fresh ideas for your family room

Say goodbye to stuffy style. You really can have pretty, practical, and fun in one room.

A room can be kid-friendly without looking like a three-ring circus. There's no reason you can't blend play kitchens with pretty furniture or finger-paint masterpieces with mod-print club chairs. After all, who'll want to watch the game surrounded by mountains of toys and primary color overload? Here are 10 packedwith-style solutions to keep the family room looking cool for you and the little ones too.

1 Pick a subtle color. Soft blue walls offer a perfect backdrop for the toys and furnishings here. Colors such as green and yellow work well too. Duration Home by Sherwin-Williams is an incredibly kid-friendly paint product. It's formulated to wipe clean easily, great for removing errant crayon marks.

2Hang square chalkboard panels together for an interesting wall display. No museum rules here. The bold-colored panels make a piece of art that is definitely okay to touch. The kids will have hours of fun drawing on them. Best of all, you can wash off the chalk and start all over the next day!

3 Stick with simple flooring. Wall-to-wall sea grass is a great-looking foundation for a room. Glued directly to the concrete floor of this basement room, sea grass is a low-maintenance material that hides dayto-day dirt and masks spills that didn't quite come clean. Add an area rug for a touch of color or to divide the room.

4 Choose durable fabrics with pizzazz. Use a Teflon-coated material for furniture that will look as good as the day you got it even years from now. Fabrics from Robert Alien on the dotted pillows and chairs and the sofa are stylish enough for the big kids while still holding up to the little ones.

Toss in extra-fluffy throw pillows. They're inexpensive, colorful, and can be pitched when styles change or stains stick around (visit www.pierl.com). Stack a few extra ones underneath the coffee table to use as seating when playing a board game, dining on take-out, or for lying on the floor to watch a movie.

6 Use paint and children's artwork to create a collage. Have kids paint a scene on a large canvas. Pull out a few favorite pieces of their artwork that you've saved, and add them to the canvas with a découpage glue such as Mod Podge. To preserve the canvas, seal it with a top coat of Mod Podge as well.

7 Select furniture that you can move around. Kids can pull these rattan stools up to the dollhouse to play, and then stow them away under the console table. Adults can use them as a landing pad for a yummy cocktail. Plus, the tops come off to reveal great storage space inside.

8 Dress up your windows with scarves. Bamboo blinds are a budget-friendly option, but they can be a bit drab. Tie on colorful scarves for a unique look. Don't worry-the patterns don't all have to be the same. Just keep the colors in the same family.

9 Fill a wall with photographs instead of costly art. Here's an easy do-it-yourself project that makes a big impact. Have a local print shop scan images from your digital camera onto canvases, and then staple them onto wooden frames. You can find frame kits at art-supply stores.

10 Turn toys into pretty displays. This wooden dollhouse is too cute to be hidden on the floor. Surrounded by colorful wooden chairs hung on the wall, it makes an adorable vignette.

A play corner is a must (see page 127). Furnish a kids-only kitchen with brightly painted shelves. Playthings don't have to be hidden away in bulky boxes and baskets. Set out the plastic teapots, dolls, and building blocks, and capitalize on the cuteness.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Sep 2006
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