I need help rearranging my basement family room

Debbie Graham
by Debbie Graham
My family room is fairly spacious as you can tell by the number of sofas, etc. that are in the room. I want to give the room a new look and would appreciate your suggestions. The mantle has since been removed and a tall cherry bookcase is where it was.
  14 answers
  • Leronna Farley Leronna Farley on Sep 04, 2016
    WOW!!! That's a LOT of furniture!!! If I were you, I'd try putting the "like items" together, as in colors. Move the desk to the center pole, facing the darker furniture. Make one side a conversation side & the other, an activity side :)
  • Carol Foster Carol Foster on Sep 04, 2016
    I did the same thing. I put two couches back to back (one facing the fireplace). I used a dining room table as one of the side tables for both couches. You end up with two separate areas and the room looks much more cohesive.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Sep 04, 2016
    I would first eliminate some of the furniture as in my opinion it is overkill. Choose the pieces that you feel work the best and then re-arrange.
  • Rosel Kynast Rosel Kynast on Sep 04, 2016
    Here is my take: Keep all the furniture and go with the idea from Leronna Farley. Having a few more seating is always good in a family-room.
  • Sage Sage on Sep 05, 2016
    take the pictures off the wall and remove the rug from it's current location. Put the dark sideboard agains the pillar and put the rug in front of it (legs off). Make the wall next to the fireplace mantle your picture wall - you can also add ledges for display. In that area you make cozy with the small tufted loveseat and the wing chair. I don't know what to tell you about the pastel sofas - lots of seating is good, but you might want to invest in neutral slipcovers and save color for the pillows. Not sure this is helpful, but you did not describe how big your family is and how you use the room now,
  • Mary-Ann Mary-Ann on Sep 05, 2016
    I think you need a bigger rug for this room. The front legs need to be on the rug at a minimum. You could also put in a coffee table or an ottoman to bring the area together if you want to leave the wood exposed.
  • Jim L Jim L on Sep 05, 2016
    The fireplace mantle is no longer there. The tall bookcase that is there now will need to be the focal point. Can you put the TV in the book case? That would help a lot. The idea of making the two separate seating areas is the best idea. Have one area for TV watching and one area for conversation/reading or whatever. If you can, get two large rugs...one for each area. This will further emphasize that this is "two" areas. Also, putting some color on the walls would help a lot. Be sure to have lots of lamps and not depend on the overhead lights...they do not help. Good luck!
  • Nnettat Nnettat on Sep 05, 2016
    Appears you have started a 2 seating design. Two couches, three love sets, a wing back chair, buffet, etc. First, the buffet and rug will move. With the buffet moved, you should have enough room to put the couches back to back at the pole. I suggest putting the darker furniture on the side with the window, and the rug as well, for the simplest of reasons...light. As they sit now, it's a dark hole on that side of the room. Put an end table on the side of the couches by the wall. Move the buffet to where the dark couch was. Two love seats opposite of each other in this area. You can use the dark love seat in this area, on the left wall, to distribute the weight through out the room. On mantel/TV side of the room, move the love seat (which ever you choose for this side) diagonal across the corner to the left of the fireplace. Put the wing back to the right of the fireplace at an angle. As for the brown chairs, leave them where they are at. They are straight back and can be pulled out when needed. If concerned about the wing back blocking one of them, there should be enough room (I think since I don't have dimensions) to place one on the buffet side of the room. Maybe diagonal in the corner. Rug. If staying with this rug, put on the TV side of things. More light on that side. As well as the coffee table. (There appears to be less room in this area for end table or you would have them there now.) Don't center the rug in the area. Center it in front of the couch with the coffee table centered on the rug. With a love seat angled on this end, you can put a small table (nearly level with the top of the love seat) behind it and add one of the lamps. Buffet side of room... If looks too roomy/open, swop the buffet with the love seat on the left. (If this is done, both of the lighter love seats should be at this end of the room.) With buffet in this spot, you may just have enough room on sides of the buffet for the brown chairs. IMHO, this just might work. Oh. Why diagonal on some pieces? It rounds the room and gets rid of the rigidness. So everyone is included when conversing. It's easier to turn you head slightly than to turn it 90 degrees to talk to someone in the chair next to you. It's like a round table with everyone included. Hope I was of some help.
  • Deanna Nassar Deanna Nassar on Sep 05, 2016
    1. I'd take out the seat in front of the pole. Bring over the small floral couch in it's place. Move the (side-board?) down wall to where small floral couch is and hang that oval mirror over it. Not sure what it is next to the large floral couch but move it down to be across from the sideboard. Put a small table in the area in front of the bookcase. Could be folding one for games, etc with folding chairs. The two single chairs near the bookcase with floor lamps to read by.
  • Bernadette Staal Bernadette Staal on Sep 05, 2016
    Do you need all the couches? They seem to over take the space and as you have not mentioned what size / age family you have I wonder if you have just collected furniture and tried to blend it together. You seem to have some antique and some modern furniture blended together and I am not sure that look works. I would make separate spaces within the room e.g. have the antique couch and chair in one corner, the brown modern sofa's in another and perhaps remove the floral couches. You could set up a reading area with a book shelf and some magazines and chose if this is to go in the modern or antique section. I would also consider setting up mini home office type of area where people can go and do some work in the computer. If you already have this somewhere else the house then maybe a craft table or similar. You really haven't given us enough information to determine what your individual or family needs are but I think the rule "less is more" might be the solution. Go luck.
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Sep 05, 2016
    Agree you need a much larger area rug to replace existing. Perhaps you can get matching rugs - the other to help define the second seating area. Think I would have left the mantle with an electric insert so there would be a focal point for second sitting area. Sofa in front of pillar looks awkward - Maybe two chairs on either side with a table between?? How about a large table and chairs for games/entertaining in the second area as seems there are a lot of sofas.
  • Sherry Lynn Sherry Lynn on Sep 05, 2016
    Definitely angle the two brown pieces.. Just pull the large one between the walls it is on and put love seat right angle to it with end table between them and put the beige live seat opposite the smaller brown one on angle and pull rug in front between them... Then place the flowery couch and wing back chair to opposite wall where the bookcase now is angled on that wall as a cozy nook with an area rug to anchor the area.
  • Country Design Home Country Design Home on Sep 28, 2016
    Hi Debbie! What a great room- so much space! I have read all the answers above, but I am curious what you actually do in that room? Watch TV, play games, read? If it is primarily a TV room, then I would create two distinct areas- one for watching TV and the other side to be more of a game/reading area. Keep all the brown furniture together on one side and move the TV bookcase into that space so people can sit on that furniture and comfortably see the TV. For the other side, bring back the mantel, and you could add a small table and chairs in front of it. Move the black commode in there as well and set it up more as a game room/snacking/ reading/computer area. If space allows, you could keep the love seat and wing chair and group them together at the other end with a lamp as a reading nook. Good luck!
  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Apr 16, 2023

    Make more of the Fire surround and gather the furniture around that!