Family rooms are the social center of the home. Here’s how to arrange the furniture in your living room to accommodate your family’s favorite activities.
Family rooms are usually the social center of the home. Whether you gather for watching movies or playing board games, the way you arrange your family room furniture can determine how you enjoy the space. Here are three different ways to arrange the furniture in your family room to accommodate your family’s favorite activities.
1
Create a Central Point for Conversations

To create a conversation area in your family room, focus the action around your coffee table. Arranging your seating in a friendly “U” shape around the coffee table allows everyone to comfortably face each other and rest their drinks. A storage coffee table can keep blankets and board games within easy reach without cluttering your space. To find the best size and style of coffee table for your arrangement, check out our Coffee Table Buying Guide.
Arrange a sofa along the length of your coffee table, then pull up two chairs or a loveseat on the other side. Unless the room is very small, try to avoid pushing your seating up against the wall. Leaving space behind your furniture will make walking through your family room easier.
2
Highlight Your Mantel for Easy Lounging

If your family room is more of a spot for relaxation, make your fireplace the focal point. Once your mantel is styled, arrange cozy reading areas near the mantel by pairing roomy arm chairs with side tables and lamps. Adding low lighting and smaller, separate pieces of furniture like this allows family members to choose how social they want to be.
Add a sofa opposite the fireplace to provide a place to stretch out. Installing a flat panel television above your fireplace is another way to establish your family room’s relaxing purpose. Plus, it ensures you don’t have two competing focal points on different sides of the room.
3
Emphasize Your TV for an Entertainment Center

A television is usually the main attraction in any room. If this is the case in your family room, set your TV up about 10 feet from your sofa for easy viewing. Make sure all seating is facing the direction of the screen.
Installing bookshelves along one wall can give your family room a cozy feel. This creates storage for DVDs, music, and board games as well as for displaying family photos or collectibles. Bookshelves work best in a large room. You can pull it off in a small family room as long as your shelves don’t look too cluttered.
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