7 Secrets to a Family Room That Works For Parents AND Kids

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If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the living/family room must be a close second.

When my husband and I were married without kids, our living room served a different purpose entirely. These days, our living/family room is the place where everyone hangs. It’s the place that school is most often done, it is where we watch movies, it is where we read books, it is where we talk. It is where we live.

For this reason, I am a firm believer that my living room can look nice, but it also has to be functional for everyone who lives here.

This was a hard one for me at first. I think when I had just a couple of kids or maybe even a three or four, I had a living room that looked like it could be ready for a magazine shoot after just a bit of work. These days, having a show ready home would take just a bit more effort. However, I have learned to accept this, and in all reality, it is more important to me that my family feels like they can live here. Really live here.

For the most part, on most days, we have a healthy balance. Most days, our living room looks lived in while also looking like we take pride in our home. I am good with this.

It took me awhile to discover some of the secrets, however, and it really has a lot to do with having the right furniture for the right season and the right function.

Here are my seven secrets to having a family room that works for parents and kids.

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1. First in my book is that my living room must be functional

By this I mean that it needs to be clean for the most part. I say for the most part because some of that means that it has to appear clean rather than be clean at times. This means that at times you need to have a few good hiding places. My secret? Laundry hampers. You can read all about how I use these in The Best Kept Secret For Dealing With a Mess and Five Simple Strategies For Hiding Clutter. Check those posts out. Just trust me.

2. Having furniture that works

Do you have enough furniture for the seating you need? As I write this, my husband is at the store buying some new couches for our living room. Our current couches are older than our children, and we have been putting up with them (duct taped and with holes) for way longer than anyone wanted to. But even more, is the fact that we don’t have enough seating for our super sized family. Once we get the new stuff, we will have seating for eight people, maybe more if we squeeze. You need to have furniture that works, whatever that means in your family.

3. A healthy balance between kids and adults

I think it is important to have enough toys and books for the kids, but not too many when it comes to the common living area. I also feel that adults should be able to have things they need in the living room while also feeling a sense of peace or calm rather than feeling like a toy store or baby store has exploded in the living room. We have a playroom for the majority of the toys, and what is in the living room is limited to a reasonable amount to achieve that healthy balance.

4. What you do have for kids has to be easy enough for them to take care of

Whether it is baskets, bins, shelves, or something else, if you want kids to take care of their things and pick their own things up to any extent, you have to have systems and tools that are easy enough for them to manage on their own.

5. Be strategic in hiding the things in your living room

For awhile we had only bookshelves in our living room. These were not practical for many reasons. The shelves were not deep enough for most things, there simply wasn’t enough room, and they always looked cluttered no matter what. We also had our tv on an entertainment center that offered little to no storage. Finally it dawned on me that we could free up a ton of space if we mounted our tv on the wall, and we also went with shelving units with doors! Talk about an easy way to hide clutter! Storage bins or baskets that stack help, and getting things that fit the space you have without any wasted space is ideal.

6. Schedule a living room tidy often

The more things get out of control the harder they are to get back under control. For this reason, frequently tidying helps both kids and adults feel a sense of peace and calm in the space they are most often in. Nothing can overwhelm people quicker than clutter everywhere.

7. Less is more

This is something I have come to realize as I’ve grown older…and as my kids have gotten older. I really don’t need half of what I think I do, my kids don’t need half of what they think they do, and really, living by this motto works. Be mindful of what comes into your home. You have to store it. Is it really something worth having?

It really is possible to have a living room that is functional, eye pleasing, and a place that people want to be. Examine how your living room is working for you currently. Are some of these secrets what you’ve been looking for?

This post is based on a chapter in Ruth Soukup’s book, 31 Days to a Clutter Free Life. Grab a copy and join in, or, grab a copy and work through it at your own pace in your own time.

Either way, you will have a clutter free life by the time you work through all 31 days!