I love Ikea Besta for this exact purpose . You put the pieces together for eaxctly what you need it can look custom with some good planning and can have a ton of storage with the TV wall mounted at the proper viewing height and even some display if you want a bit . Comes in some nice colors you can even mix and match. This is just one of 100s of ways to put the pieces together so no need for the TV in front of the window just build this all long that bare wall.

I'd like to add that I have 5 kids so toys in the livingroom is a must. We do have a playroom downstairs but that's in the process of being finished and where our play foam will be. Our playfoam is the best investment for our children as we live in a remote community. The walls will be painted to a white-grey. Curtains will be changed. Our flooring is the wrong color but I'll get a rug. With covid we had to wait 2 extra years for our house to be finished. So many mistakes like the color of the walls, the color of the floors, the color of our kitchen cabinets. But we have a home and 3 kids in care now have a home.

What about an entertainment system like you see here in a recent design of ours? Perhaps it would work best on the blank wall, not where the window is.

Pied-à-Terre: Family Room · More Info

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your first priority should be storing that massive pile of …foam?? in the basement. Can it live down there until the room is finished? If not, finish that room first before worrying about an entertainment center. can you say more a about this statement? ”Our playfoam is the best investment for our children as we live in a remote community” If you want lighter walls, why not change to a warm white or lighter beige given that your floors are brown?

In these images you see here, we have made an entire TV wall for our clients. Please take some time to look through the images and see if any of the ideas call out to you.

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First, I’d like to say ”thank you” for welcoming three children who needed help into your home. Not many couples are willing to do that— especially when they already have two other children. Five is A LOT of work - you and your BF deserve some gratitude!

Hopefully, the foam pieces will move to their new home in the basement soon. BUT - you can still figure out a media center (along that solid wall) before that happens.

I’ve never stepped inside an IKEA store ever - however, I have seen MANY items from IKEA used on Houzz + one of my daughters is using their Besta system to make a media wall in their basement. They purchased oak veneer doors for it (from IKEA) + are having a countertop fabricated to make the different boxes look like one unit. I think it will look really nice when finished.

They only have a two year old right now - but there’s space in a few of the ”boxes” for his stuff (the boxes come in two sizes - they bought the larger ones + you can add doors/drawers or a combination of both).

For the price, it seems to be a good deal (seems sturdy - they have the boxes built - I’ve sat and stood on them - not a HUGE test, but they can handle some weight! - I weigh about 120-125 lbs and they felt SOLID underneath me!)

IKEA also has another line (Havsta - I think) - it’s made out of all wood. The pieces are larger (except for the tv stand - but they wanted to do an entire wall) - so, they decided against it. It actually looks nice (online)— but is more expensive + less modular.

There are always mistakes made when building a new house - so, relax - you will just need to test out some paint samples prior to purchasing gallons in order to make sure that the color will work with your floors.

When I was picking out selections for the first house I built, I had just given birth (already had a four year old) + had just graduated from law school + had started (daily) bar review classes. I completely messed up the wall paint! It worked with the carpet that I had initially selected - but then there was an issue and I had to pick a new carpet ASAP (the week before the bar exam) - and it clashed! Luckily, part of the house had hardwood floors - but there were A LOT of walls that needed to be repainted (including a very tall open staircase). FYI - your walls and floors look A LOT better than my carpet and walls!

I prioritized the rooms to be painted IMMEDIATELY (my daughters’ rooms - that hardly anyone saw 😂) - and eventually had everything repainted. It took three years - because I decided that we (= I) could do it vs. hiring someone (even though I was working 50+ hours hours/week as an associate at a large law firm + wanted to be a ”mom” whenever I wasn’t working - not my best decision!) So, I had some clashing carpet/walls on the main floor for awhile - no one cared (except me!)

Sorry for the long post - hopefully, you’ll relax + give yourself a break for any selection mistakes (if they were your mistakes - if they were the builders, I’d be making them address the issues - breach of a written contract is five years on average - but depends upon your state of residence).

As you’ve already commented, you have a home which is what matters + you’ve also made a HUGE difference in the lives of three children. Messy foam blocks + clashing walls/floors + toys spilling into the living room are all things that can be addressed at some point (fyi - while most of their toys were upstairs, my girls had a basket with some toys down in our living room + a cabinet with toys/art supplies in the “hearth area“ next to the fireplace in the kitchen).

When you have little ones, things aren’t always going to look like an “Instagram photo” or photos on an interior design website. I also disagree that the living room is for adults - I think that was the case when people had a formal living room + a family room both on the main level of the home. Most people don’t have formal living rooms anymore (not after the ”great room” concept popped up in the 90s) - so, now it’s a shared family space. If your basement will have a playroom + an area for watching TV, the upstairs living room can then be treated more as the adult space.

I do think moving the TV away from the window + having a media console with extra storage will help you feel better about your living room + make it a bit more functional for you. The nice thing about the Besta system is that you don’t have to purchase everything all at once. You can buy some boxes in order to put together a good sized console + add extra storage boxes later.

P.S. the foam blocks/pieces look like fun - I can see using some blankets and making some cool forts!