17 Family Room Ideas That Will Upgrade Your Game Nights and TV Binges
Designed to maximize time with the people who matter most, here’s how to make the most out of this cozy and functional space
Before we share our list of family room ideas, let’s define the term family room first. The family room is a place to hang out and recharge with those closest to us. It’s a haven of game nights and movie screenings (as long as you properly clean your TV screen), reading sessions and cuddles by the fire. It’s a spot for sweatpants and sink-right-in sectionals, soft pillows and throw blankets. If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the family room is the lungs, breathing life into the abode and its inhabitants with the promise of togetherness and relaxation.
The family room sounds pretty dreamy, doesn’t it? And it totally can be, thanks to these 17 family room decorating ideas from top interior designers. From sourcing a comfortable sofa and including an ottoman to building a bar and adding a game table, these expert tips are guaranteed to help you achieve the family room you envision. Keep scrolling for all the advice you need, as well as the answers to your frequently asked family room questions.
What is the difference between a family room, a living room, and a great room?
At a quick glance, a family room and a living room can look quite similar. They both often feature a sofa, a couple armchairs, and a coffee table. But a family room is often a much more casual than a living room, which leans more formal. Typically, a family room is dedicated to playing games, watching TV, and spending time with immediate family, while a living room is reserved for entertaining and celebrating holidays. A great room combines a family room or living-room-like seating area (depending on how formal it feels), a dining room, and sometimes a kitchen in a huge open floor plan space.
What are the must-have elements of a family room?
The most important element of a family room is a comfortable couch or sectional that can support hours upon hours of lounging. A family room must be outfitted with cozy textiles in the form of upholstery, area rugs, throw pillows, and blankets. It goes without saying that a family room must be family-friendly, so it should have round corners, soft edges, and low-slung seating. You can’t be too precious about a family room—it’s meant to be lived in.
How do I style a family room?
There are countless ways to style a family room. You can go for a bold or neutral color scheme. You can opt for a traditional or contemporary design style. The right aesthetic for your family room is the one that evokes a sense of ease for you and your family. But no matter what look you choose, personal home decor like family photos and child-made artwork is the perfect finishing touch.
Photo: Raquel Langworthy1/17Opt for a comfortable sofa
It cannot be overstated: The key to a great family room is a comfortable sofa. Danielle Chiprut of Danielle Rose Design Co. knows this to be true, which is why she sourced a plush, L-shaped sectional sofa with a chaise for this family room in Port Washington, New York. “We anchored the space with an inviting sectional, offering plenty of cozy seating for everyone,” she explains. “We created a family room where our clients could gather, unwind, and make lasting memories together.”
Photo: Joshua McHugh2/17Incorporate a variety of extra seating
To allow for intimate family time and entertaining, Kevin Dumais of Dumais paired a cozy couch with a variety of midcentury chairs in this New York City family room. “They wanted a space that seamlessly accommodates both, so having ample seating options comes in handy,” he says. “We customize sofas to perfectly fit the spaces we’re working with, anchoring them to focal points within a room, like artwork or fireplaces. You want a range of lounge seating to harmonize with the same focal points and provide more options for when you have people over.”
Photo: Rikki Snyder3/17Source an oversized coffee table
In this New Canaan, Connecticut, family room, Caroline Kopp of Caroline Kopp Interior Design combined two large coffee tables to create an oversized one that highlights the airiness of the space and encourages activities. “Overscale coffee tables impart a luxe ambiance while accentuating the room’s dimensions and offering ample surface area for styling,” she shares. “Our client enjoys playing board games with her kids and this setup allows them to leave their games out for extended periods without creating clutter.”
Photo: Marc Mauldin4/17Or bring in multiple little tables
Take a note from this Peachtree City, Georgia, family room by Elle Cantrell of Elle Du Monde and incorporate multiple side tables that are easy to rearrange for game nights and dance parties. “For maximum flexibility, consider using a grouping of tables in place of a coffee table,” she recommends. “This allows the tables to be moved around more easily if needed for entertaining. Using a pair or group of tables is also a great way to fill a large footprint without having to have a piece custom made to fit your space.”
Photo: Laura Negri Childers5/17Insert an ottoman
Forget tables altogether and opt for a multifunctional ottoman instead, as Hope Austin of Hope Austin Interiors did in this Atlanta family room. “Specifying an upholstered ottoman as a coffee table allows limitless opportunities to add color,” she says. “This bold tangerine fabric provides a pop of color against the neutral sofa. An ottoman also serves as a flexible seating option when entertaining a larger crowd and a soft spot to prop up your feet. You can easily convert a fabric ottoman to work for serving cocktails and appetizers by adding a tray.”
Photo: Emily Gilbert6/17Play with symmetry
This Pittsburgh family room by Colleen Simonds of Colleen Simonds Design makes a serious case for an aesthetically pleasing symmetrical layout. “This is a very symmetrical room with a beautiful old fireplace in the center, so it made sense to orient the furniture around it as the focal point,” she explains. “We also commissioned the artwork above the fireplace and added built-in bookcases, window seats, and storage cabinetry on each end of the room as an architectural frame, leaving the center open for furniture. This classic layout is cozy and functional.”
