting them take the appliances apart, to see and figure out how things work.

The goal here is to create a little workshop where the kids can tinker, play, experiment, create and build.

An Imagination Space

Kids love having their own little hideaway space. Look at all the different ways they try to build one themselves: forts, treehouses. They will even want to camp out in the backyard. All to create their own fun, private space to enjoy their imagination. I call these Imagination Spaces.

How To Create An Imagination Space at Home

Some forms of imagination spaces include:

  • Treehouses
  • Forts using cardboard boxes/pillow/sheets
  • Indoor teepees
  • Tents
  • Large cardboard boxes = space ship/fire truck/home office
  • That space under the stairs/closets/under the table
  • Curtaining off the bottom level of a bunk bed

Building a fort or an imagination space for your child is great. But how can you let them build their own? Having cardboard boxes around is one way. PVS piping and the joints is like one large Lego set.

Teepee Fort

Kids Sheet Fort

Filling Your Home With Inspiration

I always hear famous musicians saying they were influenced by listening to their parents listening to music. They were influenced by example. Play music through the house. Have music instruments around. Hang up art pieces. It might not be obvious, but your kids are influenced by everything around them. I still remember the art pieces around my home when I was a child.

Think about the arts. There is music, dance, and visual art. Try and infuse your home with inspiration from these areas.

Creativity is really just about mixing things together to create new combinations. If this is the case, then you will want to expose your kids to as much as possible. The more subjects they know about, the more things they can mix together. Teach them about different subjects – boating, knots, cooking, gardening, painting. Let them use and play with different materials and mediums: like charcoal to draw with, or help them make a video, or create a song.

Creating a Home of Creativity

“Give your child permission to be different. Inventive, original kids are often seen as different by other kids. A little wacky, perhaps, or just plain odd. Make it okay for your child to be out of step with the norms of their peer group, to be unique, to see the world through their own glasses. To develop their individuality, they need your support against the pressures of popular culture.” 

Aha Parenting

It is hard to control what happens in school, or when your child is with their friends. The one place you do have control over is your home. Make your home a safe space for your kids to be different, creative, and imaginative. Where they can sing, play, and be how they like. Let your home be a creative haven, an Imagination Space.

I’m planning on writing more posts on creativity and children (one post will be on the crazy amazing imagination spaces parents have built their kids, like the mission control desk with real knobs and switches). If you’d like to be update when these posts come out, follow me on Pinterest or better yet, you can sign up for the creativity newsletter below:

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More home ideas for kids:

Image Credits: Alexandre Normand, Jonathan, FedericoApartment Therapy, Katie Shelton

May 1, 2014 in Misc

8 Beautiful Wooden Wall Designs

Wooden Wall Designs

While writing the post on pallet walls, I came across a lot of wooden walls that had not used pallets. Pallets are great because they are budget friendly. New and reclaimed wood can be costly, but can be used to create beautiful and charming wall designs.

Some ways to play around with a wooden wall design include: adding color (either through stains or paint), mixing up the sizes of planks you use, or create patterns such as going angular.

Mixing Light and Dark Shades of Wood

Home Office Wall

Makely

Attic Wooden Wall

Creative Little Daisy

Adding Color

Reading Room Wood Wall

 The Lettered Cottage

Wooden Wall Design

Sawn Timber

Using Thin Planks of Wood

Bedroom Wooden Wall

Apartment Therapy

A Wall of Fire Wood

Log Wall

Elisabeth Heier

Outside the Home

A bar for a media company using 10-15 different shades of stain.

Wooden Bar Decor

Design Sponge

Office space for digital production agency Ubiquitous. Angled wood.

Office Wooden Wall

Ubiquitous

 More decor mood board posts:

April 25, 2014 in Decor, DIY

Budget Friendly, Clever and Creative Storage Ideas: From Lazy Susan Towers to Room Dividers

Budget Friendly, Clever, Creative Storage Ideas

Storage can be one of the most challenging issues in a home. You’ve got all the different rooms, all sorts of items that need to be stored away, and you want to try and keep the room looking good while doing it. This long post goes over creative storage ideas – from how to use storage containers to style a room to hacks such as fitting hooks and racks to the inside of cabinet doors. It only takes one little idea to transform a space, hopefully one of those ideas is below.

