How to Design a Functional Family Space on a Budget

Spring is officially here, which means renovation season is in full swing. With many people staying at home during the pandemic, there’s been a boom with home remodeling projects with a year-over-year 58% increase in demand for home professionals last June, according to Houzz Inc.

SoFi recently partnered with home design and lifestyle expert Jenny Reimold and Bloom Family Designs to renovate one deserving family’s hangout space.

Meet the Doyle Family

Bloom Family Designs introduced SoFi to the Doyle family, a family of eight based in Nashville, TN. Lindsey, a full-time teacher, and her husband Ryan, a pastor, have three biological children and three adopted children ranging in age from 5 to 17 years old.

For years, the family has had a space above their garage that has been used for storage. They dreamt of transforming the space into a place for their teen children to hang out, play games, and more recently, complete their virtual schooling during the pandemic. Given the other needs and expenses of their family, however, they have been unable to take the project on. That is until SoFi partnered with Jenny and Bloom to give this deserving family the ultimate teen hangout space.

From Dark to Bright

Jenny and Melissa Whitlock, founder of Bloom Family Designs, were able to take the dark space that was formerly used as storage and turn it into a bright, inviting space for the Doyle family’s kids to hang out with one another and their friends.

Check out the before and after photos:

Replicating the Look

To get the most out of your home renovation of a family space on a budget, Jenny and Melissa share their best tips that they put to work on this project for the Doyle family.

•  Brighten your space with paint. Use light color to repaint walls, shelves, or even a fireplace to completely change the look of a room. Paint is an inexpensive way to refresh any space.

•  Select a gender neutral color palette. When designing a space for children and teens, select colors that can transition with kids as they age. “Gender neutral” and “colorful” don’t have to be mutually exclusive of one another. Consider neutral and colored walls to reflect light in a room and accent with tones of blue, green, or yellow.

•  Maximize storage space. Make the most of a family lounge by building or hanging shelves along a long wall. Style decorative baskets that can be used to hide board games or children’s toys. Add woven or wire baskets on a fireplace hearth or next to a couch to store blankets for movie nights. Holly Trepka, from Neat Method Nashville, added game pieces to stylish canisters and custom labels for organizational bins for the Doyle’s space.

•  Replace light fixtures and ceiling fans. Welcome friends and family to an inviting space by updating the original lighting plan. Modernize a home by adding a new chandelier and keep cool by styling a new fan.

•  Create a multipurpose space. Create a gathering space that also doubles as a guest bedroom or sleeping space for slumber parties. Sleeper sofas and chairs offer a comfortable place to watch movies but can then be opened to provide extra beds for guests. With modern sofas that transform into beds and a built-in bed crafted against an unused wall, this former storage area now sleeps five.

Funding Your Home Renovation Project

If a home renovation project like this is on your to-do list this spring, you may want to consider an unsecured personal loan to finance the project. SoFi offers no-fee options on low interest home improvement loans ranging from $5,000-$100,000^✝︎.

To learn more or get started with your project visit www.sofi.com/personal-loans/.

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^✝︎To check the rates and terms you qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.
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