If your family room looks like the family toy box its time for some fresh storage ideas. New storage units for books, magazines, board’s games, stereo, television and other belongings can bring order to the family toy box without intruding on the casual, friendly atmosphere of the room.
Two considerations enter into the planning for your planning for your family room storage. First, you’ll need to decide which items you want store out of sight and which you want keep in view. Families with youngster may want some special storage for toys, and family rooms, party rooms, and study areas will have some particular requirements. But for the most part, items used by the family as a whole pose most of your family room storage problems. You may want to hide the TV, toys and games, yet keep books and art objects displayed on open shelves.
Second, you’ll want to evaluate the room to find the best location for the new storage so it blends with the structure of the room. Any extensive system, especially one that shows of lots of rich wood, tends to dominate room. While smaller, freestanding systems don’t draw the eye as much, they should also fit into the overall room design.
The horizontal lines of the mantelpieces, window or molding may suggest the height for a storage system. If your fireplaces lacks a mantel but has a prominent chimney, you may want to follow the chimney vertical lines, adding storage all the way to the ceiling. Lines made by unusual angles shouldn’t be broken. It’s better to fill the entire angled area with storage than to have two conflicting lines.
You’ll find more storage suggestion in the special sections on art supply storage and bookshelves and the Sunset book ideas for Storage.