Lazy Susans All Over The Place

The great thing about lazy Susans is that they take up almost the same amount of space of a normal storage unit, but they let you get easy access to hard to reach places. For example, have a look at the first picture below. Instead of having to reach for things stored in the back of the bathroom cabinet, where it will be hard to see whats going on, a lazy Susan is being used.

Other places where lazy Susans can be used include:

  • Built into pantry corner shelves, as seen below
  • A lazy Susan cabinet tower can be used in the bedroom or bathroom
  • Or you can follow along with the tutorial here on how to build your own lazy Susan shoe tower.

Lazy Susan Ideas

Storage as Decor

Good looking storage containers can be left out in the open, on the floor, on open shelves, or on countertops and they will add to the decor and style of the room.

It is best to avoid using plastic containers and go for storage items such as:

Vintage glass bottles can be used to store a whole bunch of stuff. I created a whole post and mood board on using them here: Home Decor Ideas: Using Vintage Glass Bottles. One of the ideas you can see in picture (1). The branded plastic bottles of kitchen liquids (hand soap, dish liquid) have been replaced with glass bottles. By filling up the glass bottles and getting rid of the plastic containers, you add some style to the sink area. This can also be done in the bathroom with hand soaps, lotions, and other liquids.

Shadow boxes hung up on walls add some decorative flair and storage space to a room. In the bathroom this can be combined with a mirror to create a compact vanity. By the entryway they can be used to keep your keys and mail.

Peg boards are great for storage. Not only can you hang things up with just the pegs, but you can hang up planks of wood in-between pegs to create shelves. Check out the peg board wall in picture (2). It looks so much better when it is painted in black. The holes don’t stand out, and it has a luxurious feel to it.

For more storage as decor ideas have a look at these posts and mood boards:

A Simple Way of Managing Clutter

A simple storage item you’ll want to have laying around a few places in the home are clutter bowls or trays. Look for areas that suffer from clutter – such as near the front door, on the coffee table, or on a bedside table. Place a clutter bowl in these places. Now you can chuck all the seperate and loose items together. By simply grouping these small items together you create a cleaner and more organized look in seconds.

Clever DIY Storage Ideas and Hacks

Here are some genius and easy home storage ideas:

  • Fit a bracket to the back of kitchen cabinet doors (even a file organzier can be screwed to the back of the door). This inexpensive bracket can hold up cutting boards – seen in picture (3), pot lids, or aluminium foil/saran wrap rolls.
  • You can also hang up a railing, such as a towel hanger, on the wall or on the inside of cabinet doors. Now you can hang up trash can rolls, aluminium foil, paper towels, and saran wrap rolls.
  • The inside of room doors or even closet doors can also be used for storage. This is helpful if you have a small space. Ties, scarves, and belts can be hung up on hooks. In the bathroom you can hang up towels. You can also get shoe or stationary/craft organisation hangers that hang over doors (4).
  • Inside shelves you can fit in tension rods so you can organize items vertically just like in picture (5).  
  • Floating shelves don’t take up any floor space, which is great for small spaces. And since they don’t use brackets, you create a more minimalist and less cluttered look.
  • In picture (6) you can see beams have been attached to the ceiling of a garage to hold up storage containers
  • Ladders are an easy way of adding some rustic style to a room and can be used to hang items. In the bedroom they can be used to hang up clothes and shoes (7). In the living room they can hang up blankets and magazines, while in the bathroom they can hang up towels (Ideas for Decorating With Ladders).
  • A quick way to add storage to a room is to drape fabric over any tables. Now you’ve got hidden storage space.
  • Crown molding can be fitted to the walls so you can hang up heels. For more shoe storage ideas have a look at my post here: Unique Closet and Entryway Shoe Storage Ideas.
  • A cool and clever bathroom idea is to have a double shower curtain rod. One of the rods, the closest to the shower, is used to hang up the shower curtain. The second rod is used to hang up your towels, which will be protected from the water by the shower curtain. Now you don’t have to get out or reach for your towels after showering. For more creative bathroom storage ideas and a picture of the double shower curtain railing have a look here.
  • That awkward space under the stairs has tons of unique storage potential. In my mood board here people have turned that space into a playroom, bathroom, home office, bedroom, and storage area.
  • The corners of a room are some other awkward spaces. The DIY door shelf in picture (8) is a fun and decorative way of adding shelving (Corner Shelving Ideas: Creative Ways of Adding Corner Shelves).
  • Room dividers are great for breaking up a space, and hiding items when they are not in use. Say you want a home gym or home office in your bedroom. Hang up a curtain to separate the space. When it is not in use you can cover it all up and hide it away. There are a few simple ways to divide a room, from hanging up curtains to using bookcases. Have a look at my mood board here for pictures and ideas: Ideas Mood Board: DIY Room Dividers.

