1. Get the stuff off the ground. This is the first ant the most obvious things you should do on a road to preservation so find all the small things you hold dear and want to see unscratched in the future and put them somewhere your kids and pets can’t reach them. This way, you will kill several birds with one stone and utilize all the unused vertical space, make more room on the ground and prevent clutter from gathering. If your kids are happy climbers it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put these scratch-prone things in some locked glass case or a cabinet.
  2. Get the floor right. Carpets and rugs are beautiful, but they are magnet for various filth, especially if you have a pet, at least a furry one. So, moving them out is preferable wherever possible, but, in the same time, that will leave your wooden surfaces more exposed to scratches. Your way out of this riddle is to protect them with scratch-resistant top coat for painted wood, or replace them with tiles and bamboo, again, wherever possible. This way, the floor will be more durable and easier to clean. If you have some concrete surfaces in home or in garden, you can easily apply concrete sealers and make them more resistant to scratches, moisture, and other menaces. Another great choice is to go natural with stone.
  3. Protect the Walls. If you think for a second, your walls are the largest and thus the most vulnerable surface in your house, so they certainly demand some attention. Fortunately, you can easily solve this issue with hard wood panels (you don’t have to go higher 1-1.5m with them) or scratch resistant wallpapers. In a recent chat with some professionals I even found out that there are scratch-resistant wall-coatings available on the market. If anything else, try at least painting your walls with matte finishing. In addition, consider installing double glazing Not only they are more scratch resistant than wooden windows, but you will also save a lot of energy in your house.
  4. Protect the Furniture. It would be ideal if your furniture’s fabric would be velvet or microfiber, both very resistant to scratches. Alternatively, you can try to find the pieces that are darker and covered with small textured patterns, so the damage, if there would be any, is not that visible. Finally, you can use some beautiful but very durable blankets and covers. Not only they can protect the furniture fabric, they will also help you completely refresh the look of your house whenever you change them. As for the wooden furniture elements, same rules apply as for floor, find some protective coating and hope for the best.

 

So, it’s a little bit of a chore, but as we can see, protecting your home is not impossible. It is however, worth the effort because open space, pets and freedom to play in active and creative ways are very important to kids. So, why restrict them from having exactly that when you both can be happy?

Author: Daniel is a home improvement blogger based in Sydney. All the relevant information in this article he got from the home renovation experts from Magnetite. If you find his pieces interesting or you have some questions, feel free to contact him – danielr@smoothdecorator.com