Photo: Kirsten Francis7/17Or accept asymmetry
There’s also something to be said for the visual interest of asymmetry, which Kylie K. Bass of KKB Interiors embraced in this family room in Westport, Connecticut. “The homeowner opted to add a wall to create a distinct separation between the entryway and the family room, which led to an asymmetrical fireplace configuration,” she shares. “To make the most of the available wall space without overwhelming the area, we incorporated natural, minimalist built-ins on one side, ensuring a balanced and uncluttered aesthetic.”
Photo: Molly Culver8/17Combine open and closed storage
You can never go wrong with a combination of open and closed storage, which lets you display beautiful items and hide away anything unsightly. That’s why Shannon Eddings of Shannon Eddings Interiors kept the existing built-in unit in this Austin family room. “We sought to make the original built-ins a focal point by painting them a bright, cheery shade of green—the perfect backdrop for our client’s collectibles,” she says. “He has a significant amount of books and tchotchkes that are meaningful to him, so the balance of open and closed storage was needed and welcomed.”
Photo: Justin Jordan9/17Build floor-to-ceiling bookshelves
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves—a.k.a. entirely open storage—is a great option if you have amassed a big library like the owners of this Louiseville, Kentucky, family room by Bethany Adams of Bethany Adams Interiors have. “While the primary function of the built-in bookshelves may appear obvious—storing the extensive book collection of its well-read owners and the playthings of their toddler—there is a secret second purpose,” she reveals. “Tucked behind the custom shelves are reeded glass pocket doors, which can be closed when the parents wish to entertain.”
Photo: Natasha Lee10/17Create a kids’ zone
Alice Cheng of Shialice Spatial Design carved out a dedicated kids zone in this Los Angeles family room, complete with paper rolls, baby Cherner chairs, and vintage school posters. “It was a very open space where the family watched TV, read, and spent time together,” she says. “It also doubled as the kids’ play area, but they had trouble bridging the two functions in a way that didn’t feel chaotic or confused. We added two antique rugs to help delineate the two spaces while maintaining a sense of cohesion on both sides.”
Photo: Amy Lamb/Native House Photography11/17Include a bar
For a special touch, consider a built-in bar like this one in St. Petersburg, Florida, that’s wrapped in wood and equipped with a beverage fridge. Designed by AD PRO Directory member Lisa Gilmore of Lisa Gilmore Design, “The built-in bar makes it very luxurious and cozy,” she opines. “With proper planning, you can fit many activity zones into one space. Here, we have a game table, a seating area for watching TV, and a bar. Plus, this room feels like a saturated hug thanks to the beautiful wallpaper!”
Photo: Gieves Anderson12/17Add a game table
Architectural and interior designer David Frazier is a big proponent of a game table, so he inserted one in the middle of this Keystone, Colorado, family room. “We often incorporate dining or game tables into family rooms so that they are not just about lounging and watching TV, but about other activities that foster quality togetherness,” he notes. “We also love to incorporate a desk so if one family member does have to bring work home, they can do it without removing themselves from those cherished gathering spaces.”
Photo: Eric Piasecki13/17Paint the ceiling
For extra coziness, paint the ceiling and the walls one color like interior designer Mark Cunningham did in this Martha’s Vineyard family room. The ubiquity of the leafy green hue makes for a soothing, cocoon-like experience. “This family room is really meant for the children,” he says. “They watch movies and play games in here. We brought the trees from the outside to the inside and created a treehouse by painting the entire room.”
Photo: Rikki Snyder14/17Focus on texture
Any designer will tell you that texture is everything, including Hilary Matt of Hilary Matt Interiors, who outfitted this Armonk, New York, family room with the softest, fluffiest fabrics for ultimate comfort. “This space has a very tall ceiling and large windows, which tends to make it feel drafty and cold, so we wanted to counterbalance that by adding tons of tactile elements and textures that would warm up the space,” she says. “This room caters to kids of all ages and dogs, so multifunctional durability was so incredibly important.”
Photo: Jeff Herr15/17Mix up your lighting
Using a variety of light fixtures makes for an inviting vibe, as evidenced by this Atlanta family room by AD PRO Directory member Laura W. Jenkins of Laura W. Jenkins Interiors. “For lighting, I really like to mix it up with vintage and new,” she says. “The center pendant is a custom configuration made by a favorite local shop, Bungalow Classic. Its burlap and steel combination becomes a warm beacon of light, anchoring the room and contrasting the white walls. There’s also an early 2000s IKEA white metal floor lamp, a Visual Comfort wall sconce, and a ceramic urn lamp.”
Photo: Abigail Jackson16/17Use lots of throw pillows
You, too, can pull off the abundant pillow look that Catherine Clamage and Laura Robertson of Chartreuse Design have achieved in this Chapel Hill, North Carolina, family room—thanks to their helpful tips: “Our top advice to replicate this cohesive pillow story is pretty simple: Stick to a consistent color palette of three to five colors, ensure the colors are evenly distributed on both sides of the sofa, and mix in different pillow shapes and sizes for added dimension. Be sure to incorporate both small- and large-scale patterns for variety and interest.”
Photo: Lindsay Laine Interiors17/17Curate a gallery wall
The ideal finishing touch for a family room? A gallery wall of beloved photos like the one in this Pittsford, New York, family room by Lindsay Lucas of Lindsay Laine Interiors. “We created a memory wall to spotlight life’s special moments, displaying personal photos in brass and oak frames unevenly spaced on the wall,” she describes. “We chose black-and-white photos and only two types of frames to keep the wall looking like art, rather than a visual hodgepodge.”
