Decorating with Autistic Kids

I love to watch design shows. HGTV and the DYI network are about the only television I ever see when I actually DO get the opportunity to see "Adult" programing. However I have to laugh sometimes at the designers and their ideas as they describe "child friendly" design. While others have "decorative objects" all over their homes in my mind these are labeled "potential projectiles".  When you have kids on the autism spectrum your decorating style takes on a whole new ascetic.

You see all my pictures have solid wood frames and are hung with dry wall screws THROUGH them. Any glass is replaced with Plexiglas. I got this idea from the doctor's offices and direct care facilities I use to work in. The idea being to reduce the chance for my children to knock the pictures down from the walls while they rough house as well to reduce the risk for them to get cut from broken glass. From time to time I still need to replace a piece of Plexiglas due to a crack or rehang  a picture due to it being knocked down but it's frequency has been GREATLY reduced from when I attempted to use traditional methods. Now that the boys are a little older I have thought about giving the Command Picture hanging products a try since these would save me the holes in the walls and allow me to hang lighter picture frames rather than always having to get heavy solid wood ones.

Another problem I have is I can NOT stand brown paint or "Chocolate" as the designers call it. Two of my four are what my husband and I call "decorators" and one of  their favorite mediums is feces. As a result "Chocolate" brown to us is just "poop" brown. Stained wood is fine, it is just the painted stuff I can't stand. Along that same line I have YET to find a paint that can truly resist poop stains. As a result we are frequently repainting. If you are someone who has a "decorator" go with the BEST quality paint you can afford because while it WILL stain, the better quality the longer you will be able to go with just doing touch ups over the stains before a complete repaint. Kilz primer is FANTASTIC for coverage and you can get it in pint size plastic cans.

When purchasing furniture also consider getting the BEST quality you can afford and DON'T think that second hand is a BAD thing. The biggest consideration is safety. All of our boys are extremely gifted mechanically. With our second born the issue we had was that he enjoyed dismantling EVERYTHING. For a while we were reduced to having him sleep on a mattress on a floor while we attempted to figure it out a solution. Not only was this unsafe but EXTREMELY expensive on a limited budget. In the end we crafted a custom bed using a loft bed as our inspiration. It is made of 4x4s, 5/6inch plywood and lag bolts. We also special ordered a mattress thorough a local mattress store. The same type used by hospitals and care units. The seams are INSIDE and it is waterproof so I can easily wash it. No solution will be 100% perfect but

Sofas, chairs, tables, etc, the same rules apply.  Get the best you can afford, second hand or custom may be an option if you just can't find what you need. Yes your rooms may be a little more sparse than the designers say they should be but WHO CARES. Your kids are safe, happy and you aren't spending the majority of your day fighting off a minor heart attack. Don't be afraid to think outside the box, watch design shows, check with other parents, on the internet, or where ever to get ideas for your child either. You may not be the only one who has a child who likes to bounce legos off the ceiling fan light fixture and they may have great suggestions for possible solutions.

When it comes to fabrics this is where I LOVE those silly designers because they open up whole new worlds to in terms of colors and fabrics. Sometimes I think they are nuts and other times I could just kiss them. The ones I like are the ones I know have children themselves. What is interesting is to see how their perspectives changed from BEFORE they had children to AFTER as to what you can get away with kids. Candice Olson of Divine Design from HGTV is one of my favorites as are Genevieve Gorder and Sarah Richardson. Denim is still a good staple as it is washable and sturdy, coming in a wide variety of colors, and patterns beyond basic blue.  In addition to this there are a variety of treated fabrics giving us a wider range of texture. Candice has also FINALLY convinced me that Leather could also be a reasonable option, or at least DISTRESSED leather, since as she states "all that will happen is more distressing".  By using lots of pattern in fabrics you can cover up all the stains that WILL happen and lessen the stress you feel over the fact that there is NO WAY you will live in a Better Homes and Garden's looking house.

By filling our homes with color, fabric and texture we can make it HOME for both us and our children. My fourth born may love the color yellow but I can find fabrics, paint and furniture with yellow in a variety of ways which will make both him and me happy. I am no Martha Stewart but I do want my house to look comfortable for all who visit.