Family Friendly Living Room Ideas

It happens, at some point many of us became parents and our lovely adult spaces turn into Legoland meets 1980’s McDonald’s play space (no safety rules) and now we want our style back while maintaining a family friendly living room. Here are some of my design tips that I have implemented into living room spaces through the years. Personally, my own goal has always been to have a stylish but family friendly living room. Nobody wants a living room that we can’t enjoy out of fear of ruining the furniture. So, if you are like me, obsessed with decorating, but have kids taking over, there are ways you can create a family friendly living room.

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Family Friendly Living Room Ideas:

1. Install Built-in Shelving with Hidden Storage

If you are blessed with an amazing handy lumberjack-type-husbands that can build you this over a the weekend, great! Most likely you might be in my situation, you need to hire out and are thinking that it is too costly. However, there are amazing Ikea Hacks to creating built-in storage. Also, built-in’s are a good ROI. When done right, almost always, the next buyer will love them too. Now, my big tip for this is to keep it all “adult on top”(shelving) and add hidden kid friendly cabinet space underneath. Have guest coming over? Just shove everything behind the cabinet doors. Your guest will only see is the beautifully styled shelves. Display items on the shelves that need to be kept out of kids reach. Then behind the lower cabinet doors, keep toys that the kids can grab and go.

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2. Round Tables or Ottomans, Only

When in doubt go round. Do not invest in a square/rectangle coffee table, and then buy those ugly kid corner safety bumpers. In my own space, I couldn’t find a large enough round ottoman so I opted for two round tables. Guess what? No bruises on these kids. Well, they still get bruises from playing and wrestling around, but not from my coffee tables.

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3. Baskets Under Sofa Consoles

Having a sofa console is oh-so grown up. The same way we are styling our built-in’s with all “adult on top and kid friendly on bottom,” do the same with your sofa consoles. Style the top of your consoles using these tips on how to style a console, and then add two large baskets underneath so the kids can pull out their favorite toys.

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4. White Slipcovered Sofa / Chairs or Sectional

This might be a controversial topic; however, I swear by my white slipcovered pieces. The kids are going to spill something. We know they are going to wipe their hands and noses on our furniture,  it’s just going to happen. When I see a stain or a mark on my grey custom fabric sectional, I get heart palpitations cause I can only hope it will come out. However, when the white slipcovers get dirty or marked up I throw them in the wash with some bleach. NEVER dry them, let them air dry and when still a little damp place them back on to stretch them out. I make sure to wash my slipcovers twice a year, at the end of summer and mid-Spring. If needed I will wash them at other times.

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Having a stylish but family friendly living room is a goal for many of us. By adding a few key pieces you can definitely create a space that you will not scared to have the kids play in and at the same time, enjoy yourself with adult friends. Stay tune when I come back with some ways to add warmth to your kitchen.

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