The Living Room vs. Family Room

Posted in Angelcityfurniture

Is there a difference between a living room vs family room? We spend most of our time in our family room, so why isn’t it called the “living” room?

Do you think that the colloquialisms of the living room vs family room are outdated? I think I do. In the olden days, living rooms were very formal rooms used for entertaining guests. It was a large room compared to the rest of the house so that guests could be accommodated.

Do you agree?

A Living Room or a Family Room?

Over the years, living rooms have shrunk and family rooms have grown and eventually transformed into great rooms that are much more in tune with our current lifestyles. So, here’s my question, today, is there a difference between a living room vs a family room? Don’t we live in the family room?

Long ago, or not that long ago, depending on your age, people even put plastic covers on their living room furniture to “protect it” for their company and guests. Can you imagine that today?

Although, when I had three children under the age of three, plastic covers on everything in our home might have come in handy!

For those of us living in older homes, we have large living rooms and depending on the age of the home, a “den” or no family room at all! Some of the top remodeling projects are to remove walls to create a kitchen/great room/family room.

I think it is safe to say that we have two family rooms in our home. Of course, they could also be called two living rooms.

The Family Room Winter Refresh

Today I am sharing our Family Room which has been refreshed for winter. I didn’t change any furniture, lighting, or the rug. All I did was change the color palette to sage green and icy blue and change the accessories.

And yet, our family room feels totally different!

The Old Looks

As you can see, once I had a neutral slipcover made for our sectional, every “refresh” only consisted of changing accessories, such as pillows, decor items, and florals. The last photo shows how our couch looked before. Yikes!

The Family Room and Kitchen Remodel

When we remodeled our kitchen and family room in 2000, we had a teeny tiny kitchen and a very small “den” that was only large enough for a love seat! We removed some walls and extended the back of our home to create what is now our kitchen and family room and it is truly a great room.

The New Winter Color Palette

When I updated the room with my winter color palette colors of sage green and icy blue, I seriously had no idea how amazing it would look in the family room. I am blown away and absolutely love the colors in this room! What do you think? It feels very calm and serene now in this room and that was my goal for this room.

I found these pillows online. Actually, I made the green and white ticking stripe pillow but the blue and multi-stripe pillow covers arrived from Amazon this week. Aren’t they fabulous?

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Family Room Ideas With TV

Our family room is definitely the room that we live in the most. After more than twenty years, we recently moved the furniture around and added a Samsung Frame TV which I cannot say enough good things about. The Frame TV allows you to show art on the TV so when you are not watching it, it looks like a piece of art. How brilliant is that?

And how amazing is the art on our TV above?

See the blue wooden box under the TV? I found it at the Rose Bowl Flea Market and now it holds our spirits for Happy Hour. Just a small touch of blue sitting atop the vintage cabinet looks amazing.

I added a Deco Frame in Antique White and quite honestly, I think that the TV is the star of the room now. For a while, I thought it was the way the french doors behind the couch make the room look like a sunroom. Or maybe the way the dining table is the connection between the family room and the kitchen.

But no, the star of our family room is definitely the Frame TV. Every season I choose new art based on the colors I use to decorate the room! I think you can see why we spend so much time here. It truly is our favorite room in the house. We really do “live” here.

Setting the Table

I set the table using my favorite transferware in shades of sage green and blue. The centerpieces are faux flowers and the vases are made from birch bark. I made the cream candlesticks and love how they look on any table.

I purchased the green glassware recently and I linked it below and I love that our Family Room also serves as our Living Room.

And as soon as I finish the refresh in our Living Room I will share it on the blog. I am just waiting for some fabric to arrive.

Watch Me Live!

I love having the chance to talk with all of you about all of the things that I love. I am now sharing a few Amazon Live broadcasts every week and they are so much fun!

Here are my latest broadcasts! Just tap on the links to take a peek.

I am in love with my new winter palette and want to share all of my new favorite Amazon finds with you!

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