Decorating such an important and focal room is a challenging but rewarding experience. As with any room in the home, careful planning will result in an aesthetically pleasing and practical environment.

A place to play

Most families would undoubtedly benefit from an additional living room within the traditional family home, but very few properties have the space required. In some cases, however, especially when the family is quite young, you may be able to rearrange the function of each room to create the additional space. A formal dining room, for example, generally gets very little use, when the children are small – the last thing most parents wish to do at the end of a busy week is formal entertaining. By relocating the dining area to the kitchen, for example, or possibly to a new conservatory, the formal dining room can be converted into a much-needed recreational area.

Manx parents find that the large quantity of toys associated with children causes the most problems when decorating the living room, so by defining a specific play area, the living room can remain undisturbed. If this option is not possible, however, and your living room has to function as both living and playing area, clever storage is essential.

The comfort factor

Designing and decorating a room to fulfil and withstand the needs of a growing family may be a tall order, but it is possible. There is currently a great leaning towards a casual approach to the layout and decoration of our homes, and this has resulted in a more leisurely attitude to life in general and entertaining in particular. Gone are the days of the ¡®best lounge¡¯, where furniture was carefully positioned and often had a formal edge that was designed purely to impress, not to help guests feel relaxed and comfortable. The benefit of this new trend is that you can create a stylish vet comfortable interior that is suitable for the everyday living needs of your family as well as for entertaining guests.

Free from worries

Technological advances have brought with them a new range of hard-working, low-maintenance decorating products. Machine-washable, stain-resistant fabrics are available in an exceptionally wide range of designs and colors for the home decorator, while pre-treated carpets and floor coverings ensure that the inevitable spill mug of coffee will not cause irreversible damage. Knowing that the products used to decorate your living room can withstand such day-to-day occurrences means there is no longer any excuse for putting all decorative considerations to one side until the family has grown.