Interior Decorating By Rachel Leone

One of the things that people seldom talk about in regards to children is the interior home makeover your home will go through. Yes, we knew that baby gates, baby toys, and various baby items would certainly be on display...but I'm referring more to the alternative uses we'd find ourselves resorting to for common household items. Nick is by far more innovative in this area than I am. For example, the laundry basket doubled as a playpen. (This only lasted for about 1 week until she pulled up to standing and tipped it over). Now that Rachel is mobile, she is enjoying discovering all that her wolrd has to offer. Rachel's admiration for the dog bowls were the subject of a previous post. You'd think that after awhile, they'd lose their luster. Not so much. So, to keep Rachel from splashing Pepper's water all over the kitchen floor, Nick placed a kitchen chair over the dog dishes. It works pretty well. The only pitfall is if I forget to uncover them when Rachel takes a nap or goes to bed so Pepper can get a drink. She's gotten a little parched at time or two. (Sorry Doodlebug). Most recently, Rachel has discovered the 4 inch gap between the tv stand and the wall and all the cords that reside there. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I've relocated her away from this particular attraction. Saturday morning, Nick solved the problem by placing one of the pillows from the sofa between the wall and tv stand. It looks kind of odd to have two couch pillows sticking out from each side of the tv stand, but hey- whatever works!

But what is most awesome is the redecorating Rachel does herself. This is what you get when an 8 month old comes across the coupons from the Sunday paper...

Also please note the strategic location of the ottoman and the magazine rack to prevent passage through these openings to both the dog bed (GROSS) and the lamp cord. On the other side of the chair, we've placed the basket that holds the blankets to prevent her from gaining access to the lamp cords and dehumidifier.

Rachel's Home Interior Design Service is available for hire if you to desire to use your own innovation skills to do some redecorating around the house.