It’s hard to enjoy the aesthetic of your family room when pillows are never put in place and clutter is constantly covering that coffee table that you love. When you have a house filled with kids, it can be difficult to maintain any kind of design or décor, especially in common areas like the TV room or living room. But you should be able to have the best of both worlds — a home that is both chic and comfortable. And it’s not as hard as you think! It comes down to making some simple changes, like choosing cabinets instead of a TV stand and finding ways to make clean up kid-approved. If you’re looking for that balance, here are some tips for how to design a TV room that is both nice to live in and look at.

Let storage shine.

For every ugly storage bin, there is a beautiful storage solution that doubles as décor. One of our favorites for a TV room is a storage ottoman. This functional piece of furniture is perfect for stowing away blankets or video game controllers. If books and magazines are always left behind on your couches, a decorative wire basket placed on the side will help you organize any reading material in seconds. And if toys are taking up all of your extra space, we have a whole blog about that.

Create your own entertainment center.

Choosing cabinets instead of that bulky TV stand will allow you to create a custom entertainment center that fulfills all of your family’s needs. Not only will it be a more attractive display for your television and other electronics, but the extra storage sure won’t hurt either. The best way to optimize cabinets in your TV room is to address your major pain points.

You already know why your family-friendly living area has failed to be fabulous before. Has your daughter claimed the far right part of the room as her arts and crafts corner? Are video games and DVDs always stuck between your sofa cushions? Use the space in these cabinets to create a designated space for all the odds and ends, then when you close the cabinet doors, your TV room will be just as fabulous as it should be.

Make clean up easy for kids.

When the artwork is complete and the video game has been beat, kids aren’t jumping to clean up after themselves. Do what you can to encourage clean up by making it as easy and kid-friendly as possible.

For your little Picasso, let them pick out some creative canvas totes that are easy for them to pick up and put away behind cabinet doors. Canvas is better than metal or plastic because it is lighter and safer for kids.

If it’s a gamer or movie-lover you’re living with, offer them their own “media station” within your entertainment center. All they need are a few drawers or shelves where they can organize all of their discs by genre or title. They will like it because it makes their favorite disc easy to find and you will love it because things go back where they came from.

At The RTA Store we help make your dream home a reality with RTA (Ready To Assemble) and Pre-Assembled cabinets and accessories. Whether it’s your kitchen bathroom, laundry room, home office, bar room or TV room, we offer the same (if not better) quality you would find at any retail store, but for a fraction of the price. Stop by our website or give us a call and let us make your dreams come true with the help of our free room design tool!