There are many ways to create an attractive and livable space for your family inside the home. The family room is at the center of this process, because of the amount of time people tend to spend together in this area entertaining and socializing. Ideally, you want your family and guests to be as comfortable as possible. This can be achieved by designing a room that is both functional and properly adorned.
The most critical and noticeable aspect of this space is going to be your choice of furniture and other decorative items. The furniture and accessories are truly what creates your living experience. Decorating a family room can be a complex process that involves several different kinds of new and used pieces, wall decorations, rugs, bookshelves, antiques, or accessories. The choice of pieces also needs to fit with the geometry of the room. Attempting to maximize the space and environment based on the layout of your floor space is one of the most crucial problems to address. Let’s turn to the specifics of exactly how a room should be laid out and what kinds of pieces can be used to fill up the open areas. There’s a lot of information to consider if you’re thinking about a combination of new or used pieces or other accessories and antiques to add for highlights. This guide should help distill and simplify the rather complicated process of figuring out exactly what to do with a family room.
Choosing the Right Kind of Furniture
There are many different options to accomplish each buyer’s needs for a properly adorned family room. The designer can develop their own philosophy as to which design techniques preserve visual appeal but also meet the family’s everyday needs. A good balance can be achieved by combining classic and modern techniques. Items such as couches, coffee tables, and entertainment center displays are often what comes to mind, yet not being limited to these items can help create a distinct look. The best living areas created by accomplished interior decorators can combine the visual appeal of newer items and the bohemian feel of used pieces. Items for this mixed style can come from a number of different sources. The benefits of adding used furniture to your family room include unique, one of a kind items, or creating a rustic or vintage feel that may not be possible with only new furniture. The family room can be a combination of practical needs and appealing visuals created by the choice of decorative items and functional pieces.
The Importance of the Family Room
In many homes, the family room is the rightful center of attention. It is often the crucial place where guests are entertained, where families watch movies and television, and the central social space of the home to have company over and enjoy meals and entertainment. To make a lasting impression on guests and maintain a comfortable environment for your home, creating a great family room space can be the most important aspect of the home’s decor. This is why your choice of furniture and accessories becomes so essential.
While family rooms can be designed with packages or other pre-selected options, a staff member can help to assess your personal needs to create an appropriate space. Some people have pets, some may have several children, while some customers live alone. Furniture that is elevated or protected is a common concern when designing a high traffic family room that may have children or pets moving around. These are all factors to consider when choosing furniture and items for the family room. Our staff specializes in meeting these needs while maintaining style and an upscale appearance through a combination of matching new and used items with a consistent theme.
Important Pieces in the Family Room
Most family rooms are centered around entertainment centers, with sofas, couches, or sectionals taking up most of the walkable space and rugs used to accent the floor space. It is important both to optimize the ability of your family and guests to communicate and have conversations and also allow for optimal viewing of entertainment areas. Furniture can be placed to accomplish both goals while still creating an environment that is practical and functional.
An entertainment center needs to be highly visible with an unobstructed line of sight, yet it can also incorporate features such as bookshelves for books and movies or flat surfaces for plants for a fuller, lively look. Your entertainment center can also be a repurposed piece of used furniture that houses a television or stereo equipment. Feel free to get creative with a piece of furniture that will be an eye-catching center to the room. This is especially true because everyone will be looking at the television for extended periods of time and also the furniture used as its stand. The entertainment center gets the most attention from many families.
Depending on the size and shape of your family room, you may choose a larger one-piece couch, two or more sectionals, or smaller sofas and chairs throughout the room. For a large, square-shaped family room, a large couch or sectionals placed around the edges of the room can give an open space for pets and children to play. You can also place a large center table in the middle of the open space created by filling in the edges of the room. The center table surface can contain plants and reading material to add to the comfort of your guests, as is commonly done in waiting rooms. More compact family rooms will often place a smaller couch or sofa directly in front of the entertainment center to make the most out of a less open and navigable area. Your seating areas may also be either leather or fabric depending on how often you wish to clean it, or if your family can maintain more delicate fabrics through lighter use. Families with children and pets tend to prefer more durable and easier to clean surfaces due to the possibility of spills and stains. Seating furniture is often the most complex choice when decorating a living area, due to the number of possibilities. Speak with one of our specialists about a proper arrangement of seating furniture.
Rugs and floor highlights are also an important decision. Because of the tendency for family rooms to be high traffic areas, rugs can help cover and protect either carpet, tile, or hardwood floors. Keep in mind it is more effective to replace a worn rug than to replace an entire floor in the family room area. Rugs are often the most prone to stains and footprints from high use of the area. There are inexpensive rugs available if they are only for protective purposes rather than decoration. Aside from functionality, rugs can also be used to accent the color scheme and bring attention to the central space of the room through elaborate color schemes and patterns when high visibility is desired. The choices are limitless, as rugs can be anything from one solid color, to the familiar patterns of Persian style rugs, or even rugs that give the appearance of abstract shapes such as squares and triangles. The need for rugs in the family room varies greatly based on the individual customer’s needs, and rugs may be absent altogether.
Accessories and Secondary Decorative Choices
Another crucial aspect of decorating a family room is adding pieces that function as accessories and accents. These can be objects such as planters, end tables, shelves, ottomans, or antiques. Because this is a creative process, the choices are limitless, and these items can either be used for additional seating and table space, or for purely decorative purposes. A common design format is to use a bowl or plant as a centerpiece on a living room table. Families also routinely use these items focus items to fill up empty spaces and corners to make the most out of their living area. Try to find items that match your color scheme and furniture, but also compliment your personal style. If you have a fireplace, antiques or aged, rustic items can be placed along with family pictures or heirlooms. The use of accessories can depend highly on the size and shape of your living area.
Visit Another Man’s Treasure
Another Man’s Treasure is a great resource to help you during this process of selecting and placing furniture appropriate for any family room concept. Please feel free to contact us today and discuss your design and decorating needs for your family room or any other aspect of your living space. Another Man’s Treasure has new furniture for your design needs. Another Man’s Treasure also has a rotating used stock that may contain anything from end tables, drawers, or glass items that are great accents to a family room project. Mention that you are interested in designing a family room and our staff can begin to help you immediately and discuss our current inventory.
