Create a parents retreat with a little interior designing

The children have taken over the lounge room to watch their favourite DVDs, the chairs in the dining room are too uncomfortable to sit on and being in the kitchen is a nasty reminder of all the meals that are yet to be cooked.

Where can you go to relax and be yourself?

The answer lies in interior designing your home to create a parents retreat. “A lot of people feel guilty about having their own time out,” says Monique Marco, of Decor Monique. “What they don’t realise is they can be better parents if they do.”

A parent room can be in the master bedroom or in any area of the house. But when interior designing your retreat there should be one important rule: the space is a place for adults to spend time by themselves. “Parents can overextend themselves and everyone needs their own privacy once in a while.”

This is not to say that your children should feel ignored. “You just need to say, ‘We love you dearly, but this is one place where we need our privacy to recharge our batteries. We’ll be better parents if we do this’.”

No matter the location, Monique always focuses her interior designing on creating a place where parents can sit and relax. “I like to find a comfortable sofa, and I tend to use cushions that are fluffy and soft,” Monique says.

 “Interior designing is not just about the objects you see around you,” she continues. “It’s also about what you hear, what you read, and the outdoors.”

It’s important to occasionally get away from music that you may not like – there are only so many times you can listen to the Wiggles or your teenager’s new favourite CD.

A parents retreat should always have a good stereo to enjoy your own music. “I’m not a fan of it myself, but many parents also like to have a TV so they can watch their own programs.

“I’ve also created retreats where I partially cover a balcony with a fabric awning or an umbrella so there’s an indoor/outdoor experience,” Monique says. “It can be lovely to have breakfast on the balcony; it can be cosy and intimate. When I'm interior designing, I emphasise this by decorating the space with comfy chairs and plants.”

Regardless of where the retreat is in your home, it should be a space where you can just spend some one-on-one time together. “With a little bit of interior designing, parents retreats can help re-create what life was like before children. Then you can go back to them and love them even more.”