Make sure your wiring is
sufficient for today's activities

Functional Good Looks

Entertainment media have grown more sophisticated, and so has the infrastructure they require. Set up your family room to handle the potential demands of home theater, communication cables, computers, CD players, and multiple telephone lines. Anticipating the locations of the equipment will help you provide sufficient circuits, minimize visible wiring, and position electrical outlets and phone jacks.

Built-ins are the backbone of an active family room. Shelves, drawers, and cabinets help keep books, magazines, tapes, CDs, board games, and toys out of sight but within easy reach. When space is especially tight, find furniture pieces with storage potential, such as a coffee table with a shelf below, an end table with a drawer, an ottoman that opens up, or a trunk or chest that's both footrest and footlocker.