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    Updated: Jan 6, 2025 by Kris Jarrett

    10 Family Room Ideas From Our “Before” & “After” Makeover

    Looking for family room ideas? I’m sharing ten ideas to steal from our One Room Challenge family room makeover!

    It’s One Room Challenge reveal day and you guys, I’m seriously limping across the 6-week finish line of my room makeover. I have more paint brushes and rollers in my refrigerator than food, most of my house is approaching Hoarders status, and my whole family is suffering from a serious shortage of clean clothes. But my family room is D. O. N. E. and I’m dying to tour you guys around! (post includes sponsored and affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here}).

    1. Paint Your Walls For a Fresh New Look!

    Paint can completely transform a room – it was a huge part of my family room makeover! This is what our we-hadn’t-touched-it-since-moving-in-three-years-ago space looked like before:

    Our family room before the ORC makeover

    And here’s that same space today after painting all the walls white:

    One Room Challenge family room makeover in six weeks! Post includes "before" and "after" pics and full source list!
    Family room makeover in six weeks - a HUGE change from the "before"!

    Room Sources: Chandelier (satin bronze)  |  Sectional  |  Patterned gray pillow covers  | Black & white dot pillow covers  |  Rug  |  Acrylic coffee table (similar)  |  Coffee table tray  |  Rattan chair  |  Tasseled pillow on chair

    Our family room seriously looks and feels twice as big as it did when it was red! Remember when I was trying out these three white paint colors?

    Benjamin Moore Dove White versus Simply White vs. Cloud White paint colors

    My original plan was to paint it with Benjamin Moore Simply White but after throwing that color up on the wall in some sample spots, it was a little too bright white for my space and even had a bit of a green cast to it due to reflecting the greenery outside. Then I figured I’d go with my old stand-by of Benjamin Moore White Dove but it had more of a yellow undertone than I wanted in this space.

    So I hit the paint store to find something in between the two and landed on Benjamin Moore Cloud White. It ended up being the Goldilocks of warm whites – not too bright of a white and not too yellowy. Painting both the walls and ceiling the same white paint color helped disguise this room’s funky ceiling angles and draw your eye up. Check out my post on the best white paint colors for more details on all three of these whites and several other favorites.

    Want to paint your room a color other than white? Check out my posts on the best greige paint colors and best blue paint colors for some tried-and-true favorites. You also might find my post on how to choose paint colors to be helpful!

    2. Add Interest With a Large Area Rug

    Our family room has low-pile carpet in a dull beige color that made it feel drab. Layering {this honeycomb area rug}) on top of it was a game-changer!

    Love this gray and white wool rug!!

    It lighted up the room and added some interesting pattern too! Be sure you don’t skimp on the size of your family room area rug. At minimum, the front feet of your sofa/chairs should sit on the rug. I went with a 10 x 14 size for my space.

    3. Bring In Pattern & Color With Pillows

    Another major player in my room is our new L-shaped Lee Industries slipcovered sectional (I went with {this model}). I couldn’t be happier with it (it’s so, so plush and comfy!). I chose a neutral fabric for our sectional which allows me to use any colors and patterns I want for pillow covers, changing them up seasonally.

    On each end of our sectional, I have a white linen pillow paired with {this dragon patterned pillow}:

    Fiddle leaf fig tree in basket

    And in the corner of the sectional, I added a trio of pillows, including {this 23″ square dragon patterned pillow}, {this beautiful cream & black dotted pillow}, and a gray linen lumbar pillow:

    A trio of pillows for the sectional corner

    Check out my post on the best sectional sofas for more details on my sectional and other favorite sectional choices.

    I also added {this rattan accent chair } with {this textured Montecito pillow} on the back. If you’ve ever thought that rattan can’t be comfy, you have to sit in this chair because it even convinced my skeptic husband otherwise! I love the textural beauty that it adds to the room!

    Beautiful rattan accent chair that's super comfy!

    4. Add Life with Greenery

    In the corner of our family room I added a large fiddle leaf fig tree that added so much life to the space! Unfortunately I don’t have much of a green thumb and it only lasted a few months. I ended up replacing it with {this faux fiddle leaf fig tree} and felt that it still added some life to the space even though it was faux:

    Looks so real! A faux fiddle leaf fig tree in a woven basket fills this living room corner beautifully!

    As a bonus, this one actually stayed green 🙂

    If you have an empty corner in your family room, see my post on living room corner ideas for other tips for decorating them.

    5. Corral Coffee Table Items With a Tray

    Since there are a lot of large furniture pieces in this room, I wanted a coffee table that didn’t have much visual weight. I’d been obsessing over this beautiful acrylic coffee for months and was thrilled to find that it’s even more beautiful in person than I expected (my exact coffee table is no longer available but you can find similar options in my post on acrylic coffee tables).

    Instead of placing my coffee table decor pieces directly on my acrylic coffee table, I corralled them with a large 28″ wood tray similar to {this tray}. Using a tray keeps your coffee table looking neat and organized and also makes it easy to clear your coffee table off if you want to use it for a puzzle or game.

    Coffee table tray with books, box for remote controls, and decorative accessories

    The decor on my coffee table includes several books, {this black & white striped storage box that holds remotes, and a pair of {these brass cranes}. See my post on coffee table decor ideas if you need inspiration for decorating your own coffee table.

