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Transforming a couple’s pad into a family home might seem like a daunting task. But, it doesn’t need to be.
Below we take you through some easy ways to take an existing living area fit for a couple (Look One) and turn it into a family-oriented zone without compromising on style — or forking out a small fortune for a whole new look.
The result (Look Two) is still contemporary and chic, but also relaxed and above all, super functional for family life. See our top five tips below!
1. Maximise seating
The best thing about modular furniture is having the flexibility to change your seating configuration in the future. So whether you’re moving house, or welcoming a new addition to the family, your furniture can shapeshift to suit.
Take Look One, which features the cosy three-seater Bangalow — perfect for a couple living alone. But when you’ve got more people to seat, you can easily upgrade the existing sofa to a four-seater by simply adding an extra module. We’ve also added a matching cosy armchair to the room, to maximise seating and really dial up the comfort.
2. Add height
The vintage sideboard seen in Look One is gorgeous, but unfortunately not viable if it means your precious homewares and trinkets are in reach of small children. So, for Look Two we replaced the sideboard with Koala’s Kirribilli shelving — a taller unit to enable extra special treasures to be displayed up high, away from little hands.
3. All about the storage
There’s no denying it, small children really bring with them a whole lot more stuff. A new arrival can quickly turn any beautiful space into disarray with the clutter of toys, gadgets and general kids’ mess. That’s why for Look Two we knew we needed to significantly increase the storage capacity of this living space!
We sourced some cute storage baskets to hide away kids things. These storage baskets slide away perfectly in the lower shelves of the Kirribilli shelving unit, making packing up after playtime a breeze.
4. Low-pile floor coverings
We love the texture and weave of the rug in Look One, but the higher-pile of this rug can make it a challenge to vacuum — and let’s face it, kids are messy. Still, tiny feet do need cosy textures underfoot. Just make sure you’re avoiding anything with too much fluff!
In this instance, we’ve replaced the textured rug with a stunning lower-pile woven wool rug from Loom, which really elevates the space, whilst also ensuring maximum comfort for little knees and toes.
5. Move-able feast
When it comes to family-friendly styling, flexibility is key. Rather than investing in one large, heavy coffee table, consider building a collection of smaller side tables — they’re easier to move around, cluster together or clear away to make more space for playtime.
In Look One, we styled Koala’s Kirribilli side table with the Sequence Table 01 by Coco Flip. They make a surprisingly perfect pair! Then, for Look Two, after extending the length of the Bangalow couch, we added an additional coffee table from Coco Flip’s Sequence collection.
Head to Koala to check out their full range of Australian-designed furniture at down-to-earth prices!
