The Family Room...

This week the Nester began a new series called 10 Minutes Till A Room You'll Love. On Monday she began with the family room and offered several great tips on how to make it just that- a family room. One thing that I struggle with, I mean have fun with is rearranging the furniture. I'm known for doing it. A lot.

We have lived in our house for just a little over a year now and there have been several furniture placements during that time. None of them had that "just right" feeling until this last one. And dare I say, there doesn't seem to be an upcoming desire to rearrange the furniture anytime soon. Even better than that is according to the Nester, I have done some things right! One being that when I placed the furniture, I moved everything away from the walls. Our family room is a fairly large room (really a great room), so I knew it would look absolutely ridiculous to have the furniture up against the walls. The second thing I did was to turn the furniture to the center of the room. This allows for intimate conversation and being focused on the people in the room, not the T.V. Two of the chairs in our room aren't even facing the T.V. In my other attempts to get that "just right" feeling in this room, I was pretty much squaring the room off with the placement of the furniture, but now I have angled every piece of furniture but still aiming for the center.

I was watching a little Barefoot Contessa while snapping some photos:)

I also still need to give my windows some famous Nester mistreatments:)

Other things that I like to add to making it a cozy and welcoming room are pillows, blankets, and quilts (made by my Mom). I can't snuggle up in a chair without having a blanket close at hand.

But as far as the pillows, they are for decoration only. Oh believe me, my family would love to lay their heads on these pillows but I want them to stay pretty and fluffy. Not dingy and squishy. That is what these are for. Again, thanks to my Mom.

I'm also a big believer in everything having a place. I love to use baskets for storage because not only are they functional but it looks nice too.

Another tip the Nester offered was to use lamps. We have a great ceiling fan in our room but I much prefer to use the light from the lamps. It's soft and welcoming and I'll do anything to make myself look 10 years younger.

Pictures... got to have them and the more the better in my book but it really is all about the arrangement of them because the last thing I want our family room to look like is a museum. I have them placed in different areas on our room from tables to walls.

I also say fill your home with the things that you love and find special ways to display them. Show off those shells you have collected at the beach, the bird nests you have found in the yard, pictures drawn by your child, and all the other special collection pieces that you hold close to your heart.

In the frame is a picture Ben drew of our dog, Anabelle.

What is a home without some history filling the rooms. From the family room to the bedrooms, there are pieces of furniture that have been passed on from my grandparents and parents. I love mixing the old with the new.

This table was bulit by my great-great-great-grandmother's father who worked @ a lumbermill in Pa.

Add some candles, music, laughter, conversation and some of this...

Christmas 2008

and you will find the family room.

What makes your family room a special place?