A Family-friendly Living Room

by Leyla [Thisdayilove] - 09:57

Our living room is as family friendly as it can be. We try to make it a space that the whole family can enjoy, including our dogs. This means it needs to be both functional and practical. We don't want our guests to feel they are not welcome, and also worry if they cause too much of a mess. In the same way we want it to be a welcoming modern family space. In order to achieve this we have done a few things.

Space-saving Furniture

If you want your living room to be used for lots of different things, you should get furniture that can do different things. You can find a number of furniture items that are multi-functional so that you can save on space. For example, you might decide on a sofa bed so that you can have guests to stay. Coffee tables can double-up as storage, and so can footstools and pouffes. Children can sit on top of stools, as well as other items. You could have a padded bench with storage inside for sitting on too. With only a few pieces of furniture, your living room could do a whole range of things.

Stylish But Practical

It can be hard to keep your home looking great when you have kids. You don't want to have anything too expensive, in case they manage to destroy it, but you can make your living room both stylish and practical. You can try buying leather sofas, which look great and can also be wiped cleaned. They're also durable, so they'll last for years, even with children climbing over them all the time. It can also be more practical not to have carpets. Keep your floors bear and sweep up when you need to. Rugs will make things warmer and can easily be washed.

Room for Everyone

You need to make sure there's space for everyone in your family room. You all need somewhere comfortable to sit, even when the whole family is in there. You might decide to have different options for people to choose. You could have sofas, armchairs and perhaps bean bags for the kids on the floor. Consider getting a sofa made from individual units that you can move around. Then you can configure it however you want for different activities.

Cut Down on Clutter

Any parent knows how quickly kids can make a mess and adults can sometimes do it too. It can be better to get a head start by keeping clutter to a minimum. Try not to have too many ornaments or other things taking up space. It makes the room more baby proof if you have little ones too. Put plenty of storage in the room, whether it stands alone or is incorporated into other furniture. It will make it easy to put everything away at any time.

Your living room should be somewhere the whole family can relax. Make sure everyone feels welcome, as well as making practical decisions.