The family room is the most overlooked room in the house. The decor of many family rooms is unimaginative and ends up being a hodge-podge of furniture that is deemed not suitable for other areas of the home. What is most puzzling is that, aside from the bedroom, this is the room in which the most time is spent.

Part of the reasoning for this neglect is that this room will get beat up by heavy use so there's no point in addressing the decor. Let's rethink this for a moment. What about comfort? Shouldn't you be comfortable in the room that gets daily use?

For those with families and family rooms, this is where you should begin the design of your home. Let's forget momentarily the design of the other rooms that are just for show and give some thought to all that happens in your family room.

The family room, not the living room, is the place in today's home where the family gathers and generations intermingle for myriad activities. Less formal than the living room, a family room must accommodate and seat comfortably all members of the family, taking into account some guests and the family pets. It also must be flexible enough for activities to take place simultaneously.

Watching television, playing video games, listening to music and even dancing or exercising along with your Wii could happen in this room. Your family room, which may or may not be adjacent to the kitchen, might have to accommodate a table for snacking or eating. This same table may have to double as a game table and a homework/office task area. We shouldn't forget that the family room is the perfect location for a computer station for the family's use.

I always recommend a symmetrical seating arrangement to make the room feel balanced and settled. There also should be a variety of seating types, such as sofas, club chairs and ottomans, for propping up feet and occasional use. In the photo, custom-sized cordovan leather sofas and zebra-printed cowhide ottomans bring a warm and cozy feeling to this family room with a colorful palette. The sofas do double duty as pullout beds for houseguests or a slumber party.

Leather furniture is great for this room as it is kid- and pet-friendly. Rugs can and should be used to help deaden sound and delineate the seating areas in a large space. Durable rugs such as seagrass, hemp or synthetic look-a-likes are great. When possible, use a large or oversized coffee table that allows for multiple uses, e.g., snacks for movie night, stacking newspapers and books, and working puzzles. Varied lighting sources will make your family room extremely useful at all times of the day and night.

The design goal for your family room should be a melding of comfort and style. Create a room that is soothing and inviting with a dash of youthful color and a bit of serendipity, and all generations will enjoy it. This more than likely will be the room where memories are made, so take a little time to make it beautiful.

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones, or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: at Unsplash