    6. Layer Your Lighting

    All of the lighting in our family room used to be utilitarian lighting with can lights in our bookcases and track lighting on beams overhead:

    Family room ceiling beams before being removed

    I wanted to upgrade the ceiling lighting in this space so we removed the falling apart ceiling beams and track lighting and had our electrician wire the room for an overhead fixture. I chose {this gorgeous two-tiered chandelier} that added so much style to this space:

    Family room in neutrals with slipcovered sectional, acrylic coffee table, and two-tiered chandelier

    I also added a lamp to our new desk (more on that in a minute!) too so that we have different layers of lighting throughout the space. Family rooms are a great spot to also add a floor lamp for reading if you have the space.

    7. Add Softness with Shades or Curtains

    Other additions to the room are new Roman shade window treatments from The Shade Store – I chose a soft stripe linen fabric and absolutely love the finished, tailored look that the shades add to our room. And since this is sleepover central, my teenage daughters and their friends will love that they can block the morning sun from streaming in! There are more details about my Roman shades in {this post}.

    Desk area with striped Roman shades on the window

    8. Decorate Your TV Wall

    Ready to move on and check out the wall with the TV (did you catch the sneak peek of it two pics back?)? This is what that wall looked like before:

    Our family room TV wall before the makeover

    and this is the same wall now:

    family-room-with-art-wall-surrounding-tv-two-tiered-chandelier-neutral-sectional-rattan-accent-chair-and-acrylic-coffee-table
    Great idea for decorating around your TV - hang similar sized art pieces in a grid around it!

    Sources: TV console (similar)  |  Chandelier (satin bronze)

    First off, I changed out our media console for this beauty that’s a much better size for our space (update: unfortunately my exact media console no longer available but {this console} is super similar). Pictures simply don’t do this console justice – the finish on it is just gorgeous and I love that it has both drawers and open cubbies:

    Books and accessories on media console

    Surrounding the TV is framed & matted artwork from Minted arranged in a grid pattern. How did I go about doing it? First there was a lot of measuring and calculating to figure out what size frames would work best for giving me a gap in the bottom row large enough for the TV along with equal spacing between each print. I ended up choosing 18″ x 24″ prints that were matted and framed by Minted to a final finished size of 18.5″ x 24.5″.

    For the artwork I decided to stick with black and white prints (a mix of abstracts, photographs, and sketches) and identical frames and mats so they felt cohesive and didn’t distract from the TV too much.

    After my framed art arrived, I used a laser level to tape out the location for each print and then got them all hung (you can see this process in a little more detail {here}). And… that’s it! I am so impressed with the quality of the matting and framing of my Minted pieces – the matte brass frames are gorgeous!

    Framed Minted art arranged in a grid surrounding the TV

    Art Sources (from top left):  Son (abstract) by Lori Wemple | Sand Spirit (horse print) by Leslie Le Coq | Mesmerize by Melanie Severin | Marble Two by Melissa Selmin | Brainchild (abstract) by Misty Hughes | Morning Walk on the Seine by Sharon Rowan | Stormy Sunrise by Melanie Severin | Reflection (boat print) by Neeta Sawhney (no longer available) | Flora in B+W by Very Marta (no longer available) | Llama Love by Jocelyn Eden (no longer available)

    Want to see other options for how to arrange art around your TV? Check out my post on gallery wall layouts!

    9. Add a Workspace

    On the wall opposite the TV, we were lucky enough to have two large built-in bookcases. However, there was this awkward space in between them that we didn’t have time to fix so we just stuck a mismatched desk there:

    Before of bookcases

    We wanted to keep a desk there since my husband works from home some days but wanted it to look like part of the bookcase so I had my contractor cut and install a simple desktop that fits the space exactly. I think my husband and I will both love having this beautiful wooded view while working here!

    Desk area with window between two built-in bookcases

    On the desk are two of my favorite accessories in the space including a pencil cup hand painted by Jill Rosenwald – she has so many beautiful pieces and is such a talent – thank you Jill! It’s sitting beside my cute gold turtle dish which is one of my fun Chairish finds.

    Fun desk accessories - gold stapler, Jill Rosemwald pencil holder, and brass turtle dish for paper clips

    10. Wallpaper The Back of Your Bookcases

    The bookcases underwent a little transformation too:

    Family room bookcase before makeover

    I replaced the knobs with brass finger pulls, painted the gold shelf brackets on the inside of the bookcases so they’d blend in, and wallpapered the back of the shelves with {this charcoal/natural combination grasscloth}:

    Built-in bookcases lined with grasscloth and simply styled

    Thank you so much to Denise at Ring’s End Wilton for helping me get it ordered last minute! This round of wallpapering was more successful than when I attempted to put up grasscloth in my daughter’s room, but I was surprised by how long it took me to do.

    Back of bookcases lined with grasscloth

    My shelves are filled with a combination of finds from thrift shops, HomeGoods, my favorite online accessory shops, and my own stash. You can find the links to most things in the source list below!

    That wraps up my reveal! I know there’s nothing crazy fancy about it, but I also know that it’s a comfy, warm, relaxing space that our family will enjoy for years and I’m thrilled to have it. I so appreciate you all following along over the course of this 6-week challenge! If you’d like to continue to follow future projects on Driven by Decor, you can subscribe by email {here}.

    XOXO,

    KJ Signature

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