Kid Friendly Multi-Purpose Family Room Design

My Family Room

Feminine

Mid-day light

It's completely lacking any warmth, style, or personal touches.The bare all-white walls, old dingy carpet, dated lighting fixtures (and lack of lighting in general), the red brick fireplace surround, hand-me-down furniture, lack of functional storage, and the akward spacing of the 3 windows to the right of the fireplace. I'd like to be able to put as much kid stuff out of sight at the end of the day and be able to relax in an attractive adult space.

We have to keep the brick fireplace but we are open to painting the brick and mantle if it suits the design. The TV has to stay but we'd prefer it in a different location. The small media cabinet under the TV and IKEA Expedit cubbies in the kid area could stay but we're not attached to them. Everything else can go.

Yes

Paint

Yes, Wood, Area Rugs

- Before kids my house was decorated on the "glam" side and my husbands style is very tropical. Any way to sort of mesh the two into a kid-friendly space would be great (I know that's a tall order!). I would like to have plants in the room so I was thinking maybe having a tall tropical plant. Or accents of natural materials like seagrass or wood.

- We'd really love a sectional sleeper sofa with chaise if the floorplan allows. We're also willing to have it custom made if need be. But, we're also ok with a traditional sofa.

- If you could find a way to incorporate a small secretaries desk into the design that would be a huge bonus! I need a place to put my laptop and small projects out of the children's reach.

- I tend to be drawn to soft, abstract artwork.

- I like simple graphical area rugs like with a trellis or quatrefoil pattern.

- I'm into typography and would like to incorporate the letter "H" (for our last name) into the room somewhere.

- I'd really like a base pallette of neutral colors that allow for me to change the colored accents with the seasons.

- We prefer softer edges over hard angles (e.g. an oval table instead of a rectangle). It also helps with safety for our two boys under age 3.

- I'm open to paint treatments like wide stripes, ghost stenciling, accent walls, etc

- Id like the wall in the back of the bookshelves to be painted an accent color

- The room gets great natural light for most of the day. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac bordering a natural park with a public walking path. That means we get a lot of people walking by the house each day and we'd like to have window coverings that offer some privacy without blocking too much of the natural light.

- We have to keep the brick around the fireplace but are willing to do a paint treatment to it

- I'd like to put three large framed photos of our kids on the wall that the track lights point to