Family Time Made Better With Family Rooms

23 Jan Family Time Made Better With Family Rooms

Being a family with teens or young adults in 2019 often feels like a fleet of ships passing in the night. Between a full workday, countless after-school activities, transporting kids to and from said after-school activities and the ever-present handheld technology in the home, family time can be a serious challenge for everyone. So aside from canceling events and powering down the phones when walking in the home, what can be done to create more family time when the time is so limited? Many people don’t think of the home as having power over some of these behaviors, but a well-crafted and designed home can inspire more time for the family to come together at the end of the day and enjoy some quality time together. Ready to see how? Read on for some of our best tips for giving the home the power to encourage time together that everyone can enjoy.

Plenty of Seating

This one is pretty obvious, but if you have a large family, you need large rooms with enough comfortable seating for everyone to carve out their own space to relax. If there isn’t a comfortable spot for everyone in the family, often members of the family will go off to find a place more suitable for relaxation. You would be surprised how many people overlook this design challenge and assume only a few members of the family will be in one room at a time together anyway. Giving your home the power to bring everyone together in one space comfortably helps limit the desire for family members to take to their separate quarters to unwind.

Private – But Open

On the topic of separate living quarters, for many people, the idea of rooms spread out throughout the house to give people ample privacy is very appealing. While it is critical to making sure everyone feels they have the privacy they need, too much of separation in the home deepens the gap in the family together time. Shared open spaces connecting living spaces helps bring more face time to family members. Encourage opportunities to spend time together with open floor plans, plenty of recreation space, and comfortable corners of the house where people are still a part of the family dynamic while taking some time to unwind.

Game Center

When building your home, think about the rooms that might serve your family best in the now. Then think about how these rooms can be used in the future when lifestyle changes or when kids move out of the house. The time before kids leave the home for college or their own careers goes by in the blink of an eye, so don’t be hesitant to add in space that encourages time with them before that time runs out. A beautiful, multi-use game room is a great addition to a home for families. This creates a separate space for the family to come together and enjoy each other’s company or offers a space where kids and their friends can come together without disrupting other members of the family. Research shows family game night serves children and young adults in more ways than strengthening the family dynamic. A study by PBS shows that family game night can help improve other skills including the following:

• Larger vocabularies starting at age two.
• Higher reading scores in elementary through high school.
• More motivation in school.
• Better relationships with peers.
• A more positive perception of the parent-child relationship.
• Better emotional well-being and life satisfaction.

Create Distinct Spaces with Levels

Another new trend we’re seeing in modern custom home styles is multi-level floor plans. We’re not just talking about one, two, or three floors in a home, we’re talking about designated lowered spaces within a floor plan to encourage a sense of change within an open floor plan. Including a lowered room to adjacent high-traffic areas brings the family together without interrupting the flow of the house with floor to ceiling walls. These spaces create a sense of change in the space without blocking the open concept. Easily transform extra space in the floor plan to space for relaxing, playing games, or enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning as the kids prepare for school. Think of the uses in your dream home for a space unobstructed but clearly differentiated from the kitchen or sitting room.

Have an idea for bringing your own family together by strategically utilizing the space in your home? We would love to hear them? Need help getting started in designing your home for bringing the family together? Our designers are ready whenever you are to start learning about your needs and how we can design the perfect home to match your style, family, and needs! Let’s get started!