5 Ways to Highlight a Family Room for Homebuyers

Many of the properties in outlying areas that we serve around Chicago– like Naperville, Glen Ellyn, and Wheaton are welcoming hot spots for new and growing families. A family home requires specific spaces and functions to highlight, particularly a family room where loved ones of all ages can gather together to play, entertain, and relax.

When staging a family room, we want to show potential buyers where they can read stories to their children, store toys, and cuddle up on the couch for movie night.

Besides the kitchen, homeowners spend most of their time in a family room. This room is usually more casual than the formal living room and is located at the back of the property often near the kitchen, deck or patio. Family rooms are more traditionally reserved for the family itself to use on a daily basis, so this room usually houses a big screen TV, recliners, and plush, comfortable sofas. This is why, if your potential buyer is a family, you should tailor the family room to suit their needs.

When family-oriented homebuyers tour a property they look for lots of space with a multi-functional layout that can provide a place for kids to play, while giving adults solitude to retreat or entertain. Our team at Chicagoland Home Staging knows the importance of creating a space for each family member to feel as if “this is home” by creating a cohesive, functional staging arrangement that enhances the square footage of the room. Here are some specific tips to help stage this key area of the home:

Zoning the Family Room

Family rooms are usually one large open space, so it’s important to zone the room into varying functions that suit the lifestyle of the family. The image above has a separate seating area in this family room–the built-in bar area allows a place to grab a snack, play a board game or cards behind the main seating area in the room. There is also a place to get homework done, or plan a craft project.

Family Portraits

While this is a family home, we don’t want potential buyers to get distracted by your own family’s belongings, especially your photographs. Many times, we see family room walls displaying a child’s progression throughout the school years or lots of family portraits that could deflect buyers from the positive features in the room. At Chicagoland Home Staging we explain to our clients that these precious memories need to get ready for moving day and should be packed away while the home is listed.

Mantle Magnificence 

Many family rooms will have a fireplace, what does your mantle currently look like? This is the main focal point of the room, so clear off your mantle’s knick-knacks and add a few key accessories to highlight the area, or opt for a clean slate as we did in this image above. We left the mantle bare to show it’s clean lines and textures while dressing up the built-ins on either side.

Freshen Up with Color

Choose warm, neutral paint tones for the family room. Neutral doesn’t have to mean boring though, you can add visual interest by creating a color scheme with these softer shades of gray, gold, and brown. Color coordinate accent items to create a cohesive appearance spread out throughout the room.

Update Furnishings

The family room feels lived in quickly, so if you’re selling a home you may consider renting furniture from our company. Cheap tables with wobbly legs, dirty, old couches, and Dad’s broken recliner will not provide that “welcoming feel” buyer’s desire. We can create a custom look that will fit your home’s design style while showing off the size of the family room.

Need help staging a family room? Contact us today! We’d be more than happy to assist you with all your home staging needs.