I was recently hired by a young and growing family to decorate the family room of the home they had recently purchased.  The family was ready to move their existing furniture up to the ‘media room’ and install an elegant but comfortable family room.

Luckily for me, the room already had nice bones and we had a clean slate.  The only ‘structural’ changes were the removal of the low hanging chandelier and replacing the existing built in bookcases with more practical cabinet doors and shelves.  The room also got a fresh coat of paint.

Before:

After:

This room is so pretty.  Very calm, collected and put together.  And, all the pieces are very good quality.  This was a mom who believed in purchasing quality pieces that would last.  So, how did we manage that?

The ivory colored sectional is covered in a crypton fabric.  If you haven’t heard about it, check it out.  You simply wipe it off with a washcloth and water to remove spots.

The side chairs were covered in teflon at the factory.  The ottoman is leather.  The silk drapes and oushak rug have both been stain protected to resist any spots or stains from dirty hands.   Now, mom did lay down the ‘food and drink stay in the kitchen’ rule, but as you can see in the photo below, the breakfast bar is directly behind the console table so that isn’t too much of a sacrifice.

Before:

After:

The room also has a long wall opposite the windows.  Here we placed a lovely mirrored console table, with 2 custom ottomans (for extra seating), a pair of lamps, and an abstract piece of art.  Check out the embroidered fabric on the cube ottomans below.

Before:

After:

I hope you like this peaceful family room.  Don’t be afraid to design for what you want your home to look like, not what it ‘needs’ to be like.  There are so many great stain repellent fabrics and stain protectors on the market now.  Don’t rule out what you want before you’ve thoroughly researched your options to protect your investment.  You will be happier with your home in the long run and after all, if it makes you happy, the family will be happy!