- Is a family room the same as a living room? The answer can be yes and no depending on each individual home. Some homes have two separate rooms and will decorate one more formally than the other. A formal living room typically has a couch, chairs, coffee and end tables, and is used for visiting with guests, having family conversations and reading. The other room is used as a family room and it is decorated more informally, has less formal furniture, and contains the family's entertainment items. When there is only one room available in a home, this room may become a family living room combination and have more formal furniture than it would if there were a formal living room in the home as well.
Sizes
- Family rooms come in all sizes, shapes and configurations. They may have vaulted ceilings or low ones. The larger the family room, the more options it provides for arrangement and types of furniture and other items. Some family rooms are a part of the kitchen and may be divided from it by an eating bar, a few steps or nothing at all. Larger family rooms offer the opportunity to have different areas or centers such as areas for watching TV, for playing table games, for using the computer, for playing pool or ping pong. There may also be room for a home office. Small family rooms typically are used for watching television and have seating furniture and some sort of entertainment center.
Function
- One of the major functions of a family room is relaxation and entertainment. Very often family rooms are places where people eat meals or snacks. If the family room is adjacent to the kitchen, meals and snacks are usually prepared there and taken to the family room area for consumption. If the family room is not connected to the kitchen, it may contain a small kitchen area with a refrigerator and a beverage area with a coffee pot and maybe a pop corn popper. The informality of a family room lends itself to large overstuffed comfortable furniture made of fabrics that are easy to care for and resistant to rough use.
Lighting
- Lighting plays an important role in not only being able to see what you are doing, but creating a certain mood and atmosphere in the family room. Family rooms with lots of natural light from window and maybe skylights have more of a feeling of openness than family rooms with less natural lighting. Family rooms with overhead lighting have more of a feeling of openness than family rooms whose major source of lighting is table and floor lamps. The type of light bulbs used in a family room makes a difference in the mood and atmosphere of the room. The light offered from fluorescent light bulbs is different from the light coming from typical light bulbs of different wattage, and light bulbs designed to simulate natural light.
