Baby-proofing that isn't ugly as sin?

[katie4253]

I'd love some suggestions. We have a crazy mobile baby now, but all the baby proofing is fug.

Side note: we are getting rid of our guest bedroom to make a play room. Oh, the things I never thought I'd do before I had a bambino...

[bunnymendelbaum]

I hear you. I think you can do a lot by just thinking of creative solutions instead of buying a product necessarily. Here are some things:
-Instead of using those ugly corner guards on your table, see if you can just stop the edge itself from sticking out. I.e, in our dining room, I just moved the chairs to outside the legs so the table corners aren't sticking out. It's a very long table and we rarely use the outer chairs anyway.
-Get a nice wood gate for the top of your stairs. We got a white metal one and I hate looking at it. I just used the removable one at the bottom of the stair because we don't even need it anymore. (DD is over climbing up, I just worry about falling down.)
-I got 2 leather ottoman/saddle stools instead of a corner-y coffee table. Love them.

I honestly can't think of more we did to baby proof beyond outlet guards, a 'childproof' screen door latch, and moving the basement door sliding bolt up higher.

Two other things: Instead of huge, ugly plastic highchair, get a booster that straps to one of your chairs. We also bought a espresso wood restaurant highchair for $30 at a supply place. Love that thing!

We are currently constructing our guest room/playroom. DH was against a playroom until he realized what a mess having the playroom in the living room is!

[Deleted]

It is all ugly!

I hear you.

TBH I just either put stuff away I cared about/didn't want broke and rearranged the really dangerous furniture corners so that it was a bit more safe! Otherwise, I'm probably a bad mother, but fall down, live and learn.

We did get a really really nice baby gate that blended in with our trim and it helped a ton. Cost a small fortune but it's worth it. With cupboard locks I got the ones that stick on the inside so no one ever sees them. Even then I only did 3 cupboards where I keep the soap and she likes to dig int he candy drawer so I locked that one too. my outlet plugs are clear and I have had them for years, so they're not obvious. Our highchair is also wood, toybox is a black ottoman etc. Just easy aesthetic stuff that doesn't make safety look so obvious.

[pamela]

We did minimal proofing. No corner guards other than the glass edge of the entertainment center (used a brown foam bumper that matched the wood below). Cabinet door things are hidden inside. Outlet covers are discrete. We aren't to door knobs yet, but those won't be on every door. Crib rail cover is a beige couderoy quilted pad my sister sells that ties on in several places.

What products are you looking at that are so awful?

[housegeek]

We didn't really do any child proofing outside a cabinet catch on the sink cabinet. And one on the fridge. And outlet plugs, but we don't really have those now that they're 3 and 4.

[tcsbride]

I remember the adjustment even though it seems like so long ago, but eventually you'll get used to the fact that you are always keeping them out of something!

We did very minimal baby proofing as well. We put a swinging gate on the stairs to the basement but slid it back enough that we can still close the door. Our doorways are too wide for baby gates (unless I wanted to drop about $300 on two only to have them figure out how to move them anyway) so I just learned to put stuff away (which is still away and out of style now 5yrs later) cover fabric, and clean off finger prints a lot. We do not have a coffee table (we did have a leather ottoman until it became an area to learn to fly from). I use those double loop cabinet locks on two cabinets in our house, under the sink and the cabinet in the entry where all my glass is. They are fug but minimal so I deal. I also keep a large pack of magic erasers on hand at all times moping up dirty hand prints on everything!

[katie4253]

The ugliest stuff is the fireplace brick. It has very sharp edges and is raised. So, I have to do something. We are getting retractable gates for the stairs. So, that isn't an issue. But, they are pricey and I don't want to spend $500 for all the gates we need. So, I'm getting a few less expensive (and less attractive) gates. Oh well.

[lmdbww]

haha It is all ugly, but i'm not sure I ever really noticed or cared how bad it looked. A lot of it is so temporary, it wasn't worth it to me to buy something nicer looking. lol