Written by Sophie Clemson

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and no family is the same, just like our homes. When designing for our customers, we create a room that works for the whole family and that is truly bespoke to them. Living rooms are the most common spaces we design for families, they are one of the rooms in the home that everyone uses. They need to be practical as well as beautiful. We understand that when you have a family home, you need it to be kid proof but you still want a swoony worthy living room, just like you’ve seen all over Pinterest and Instagram. 

After years of experience when it comes to designing living rooms for families, we wanted to share our expert interior design tips with you.

1. Get the layout right 

2. Never overlook the amount of storage you need 

3. Paint for busy family homes

4. Family friendly sofa fabrics 

5. Family friendly rugs

6. Create a play area in your living room

7. Use round and curved furniture

8. Practical lighting 

Get the layout right 

The room layout is always the first stage of our design process. It's the first thing you should do before picking up a paint chart or going on the hunt for new furniture. If you don’t know what the layout is going to look like, how do you know what size furniture you’ll need? Measure out the room, the size of furniture you could potentially have, and the maximum sizes for pieces such as your sofa. A handy tip is to use masking tape to mark out the furniture on the floor. You can then walk around the room to get an idea of the space and if anything feels too close together. When you work with us, all you need to do is send us a floorplan, and we do the rest, making it simple for you and ensuring everything will fit. 

Have a chat with us and find out how we can help you. Book a discovery call with us today!

Never overlook the amount of storage you need 

Storage in any living room is important, but especially in a family home, you really can never have enough! As much as you try to keep toys in the playroom or kid's bedroom, they will always make their way into the living room, but with some clever storage solutions, you can neatly pack them away at the end of the day. 

Here are a few storage ideas to make your life easier and your living room more organised.

Storage footstools 

Storage footstools are brilliant when you need a place to put your feet up or even an additional seat for when you have guests. You can lift up the lid and store away any toys, books, and blankets. If you have a baby or toddler, we recommend opting for a round footstool, as this will not only soften the room due to its shape, but it will also be safer compared to sharp edges that your children can bump into.

Built in storage

Built-in storage is always a great option in a family living room. Built-in units work particularly well if you have alcoves in your living room, you can make them fit the exact space and incorporate handy closed storage. We recommend having a mix of closed and open storage with your built-in units, this could be cupboards at the bottom to store board games, toys, and books with shelves above. Shelves up high are perfect when you have children. Any of your precious accessories will be out of reach, but you can still incorporate finishing touches into the room.

Storage within the sofa 

Family living rooms are all about maximising every inch of storage space. That's why it's worth exploring sofas with storage underneath the seats. Just like a footstool, they're great for storing many things to reduce clutter in your living room.

Window seat storage

If you have a bay window that is feeling a bit redundant right now and a space that isn’t being used as well as it could be, then you need to consider building in a window seat. We’ve worked with many families where this solution has worked brilliantly with the design of their living rooms. It means some carpentry work is needed, but trust us, it will be worth it. You could opt for a lift up seat, cupboards, or drawers to add storage to your window seat. It’s not only a brilliant storage addition, but it will also create another seat within your living room. You could set it up as a cosy reading area for yourself and the kids. Upholster the seat in an interesting fabric and add some scatter cushions, and you have yourself a beautiful window seat for the whole family to enjoy! 

Paint for busy family homes

When it comes to the walls in your family living room, you more than likely find yourself telling your children to take their hands off the walls multiple times a day, and other times you don’t even know how the marks have appeared! Scrubbable paint will be your saviour. You can still have a beautiful chalky paint finish without having to worry about any marks that appear, as you can simply scrub them away. Farrow and Ball, Little Greene, and Lick all have durable paint finishes, to name just a few.

Family friendly sofa fabrics 

When you have a new sofa, it's hard not to be precious about it and to cover it up with throws as soon as it's delivered. But if you have a beautiful new sofa, surely you want to show it off?! That’s where stain resistant fabrics come in and are perfect for family living rooms. There are so many sofa companies now that have stain resistant fabric options, these can also be referred to as aquaclean. You no longer have to compromise on the fabric you choose for your sofa and armchairs, you can still have a sumptuous fabric that's kid proof (and adult proof) - perfect! A few places we recommend for family friendly sofas are Marks & Spencer, Swyft, John Lewis, and The Lounge Co. One tip when it comes to choosing your sofas and armchairs is to avoid going for the matching set. You want to have a mix of fabrics and styles to create interest in your living room. 

Do you struggle to visualise how your room could look? We can help you, click here.

Family friendly rugs 

Oh, we do love a rug at The Living House, and we feel like a living room isn’t complete without one! Just because you have a busy family home doesn’t mean you should sacrifice having a beautiful rug in your living room. Washable rugs are going to be your hero item, and with washable rugs increasingly rising in popularity, you have so much choice to choose from. You don’t need to worry about any stains or spillages. You can simply pop your rug in the washing machine, it couldn’t be easier. One brand we absolutely love is Ruggable, their designs are fabulous, and we particularly love their range of traditional style rugs, however, we would take any! Other brands to explore when on the hunt for a washable rug are Dunelm and RugVista. 

If you need some guidance when choosing a rug for your living room, check out our blog - How to choose a rug for your living room 

Create a play area in your living room 

Depending on the size of your living room, you may want to consider creating a dedicated play area. This is important to factor in when you’re exploring the layout options. If you have a designated area for your children's toys, then you may feel it's easier to stay organised. We recently designed a living room for a customer that also incorporated a play area within the room. We used IKEA Kallax units as a bench and toy storage and added a cute play tent in a neutral colour to work with the rest of the design scheme. You can zone the living area to be a cosy and more relaxing space while still having a fun place for the kids to play. 

Use round and curved furniture

If you have little ones, avoid furniture with sharp edges and go for rounded furniture. Instead of boxy square sofa arms, opt for curved arms, this will not only look less bulky in the room but will also be more child friendly. If you would like a coffee table, look for one with curved corners or choose a round design. Adding round shapes and curves to your living room will also help to soften the overall look.

Practical lighting 

Make sure you have plenty of light sources in your family living room. You will want to have overhead lighting that is bright enough for when your children may be playing or reading, but also additional lighting to make it cosy. To create a warm and cosy family living room, layering up the lighting is key. You can do this with the use of table lamps and floor lamps to create pockets of soft lighting, perfect for the whole family to get cosy in the evening.

If you’re wanting to make changes to your family living room, take a look at our affordable online interior design packages to give you all the help you need. Whether you’re considering a full redesign or a refresh, we can take the stress away, and give you the confidence to move forward. Our online interior design packages are a flat fee and we can work to any budget large or small, saving you money along the way and ensuring you get the results you want and expect!

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