Long-time lurker here.
I've been a keen mid-century furniture collector over the last five years, mostly 50s stuff - Bertoia, Aalto, Robin Day, Eames, Scandinavian.
I recently became a very proud father of our first son and it is quickly dawning on me that the two just aren't compatible! Baby sick and hopsack upholstery just don't mix.
To add to my pain, our cat has taken her revenge for the new family addition by scratching my the hell out of my beloved womb chair.
As much as it upsets me I've realised that i'm going to need to sell some of my collection or put it in storage for a long, long time. We live in fairly open plan house so keeping one room separate for grown ups just isn't an option. Frankly I don't want to spend my time worrying and following my child round the house scolding him everytime he touches anything. I've had enough trouble just with my friends who leave ring marks on teak coffee tables. It's getting tiresome.
Can midcentury furniture be practical when there are children (& pets) involved? I don't want to resort to a lifetime of Ikea blandness but i also don't want to live in a museum where my kids can't touch anything.
Any suggestions gratefully recieved!
I grew up in a house full of...
I grew up in a house full of antiques,my sisters and I broke a few bits along the way but not nuch and nothing of great importance.My suggestion is never put very expensive breakable things in precarious (sic) places but keep all your stuff and carry on collecting.
Dont worry it does not take long to make a house child proof......one more thing though the more you stop a young child doing something the more interested in it they become,for example one of my daughters was fascinated by the plug sockets and we kept moving her away,then one day we just left her to it while we both nearly had heart attacks watching her mess with the socket,when she finished that was the end of her curiosity....the point here is learn to suck it in get ready to pounce but dont let the kid know you are nervous.
"Child Proof" your kids, not ...
"Child Proof" your kids, not your house. I have a 4 year old and a 12 month old. I have two houses full of Kagan, Parzinger, Dunbar, Widdicomb, Mccobb, Tackett, Scandinavian Ceramics, etc. My 4 year old has learned to repect these cherished pieces and the baby will eventually. There have been some cassualties along the way...but I'd rather have my kids grow up learning how to respect and apprciate these pieces...than condemn them and myself to living with pressboard furniture from the Big Boxes.
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