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Decorating the family room, or great room, can be a challenge for a young family. It is not a playroom, yet the kids’ toys inevitably end up there. With a little work, decorating the family room can be done on a budget and in such a way to keep the toys at bay.
Storage
The key to decorating the family room so that it's not mistaken for the kids’ playroom is storage. If you have small children, you probably want some toys in the family room, but you don't want them to take over. The solution is to purchase some storage pieces, such as large baskets, that will hide the toys. Your children can keep toys in the baskets, which can be pushed under a side table or into a corner when the kids are not playing. That way your guests will notice your decorating, not toys and storybooks scattered across the floor.
Décor
As a new parent, the easy decorating solution seems to be photos of your kids. You have countless pictures of your children in adorable poses to decorate the shelves and walls of your family room. However, it can easily become overload. Remember that less is more with décor. If you display all of the cute photos of your kids, the pictures will be lost in clutter. Instead, choose a handful of the best to display. Perhaps you can even blow up one that is particularly good, frame it yourself, and hang it on the wall as a piece of art. There are several websites that enable you to work with a digital photo to make it more like art than a photograph.
Paint
One of the cheapest decorating ideas is painting a room. You can change the look of your family room by painting it. Try a fun color that livens up the room. If you later decide that you do not like it, you can always repaint the room. All it takes is maybe a weekend of work. Also, be sure to select paint with a little bit of gloss to it. Children tend to be tough on paint jobs. Choose a paint that you can take sponge to – it will make removing crayon scribbles and scruff marks much easier.
A little planning and legwork can help in decorating your family room. Take time to write up a plan and then put it into action. You will find that you can create a room that the whole family can enjoy.
Published on January 08, 2007