The couch and TV are no-brainers, but what if you want to add some extra fun to your family room remodel—without breaking your budget?
You can. There are plenty of fun, inexpensive add-ons you can incorporate in just about any-sized family room to make it more exciting, useful, and personalized. Here are five fun family room features to get the most out of your remodel!
1. Chalkboard Paint or Projection Paint
Photo: Ruth Hartnup
These are really fun family room features for anyone with kids (or not!). Reserve one wall for chalkboard paint and you’ll have a huge canvas in your family room remodel. If your family homeschools, this is a great way to transform the space into a classroom.
Don’t love the idea of chalkboard dust? Instead, use that blank wall for projecting movies – it’s way bigger than any television screen. You’ll need to use flat white projection paint, then build the projector into the opposite wall for the best results.
2. Window Seat or Daybed with Storage Space
This family room feature maximizes the space by the window by turning it into a comfy spot to lounge. Cushions with lively patterns keep the mood light, but you can get some serious storage out of a window seat by incorporating drawers underneath.
3. Desk with a Slide-Out Puzzle Drawer
Another fun family room feature for families, especially homeschoolers. Have your contractor build a custom desk with a slide-out puzzle drawer, so you’ll have both a workstation and a spot for quiet fun when homework is finished. Finally, the 5,000-piece puzzle that takes a month to finish can slide out of sight when company’s over!
4. Mural-Sized Travel Map for Tracking Family Adventures
Memorialize family road trips and improve your geography knowledge with a wall-sized travel map. This can be achieved in a number of ways, but using stencils to apply magnetic paint may be best—then you can pin magnets directly to the places you’ve visited. Otherwise, you can find a variety of inexpensive decals online or have a corkboard painted.
5. Sliding Barn Doors for Covering the TV
Trying to keep the TV off? Add sliding barn doors to your family room remodel to make your big-screen disappear. Open or closed, a set of wooden barn doors gives the room a rustic feel you’ll love.
