Equipping the Modern Family Room

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

29 May 2008 04:27 AM

Do you have a family room in your home? At one time, this might have been called the den, and that brings all sorts of images of a dark small place filled with wood panel walls and shag carpeting. But today's family rooms can be bright and airy. They can feature an electronic bonanza of modern media and be called media rooms, or they can be open to the kitchen and be called great rooms. Many are multifunctional rooms, where television watching, reading, game playing and computer time takes place. Whatever the case, the family room is an ideal place for, yes, the family, to gather.

It is especially important to equip the family room with stuff that will create an enjoyable space that can also be kept clean and clutter free. You don't want that family room to become the room that gets neglected and closed off in the house because it is such as mess.

Here are some ideas.

For furniture, choose sturdy frames and fabrics that require only easy care. You don't want to skimp on the quality of your furniture in this room, since it will take a lot of wear and beating, especially if you have kids. You might be tempted to go cheap, but cheap will fall apart. Denim and leather are two coverings that can really be easy to keep clean, while being durable. Our family room couch has a dark blue denim cover that is removable and washable.

To reduce the clutter, consider being modern with your media. Instead of all of those CDs and the stereo equipment, consider mounting an iPod docking station for all of your tunes. Keep your actual CDs elsewhere, such as in a box in the attic. DVDs can be stored in an album instead of in their cases to further reduce the clutter, or consider modern equipment to download your movies instead of buying them on DVD.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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