Built In Storage Ideas

Storage units that have been built in make the most effective use of a space – since they have been customised to the layout of the room. Another great thing about them, is that they are built and design to blend in with the rest of the room. This means that they take up less visual space, whereas free standing storage units are more imposing and make a space feel smaller.

Here are some ways built in units can make the most of your space. Most of these storage ideas take advantage of the height in rooms:

  • Get floor to ceiling cabinets made
  • Look to build storage units over the headboard in the bedroom, just like in picture (9), over the toilet, or over any doorways.
  • The space under a sink can easily go to waste, unless you have a storage unit built around your plumbing work.
  • Kitchen and bathroom cabinets can have a toe kick draw fitted. These draws are fitted right at the bottom of the cabinets, which is usually wasted space.

Extra Spaces Around the House

The attic can house a lot of storage space. If you have an unfinished attic space, there are some simple ways you can flooring so you can start using the space. For storage and flooring ideas have a look at my post here: Finished and Unfinished Attic Storage Ideas

There is also the attic space above the garage. This space can make use of a small lift that takes boxes and containers from the garage up into the attic space.

A cozy nook is a great addition to a home. This can be some cushions or a bench near a window in a hallway or bedroom. The little nook can be surrounded by book shelves: Creative Book Storage Ideas: From Nooks to Staircases.

Here are some other storage posts to get more ideas from:

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9  A/B/C

April 24, 2014 in Storage

Color Schemes: Kids Room Paint Ideas

Kids Room Paint Ideas

Kids Room Paint Ideas

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Pampas Grass 2110-60

Kids Room Paint Colors

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Anchor Grey 2126-30

Kids Room Color Scheme Ideas

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Everlasting 1038

Girls Room Paint Ideas

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Turquoise Mist 695

Boys Room Paint Ideas

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore West Coast 1671

Kids Room Paint Ideas

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168

Kids Room Paint Colors

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Van Deusen Blue HC-156

The colors you choose for your kids room will really set the style and feel for the room. Below I go over all the different kids room paint ideas, from creating a feature wall to decorative elements such as wall decals.

The 3 Wall Painting Options

There are 3 ways you can paint the walls and decorate your kid’s room. They are 1) keep everything neutral, 2) paint all walls in a color or 3) create a feature wall.

1. One design option is to use neutral paint colors, such as white, light grey or cream on all of the walls. This will give you a blank canvas to decorate the rest of the room in the color scheme of your choice. Take a look at the modern kids bedroom in picture (2). Since the walls are grey, the pink decor pieces really stand out. This design option is ideal if you need a unisex kids bedroom. Some other unisex color ideas include: green and yellow.

Moving away from the neutral look, there are two different ways you can paint the walls a color to decorate the space.

2. The first way is paint all of the walls in the color of your choice. Popular little boys room paint ideas include blue and green, though mostly blue. The best little girls room paint ideas include pink and other pastel shabby chic shades like mint and light purple.

3. Another way to paint the walls is to select a feature wall. This is just one wall in the room, usually where the headboard is, that is painted the color of your choice. The rest of the walls are painted in a neutral color. The one colored wall in the room becomes a focal point, and helps style the space. This lets you add a color to the walls, but in a more toned down way than having all of the walls painted in a color.

Alternative Design Options

Check out my mood board of using different painting ideas and techniques to create fancy effects, such as using a brush to create a linen texture, or a sponge to create a marble look: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.

You could always get more creative and paint a murial, let your kids finger paint the wall, or stick decals of animals or letters. There is also glow in the dark paint that you could play with – or just star stickers.

Wallpaper is more expensive than painting, but there are some fancy themes your child might like. From superheros, nautical, and sports patterns, to floral designs. Or instead of wallpapering the entire wall, you can add a strip of wallpaper to create a border.

Don’t forget about finishing touches such as crown molding, and trim (post coming soon). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

More kids bedroom mood board posts:

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April 23, 2014 in Bedroom