Designing a home with your entire family in mind can be tricky. How will a practical living room design for your toddler compromise your stylish modern taste? How will you position your furniture so that it can easily meet your family’s needs without feeling like your taste has to suffer? We have the perfect solution, with six tips for decorating your family room so that style truly does meet practicability. Read on to transform your family room into a family friendly paradise.
The family room, also know as the living room, is the place where you and your other family members spend most of their time in. This is also where almost all your entertainment electronics are located– the television set, DVD player, game consoles, stereo and more. The family room holds most of your home’s furniture and most families also entertain their guests in this space. Since you and your guest spend a lot of time in this room, it just makes sense that you focus on the family room design, right?
Family Room Design Elements For A Welcoming Feel
Maybe you are bored with how your family room looks or you just wish to enhance the look of your family room design. Regardless of what reason you have for renovation, it is always best to take budget into consideration. In fact, a lot of families don’t think about room renovation because they think they do not have the money to finance such changes. Many people think that they need to hire a contractor or an interior designer in order to have a great looking family room. However, family room renovation does not mean spending humongous amounts of money. In fact, little alterations can create big changes, a lot bigger than you can ever imagine.
Choose a Family Room Theme
In order to get this renovation started, the first thing you need to think of is the theme you want for your family room design. Since it is a family entertainment center, it would be best if you take into consideration the interest of the whole family. Have your family members give suggestions about what theme they want your entertainment center to have. Some themes you can choose from include victorian style, modern style, beach style, colorful theme and many more. If you cannot choose which suggestion to use, have the family members vote for what they want. Cutting down on clutter and pulling the family room together with a cohesive theme can do wonders for it’s appearance.
Consider the Family Room Lighting
Lighting is actually one of the most important things to consider when renovating a room. Natural lights are best used during the morning and the afternoon so think about how you can open your room up to natural lighting and arrange the furniture to let the light in. Changing light fixtures also has a tremendous affect on your decor. Sometimes little details like a beautiful light fixture really gives a room a special look. Choose the appropriate lighting for the need whether it is stylish ambiance or a reading nook.
Drapes and Curtains
Choosing a new set of curtains can definitely change the whole look of your family room. If you used to have an all-white room, adding a splash of color by using drapes and curtains can make a big difference. You can choose from bright colors, dark colors and shades of black and gray. Choose a curtain depending on the theme of the room. A beautiful curtain bar and drapes can really dress up a room!
Choose Appealing Colors For The Walls
A paint job will create the biggest difference in your living room. The paint color that you will choose should match well with the color and theme of your room. Take a look at your sofa set and determine which color scheme will work well with it. You may even want to try painting an accent wall to add color!
Family Room Flooring
Changing the flooring in your living room will also produce big results. Flooring can be costly so don’t change it if you can work with it. However, a good flooring change can also add to the value of your home so you can keep that in mind if you need to replace your existing floor. There are many options to choose from but keep in mind how it will tie in your your other choices and your other rooms. Some cheap options are a great throw rug from a thrift store or do it yourself laminate flooring.
Little alterations in your family room design will go a long way. All you may need is a paint job, new living room accessories and you’re all set! You will be amazed with how much of a difference these small changes can create.
You may also want to check this pinterest board for more home design inspiration.
Tips For Decorating Your Family Room:
If you’re looking to transform your family room into something that’s both stylish and functional, then this article is for you. In this post, we’ll share family room ideas that will answer your needs, from creating the perfect focal point to incorporating smart storage solutions.
Tip #1: Center It Around a Focal Piece
Every put together living room, even the irregular shaped living room, looks great because of one focal piece of furniture, piece of artwork or interesting and unique wall décor such as decorative wall paneling. Do you have a framed artistic photo of your family you can center the furniture around? Perhaps you had a family portrait done that captures your family at the beach. Take this photo and turn around your entire living room theme to represent that great moment in time by decorating your family room with beach themed photo albums, sea blues and green painted walls and special scrapbooks adorning the coffee table.
Tip #2: Install a Large Mirror
A mirror can do wonders when it comes to making your family friendly living room appear larger than it really is. Mirrors reflect the natural lighting in the room brighten it up. It also serves another practical purpose. A large mirror is perfect for your teenage kids, spouse and toddlers to check themselves before walking out of the house. Place a mirror anywhere you see fit in the home. If your family gathers in the living room rather than any other place in the house most, it makes sense to position in here.
Tip #3: Dress Up Your Walls
Walls shouldn’t be looked over as just a place to hang photo frames. Think of your walls as a place for decorating your family room to your heart’s content. Getting the kids involved in the process is a great rainy day activity as well, so allow them to help paint or come up with suggestions. Walls are the perfect place to put up framed mirrors, art pieces, or getting the whole family involved in creating a photo wall of favorite family photos.
Tip #4: Embrace the Clutter
With a family, comes clutter. There’s no way to get around the boxes of puzzles, books, toys, DVD’s and stuffed animals that never fail to make their way from the kid’s rooms to the living room. Thankfully, there’s also a solution! Designate an area of your living room for their clutter in a stylish way. That way you don’t have to ‘deal’ with their clutter in a negative way. Search out garage sales for antique chests, decorative baskets or cubbies to store everyone’s miscellaneous items.
Tip #5: Utilize Bookshelf Space
Think about how your wall space is being utilized. Are you using wall mounted bookshelves to save on space? Floating bookshelves can be purchased at your local hardware store and when installed yourself, cost the fraction of the price of a renovation project when hiring a professional. Decorate it with colors to go with your overall living room theme. Use shelves to hold pictures of the kids, keepsakes from family vacations – anything to make it as personal as you can!
Tip #6: Make It Personal
The right blend of style and practicality is a fine art to master. However, it is possible once you spend some time considering the needs of your family. Chunky but stylish coffee tables work great with families with toddlers (as opposed to lightweight ones with glass tops) to limit accidents. Make your family room personal! By incorporating small details that make your family unique such as decorative photo frames with mats hanging from the walls or wall paper that the children helped pick out, you will always feel comfortable and so will everyone in your household.
Conclusion
Designing a family room that’s both kid-friendly and stylish may seem like a daunting task at first, but it’s definitely doable. By following these tips, you can create a comfortable and safe space for your family that also looks great. Remember to choose durable materials and furniture, create designated play areas, embrace multi-functional pieces, and add a pop of color. With these tips, your family room will be the perfect space for your family to enjoy together.
Interior design doesn’t have to be complicated. It is all about making a space that works for you and reflects your style. Which tips for decorating your family room are your favorite? I’d love to hear about your family room interior design. Share with us your challenges or successes! Tag us @familyfocusblog
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Pancho Cham says
When it comes to decorating your house, you usually can’t avoid the clutter and I love how you say to embrace it because if you might as well make the most of it. I would get new furniture to accommodate the clutter, like new shelves or small tables. Everyone has their own personal taste, so just use that when designing the room. Great information and tips!