The family home : relaxed, informal living for all ages

Combining style with practicality and creative decorating ideas with low-maintenance home management; here is the first comprehensive book of its kind to treat the home as an organic entity, where people are as important as the decor.-- Features six real families who share their secrets for creating and maintaining an informal way of living.-- Includes 20 projects for improving family life from painting furniture to multi-purpose room dividers, from wigwams to bird boxes.-- Each chapter examines a specific living area from kitchens to living spaces, children's room, bedrooms, bathrooms, and gardens.-- For large families or small and for extended families of varying generations, here is a vast range of ideas for planning in advance for tots and teens, for working from home, for providing flexible spaces whose functions can change according to each stage in life and the demands of family members.-- Includes information on childproofing, robust furniture, durable fabrics, and effective storage for cumbersome toys and sports and computer equipment.-- Interspersed throughout the book are indispensable House Rules and checklists incorporating time-saving tips and short cuts for maintaining your home, as well as ideas on how to create an air of calm organization, solutions for household spills and mishaps on fabrics, floors, and walls, and vital safety information.-- Practical but stylish, safe but fun, this book is a storehouse of ingenious decorating solutions that are quick and easy to achieve but will also withstand the test of time and enhance the quality of family life.