Family-Friendly Design

Never sacrifice safety for good looks. If you have young children, thorough childproofing is a must. Here are a few pointers for making your home as safe as it is beautiful:

• Bolt bookcases, display shelves and other tall furnishings and appliances to the wall so they don’t topple over if kids use them as climbing structures.
  
• Place furniture away from windows, and make sure that windows have safety stops or guards.
  
• Install safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
  
• Cover radiators and block access to hot-to-the-touch wall heaters.
  
• Always use tempered glass.
  
• Pad sharp corners and edges on tables, counters, and fireplace hearths.
  
• Outfit drawers and cabinet doors with safety latches.
  
• Install doorstops or positioners to prevent little fingers from getting caught when doors slam shut.
  
• Move knick-knacks and other items that are small enough to choke on out of reach.
  
• Tightly loop dangling blind cords around cleats mounted high on window frames, or use cord wind-ups.
  
• Use childproof covers on electrical outlets, or switch entire outlets to the childproof kind.
  
• Tape down electrical cords to prevent tripping, or tuck them behind furniture and away from grasping fingers.

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Leah Hennen is a frequent contributor to HGTV.com and other national publications. Now that her kids are 8 and 11 — past the grape-jelly smearing stage — she finally bought a "grown-up" couch with light-colored fabric. The family cat promptly ruined it.