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By creating a family-friendly family room, you provide a place for the whole family to congregate and enjoy each other's company. Traditionally, a "living room" was a formal place to entertain guests, and a "family room" or den was the place for more casual family gathering. Today, homes are often built without the little-used formal living room, but that means that guest are entertained in the family room. While it is tempting to make the family room a "showcase" to impress visitors, a family room must first serve the family's needs.

Family rooms often serve as a media room for watching television. The television must be able to be seen comfortably from most of the seating, but it also must not be the focal point for the room. Make sure that the television can be covered and that the seating is placed so that conversations can comfortably take place. Whether you are entertaining company or just catching up on how your family's day went, you want to be able to be heard without shouting and look at each other without craning your necks.

Provide enough comfortable seating. Make sure everyone has a place to sit, and have extra seating for guests. Appearance is important when choosing furniture, but comfort is more important. Also provide enough flat surfaces. End tables and sofa tables are needed for drinks and books. Resist the urge to cover them with knick-knacks: in order to be comfortable and family-friendly, the family room needs to be useable. Have at least one flat surface that is big enough for your family to play a board game on it.

Keep in mind flow patterns when designing a family room. The room will not be very family-friendly if everyone must walk in front of the television or through the middle of the conversation area in order to move in and out of the room. If the family room is in the center of the home and there are many entrances to it, consider pulling the furniture away from the walls and leaving enough space for people to walk behind the furniture when moving from one room to the next. A family-friendly family room should not have a hallway running through the middle of it.

Finally, consider safety as well as comfort when planning a family room. If there are small children in the house, place breakables out of reach, cover sharp corners, and secure tall bookshelves and media centers to the walls. Ensure that floors are not slick and that area rugs do not slide around or create tripping hazards. Family rooms should be safe, comfortable, useable, and most of all family-friendly.

Learn more about this author, Vicky Harper.
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