If you’re like most families, you probably spend most of your time in the family room.
Whether relaxing in front of the TV, curling up with a good book or just kibitzing with a group of friends, you should feel totally at ease in this room.
Unlike other more formal rooms in the home, family rooms are meant to have a lived-in, easy-going atmosphere — a place where you can put up your feet, stack unread newspapers and not worry about messing up the pillows on the sofa.
By the same token, it doesn’t take much to give a family room character and style without sacrificing comfort.
It’s perfectly acceptable to incorporate the old with the new, particularly in a room that serves many functions. Keep in mind that an eclectic room often has more character and is more inviting than a room that is perfectly coordinated.
The family room is the perfect place to be creative and try new looks. If your room seems bland and characterless, paint can do wonders to give it new life.
Think in terms of the overall feeling you want to achieve. Dark, rich colors tend to draw in the boundaries of space, making a room feel warm and enclosed. Light, fresh colors promote an airy, expansive quality. Decorative painting effects, such as sponging, stippling or color washing, add depth to flat walls and help disguise uneven surfaces.
One of today’s most popular decorating trends is sponge painting, a technique in which paint is blotted on a surface with a sponge rather than a roller or brush. Sponge painting involves dabbing a complementary color over a base coat to give the surface a softened, mottled look. This is ideal for the family room where walls are more apt to get scuffed, scratched or soiled.
Another interesting effect for walls or other surfaces is combing, a technique in which a special comblike tool is brushed over the surface of the wall to create stripes or checks. Color washing and stippling are other techniques that provide a more sophisticated look.
Although paint effects may look complicated, they are in fact very easy to do. Many retail stores and craft shops now sell kits with all the special tools and materials you’ll need. How-to books abound if you want to learn more advanced techniques.
Stenciling has also become popular in recent years.
First used by the Swedes in the Middle Ages to decorate churches, stenciling is a great way to add character to both furniture and walls. Painted borders and panels offer a stunning way to dress up walls and give character to an otherwise dull room. If your family room needs more color, you may want to consider stenciling a brightly colored border along the ceiling line or around doors and windows.
You can buy ready-made stencils or make your own using a stencil card. For large areas, spray paint can be used and for smaller areas a brush is recommended. When used in areas that receive a lot of wear, such as hallways or landings, stenciled areas need to be protected with a layer of flat varnish that will not yellow with age.
Most family rooms contain an eclectic mix of furniture, some of it less than perfect. If you have a chair, dresser or desk that you are not particularly fond of, and want to change, you can paint it with motifs such as stripes, circles, flowers or your own freehand design.
Paint can even be applied to flooring. Because of its practicality and durability, tiled flooring is often preferred over carpeting for the family room. If you want something unique, you may want to take this a step further and paint your own tiles using ceramic paints. Although they aren’t recommended in areas that will need a lot of cleaning, hand-painted tiles are ideal when used as borders around a window, wet bar or along the baseboard of a wall.
The beauty of hand-painted tiles is that they aren’t supposed to look perfect, so you don’t have to worry about making them exact. You can paint designs freehand, choosing a motif that complements the room, or you can use pre-made stencils.
Creating a family room that fits your style isn’t a question of adhering to a set of rules or decorating trends — it means discovering what you like and incorporating this into the way you want to live. Whenever possible, try to involve your family in the process so that the room appeals to everyone.