A television provides a natural focal point for a family room layout.
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Get comfy in your family room by designing the best layout for it. Because dens and families are so diverse, there isn’t one universal floor plan to “fit all.” Design factors that influence the best layout for a specific family room include the available floor space, special architectural features and desired furniture pieces. In addition, a family’s decorating budget, personal preferences and desired activities for the space contribute to creating an optimal family room layout.
Available Space
It’s difficult to design the best layout for your family room if you don’t know how much available floor space you have. A pencil-and-paper or computer-generated room sketch can help you generate the best possible floor plan for your home’s family room. Measure the width and length of your den and insert those dimensions into a computer design program, or draw lines on a piece of graph paper to represent the room measurements. This provides you with a visual that is in scale with the actual size of the room to help you narrow your furniture selection and arrangement.
Furniture
Pick out family room furniture pieces to accommodate your determined activities, making certain the furniture’s size is in scale with the available space. For example, large plush sectional sofas provide casual, relaxed seating for a spacious family room. Conversely, bulky, oversized furniture can quickly clutter a small family room, making it difficult to maneuver between the mammoth pieces. Use your family room sketch to help you arrange the furniture pieces in the best layout. Measure each piece of furniture you’d like to incorporate into your family room and draw the “paper furniture” on a sheet of graph paper that you can cut out and shuffle around on your pencil-and-paper room sketch. Or, insert the furniture’s dimensions into a computer program to design virtual pieces you can arrange.
Focal Point
A focal point provides a natural starting point to help you plan out the most advantageous room arrangement for your den. For example, center a comfortable sofa so it faces a wall-mounted television to provide an excellent seat for viewing movies and other programs. Or, fashion a U-shaped furniture arrangement around a cozy fireplace. Center a loveseat or sofa in front of the fireplace and place an armchair on either side of it, facing each other.
Activity Zones
The best layout for any family room includes accommodating activity zones for predetermined family room activities. If your family loves to put jigsaw puzzles together, set up a game table with chairs in a corner of the room. Make it convenient to grab a quick snack or drink with a designated snack bar area. Furnish the snack space with a dorm-size refrigerator, a cabinet for storing snacks and dishes, and a cart topped with a small microwave. Include a desk and chair in your family room for studying, drawing or coloring. Ensure that reading areas are well lit by placing table or floor lamps nearby.
About the Author
Mary Cockrill’s education and certifications in interior design and home staging have allowed her to author numerous home-related articles. Cockrill has been a top design consultant for a renowned home store and is the owner of Starwood Home & Gifts, LLC, an interior design, decorating and home staging business. She holds a Bachelor of Science in secondary education with a comprehensive major in office administration.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
