A Child Friendly Family Room

When I saw a glimpse of this family room from Crystal, I knew I had to feature it here!  It is a perfect example of how to design a child and adult friendly family room.  So, here’s Crystal…

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Hi, Crystal here from The Weekend Homemaker. I just want to thank Katie for having me as a guest blogger today. Katie asked me to talk about my plans for turning my "formal" (and rarely used) living room into a more play-friendly family room. The room is still in the works so my pictures are limited to certain areas but I'm happy to share what I've done so far and my future plans for the space. Let's start with the before picture.    Boring and dated, I know. I like to say that our color scheme was beige on beige with a splash of brown. Most of the room was furnished with hand-me down furniture and since we didn't use it much, I'm embarrassed to say, I really didn't care how it looked. As our family grew from just me and my hubbie, to us plus two kids, I knew we didn't have space to waste. So my plan to turn this room into a play-friendly family room was born. I started by researching fun, colorful family rooms with plenty of storage for toys and games, such as the one below. You can see more of my inspriation images here.

Source: lonnymag.com via Crystal on Pinterest

    Next, I went shopping for fabric inspiration to bring color into the space. I settled on this beautiful Richloom Invigorate Confetti fabric. I found it at a discount fabric store and bought every last yard they had (8 3/4 to be exact). I had planned to make curtains but don't have enough for two windows (boo! hiss!).    Instead, I made some pillows and have since made a bench for our front entry which opens to the family room.    Since I had a beige sofa and a beige rug, I knew I wanted some color on the wall. I used the fabric to help me determine the wall color. Though I was drawn to the St Lucia Teal, I ended up going with the Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue.    I later chose some coordinated fabrics and layered pillows to add more color to the boring beige sofa.    I mentioned that this room was originally full of hand-me down furniture (still is for the most part). However, I decided to paint a few pieces, like the bookcase that was in my husband's room when he was a kid.    I painted the outside white and the inside Benjamin Moore Meadowview. See where I got some of my inspiration here. This piece is great for storing games and I added some fun art and free printables above.    My next project was to add a kids art gallery to the wall behind the sofa. See that painting with the orange background, I relocated it to be a part of the gallery wall. You can read about my easy method for hanging the frames here.    The addition of some fun lamps from HomeGoods added some much needed lighting as well as more color. They're so big and fat and round, I just love to pat their belly.

 

Next, on my list is some media storage, a kid-friendly coffee table or ottoman, more toy storage and perhaps a desk or art space for the kids. All in due time, all in due time. Thanks again, Katie, for allowing me to share my space. To see the room as it progresses, stop by my blog The Weekend Homemaker.

 

Isn’t it amazing the way she integrated her childrens’ art and all those fun colors!  She also has an amazing office makeover that is going to be featured in Better Homes and Gardens!  Go check out her blog – NOW!