Posted on: April 30, 2009
All in the Family
With today's typical family growing to include financially stressed, older or sick relatives, the family room has a lot of people to please
By Patricia Rivera
CTW Features
Image courtesy Armstrong
When Mary Lambright starts to feel bored with the look of her living room, she doesn't go far for materials to spiffy it up. In fact, the last time the Little Rock, Ark., designer wanted a change, she rummaged through her dresser drawers for vintage silk scarves. She selected one with a large, bright red print to cover the seat of an antique fiddle-back chair. The brightened chair strategically placed in a corner instantly added usable space and beauty to the room.
When it comes to do-it-yourself projects that brighten the look of a family room, the possibilities are as open as the imagination of the family occupying the home. And nowadays, the number of extended family members living together is increasing across the country. According to a winter 2008 trendspotting survey conducted by the J. Walter Thompson, a worldwide advertising agency, the number of people over 65 who live with their adult children has doubled between 2000 and 2007.
Something old, something new
Contractor Erik Lunden remodeled a 100-year old Portland, Ore., home by bringing in the old. He often works with salvaged materials like old paneling, banisters, or flooring, which are high quality oak, maple, or cherry woods. Adding a section of beautiful, highly polished paneling to a portion of a wall brings richness and a point of interest to a room.
Focus on the floor
Lunden's most requested job in the family room? Replace the floor with ceramic tile or hardwood. If you go with hardwood or laminate flooring, make sure the floor is level, he says. A significant dip in the floor makes it very difficult to fit the tongue-and-groove pieces together. If you can't manage the energy or finances to put down new flooring and you have wall-to-wall carpet, put down a large, attractive area rug.
Trim the fat
Jeff England, a contractor in Knoxville, Tenn., offers another effective way to renew a room. "After umpteen coats of paint, and lots of dents and nicks, trim can really age a house," he says. New trim and crown molding over freshly painted walls revives an aging room.
Texture Time
If you're one of the many people ripping off wallpaper so you can paint, try putting a textured paint over the wallpaper. Jody Hilderbrand of Rochester, Minn., painted over her family room wallpaper and couldn't be happier -"It looked beautiful, and was so easy," she says. But she adds, "Be sure to glue every bit of loose wallpaper back down before applying the paint and use a flat paint so it won't show all the imperfections."