Family rooms are a place where the entire family gathers, with their respective clutter in tow. No matter how many times you tell the kids to put away their toys, the family room is a magnet for clutter. The collective messiness makes the space appear smaller and less inviting. Fortunately, there are ways to organize the family room, without the expense of a remodeling project.

Tip 1: Divide, and then Conquer

Family rooms are often very large, open spaces – perfect for family bonding and lounging. They are sometimes attached to other rooms like the kitchen or formal living room. Whatever the makeup of the space, it must be divided into areas of function based on your family’s habits. For example, designate an area for children and their toys and an area for office work.

Make the Divisions. Paint the walls a different color to recognize different parts of the room These colors should be taken from the room’s overall color scheme.

Use the furniture to create dividers as well. For example, make a corner of the family room the child’s space. Pull the child’s toy bins (especially if they’re stackable or on a rack) to make a third wall. No matter how short the wall may be, it serves as a visual divider in the room. You can also use the couch or a loveseat to create a partition as well.

Tip 2: Use Functional Furniture

Family rooms are clutter magnates. Come to terms with this fact and you can move on to the multipurpose furniture. Examples of functional furniture is the coffee table with deep working drawers, a combination chest with storage/resting places, hollow ottomans or an end tables with drawers and/or shelves.  Entertainment centers are some of the best functional pieces because they come with several shelves, drawers, and cabinets that can contain the clutter.

Give the furniture a function. Every family is different, so I suggest sitting down and deciding what role each piece will play in your family room.  For instance, coffee tables like the Amies Coffee Table found at Amish Tables has multiple drawers and shelves. These can be used for containing reading materials or coloring books and crayons. The takeout menus, mail-to be-sorted or books that the family is reading can be stored in the drawers and shelves. Give each piece and each drawer/shelf a purpose that the family agrees on and acknowledges.

Tip 3: Keep the Flat Surfaces Just That—Flat!

In the interior organization business, there is a law of flat surfaces. These tabletops, desktops, and even exposed shelves always attract clutter, loose change, notes, and so on. Very soon, the surface and the room is overflowing in papers, files, books, and other things.

Break the law! Unlike the law of gravity, the law of flat surfaces is breakable. Use baskets that fit under the end tables and coffee table. Designate a basket for toys, blankets, stray clothing, etc. so that you can easily remove these things from the flat surfaces.

Use pieces like the Amish Tables’ Spring Hill File Cabinet that looks like an end table. It places an organizational concept, like the file cabinet in the middle of the family living space. This makes filing those stray papers much easier. Also, look into ottomans with removable tops and a storage space inside.

Relax

The goal is to be together as a family without the stress of the surrounding mess. This mess makes the room uninviting and filled with distractions. These tips on organization are created to make both banishing the clutter and keeping it away an easy task. In time, the family room can be a place where the family can be together.  Organizing the family room can make it a more function and comfortable gathering place.

Tags: Amish Tables, Coffee Tables, Family, family room, Flat surface, gravity, Living Room, Organization, Ottoman, Relax, Togetherness

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 11:26 am and is filed under Design Style, Furniture Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.