6 Decor Ideas for Family Room To Encourage Family Time

You know, our new home has seemed pretty barren for months now. We moved into this gorgeous executive home back in late October, and honestly, we haven’t really had a chance to make it feel like “home” ever since my father-in-law became ill and then passed away a few months later. In case you haven’t caught up to my adventures, you can read all about my desperate cry for change here.

After three and a half months of trying to get my motivation back, I finally forced myself to get up, dust myself off and try something new. And I started my quest for change in my family room. I realized very quickly that my lack of motivation was because the areas I spent most of my time in my home were boring. I felt it, my children felt it, and the whole house exuded a certain flow of BORING energy. No wonder we were moping around the house all the time! Plus, we were letting the house get cluttered, unorganized and messy which didn’t help the situation either.

I did what I knew how to do best – I bargain shopped until I started gaining that fire and desire to actually take action. And then one day, poof!, the whole downstairs was literally redecorated overnight and here I am inspired to share my secret tips with you.

The reason I started with the family room was because I wanted the movement of change to be infectious for the whole family. We have such a strong support system in our family, that I didn’t want to ever take that away. If there was one thing I needed to change, it was the way our family interacted and spent quality time together.

It brought me back to the time when my family purposely made an effort to plan family TV time on Friday nights for shows like Family Matters and Full House. We’d all sit together on our sectional sofa with snacks laid out on the coffee table and we’d spend those two hours laughing and smiling together. I know it sounds cliche in today’s generation, but I longed for nights like those again. And my hope was that if I created an environment that made our family want to watch together like that, could that help encourage positive change? The results are pretty amazing! We have seen a 100% increase in quality family time and a 50% decrease in the kids leaving the family room to play or watch on their electronic devices! I’m not even kidding, it’s really happening in my home!!!

6 Decor Ideas for Family Room To Encourage Family Time —-

1. Big, cushioned large sofas go a long way – especially a sectional style sofa because they connect together as one large piece. The more connected your sofa, the more likely your family can literally snuggle together and connect.

2. Warm undertones like brown, olive, and red make a room feel cozy and “like home”. Choose colors with warm undertones that make you want to spark conversation and doesn’t feel or look cold and lonely.

3. Adding a pop of bright colors in accent pieces like throw pillows, vases, wall art and rugs help give the eyes something visibly appealing to add focus. These contrasts help prevent fatigue and laziness because of their vibrancy. A little goes a long way, so don’t put too much color to where it looks like a rainbow exploded. Hint of eye-popping color is the best way to go.

4. Be sure your family room has access to lots of natural light and keep draperies and curtains subtle and neutral in color. I suggest getting ties that you can hook to the corners of each window so you can pull back draperies to let in as much natural light as possible.

5. Want to save money when redecorating? Check listings on Craigslist by searching for the furniture type under their “For Sale” section and be sure to filter your search to find only “for sale by owner” and NOT “for sale by dealer” type items to experience the maximum amount of cost savings. Also, search for local or neighborhood “for sale” type Facebook groups near you. I discovered a couple of Facebook groups that were fabulous with selling and buying right in my very own master-planned community! AND – you can totally check their Facebook profile out to make sure they are legit. C’mon don’t act like you wouldn’t – I definitely would as part of my due diligence.

Side note: Ask the seller lots of questions prior to meeting to make sure you have done all your due diligence. Here are sample questions to ask:

• What color(s) is it?
• What are the dimensions?
• Any damages like tears, stains, or holes?
• Is it from a pet-free home? *Important if you have pet allergies
• Is it from a smoke-free home? *Important if you have cigarette smoke allergies
• How old is this piece?
• How long have you had it?
• Is there someone available to help you load it into your car or truck?
• What is the lowest asking price you would be willing to take?

Side note on safety: Never pick up items on your own – either go with a friend or meet in a public location or meet in the garage out in the open for your own safety. Double-check and inspect the product first before you load it up and if/when you purchase it, be sure you clean and sterilize it thoroughly before putting it in your home.

6. Invest in a versatile LED television that offers internet in your TV to give you access to programs like Netflix, Hulu, and your cable or satellite channels. This is a great way to use television to create quality family time by watching family friendly shows together in a variety of ways – don’t limit your television viewing!

And while we’re on the subject of television — did you hear the good news?! Fuller House will be Netflix’s first widely promoted foray into the realm of family programming!!! HOORAY!!! Growing up watching Full House made me feel good after watching it and there was always a good lesson that can carry on even into this day and age. I would love for my children to watch this and my husband and I already agreed that we would all watch it together as a family, just like the good ole’ days of TGIF!!!

What do you think? Do you think the Tanners can survive on modern day television? I think so, but would love to see your thoughts on this reboot!

Hope you enjoyed these ideas and can use them for your own self-discovery of making your house a home. Let us know what you came up with and send us photos! We’d love to share your photos and how you did it your way!