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"VIEW MORE PHOTOS    After spending their first 16 years of marriage in a tiny starter home, Jaimie and John LaMarca moved recently to a larger house\u2014a two-story colonial, in Glen Head, New York\u2014that was originally built in 1913. &amp;quot;Back in the seventies,&amp;quot; says Jaimie, &amp;quot;the house was expanded to include a new garage, a guest room and a guest bath, plus the extra large room we now call the family room.&amp;quot; With two daughters, Emily, 12, and Nicole, 16, the LaMarcas thought it was great to have a 15,520-foot family room where everyone could gather. The problem was that they didn&amp;#039;t really know what to do with the space. &amp;quot;It had an ugly stained carpet and vertical blinds, which didn&amp;#039;t go with the character of the house at all,&amp;quot; Jaimie recalls. &amp;quot;I put a couple of old chairs, the TV and the dog&amp;#039;s bed in there, but it was never a comfortable place for us to hang out.&amp;quot; After letting the space languish for more than a year, Jaimie knew it was time to make it a room the family would actually use and enjoy. But she wanted to furnish it affordably, so she enlisted family and friends to help her create the space she desired. After removing the ratty carpeting, which the LaMarcas had planned to replace, Jaimie explains, &amp;quot;we found red oak flooring that we immediately refinished.&amp;quot; Finally, she was ready to decorate.  Enter Jean Nayar, editor of this magazine. Working with Jaimie, over the course of a few months, Jean helped Jaimie reuse some of her existing furnishings, select some new ones and choose fabrics and paint colors that complemented the palette of a rug\u2014a gift from a family member, which now covers the floor. New window treatments that would add color and control light were also at the top of Jaimie&amp;#039;s wish list. So Jean designed some simple Roman shades, which a friend helped to fabricate and Jaimie&amp;#039;s husband, John, helped to install. &amp;quot;In my mind,&amp;quot; says Jaimie, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d also imagined the room having a built-in window seat and shelving and leather furniture\u2014costly investments\u2014but Jean helped me create some of the same effects for much less money.&amp;quot; The LaMarcas wanted the room to be multipurpose, so that it would be possible for anyone watching television to coexist with someone else reading a book or using the computer. Jean devised a furniture plan that included distinct seating and working areas that didn&amp;#039;t interrupt the flow of space. On one side of the long room, a new coffee table, an upholstered sofa, a love seat, a chair and ottomans\u2014which serve as footrests, tray tables or extra seating\u2014were arranged to face a new console that holds the TV, DVDs and videotapes. On the other side of the space, a new computer armoire serves as a self-contained home office and an existing wooden chest was topped with a box cushion and converted into the window seat Jaimie desired. Finally, a collection of new cushions and a pretty fabric topper over a recycled side table complement the shades and bring finishing touches to the room. &amp;quot;This turned out to be an incredible transformation,&amp;quot; says Jaimie. &amp;quot;Basically, we started with an empty shell and now have a multipurpose room. It was a fabulous experience. What They Loved - The size of the room - The room&amp;#039;s location just off the dining area, where it can easily serve as the central hub of the house - The large windows, one of which looks out on trees beyond the deck What They Hated - The existing carpeting - The old, ugly vertical blinds on the windows - A lack of visual warmth - The room was so sparsely furnished that it went mostly unused Time Line Visiting the site to see and measure the space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 hours Creating a furniture plan and gathering fabric samples to consider. . . . . . 8 hours Double-checking furniture and fabric collections on the Internet. . . . . . . . 2 hours Painting walls and woodwork. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ... . .. . . . .. . .2 days Shopping for decorative accessories and small pieces of furniture. . . . . . 4 hours Fabricating table-topper and cushions. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . ... . .2 days Fabricating and installing window treatments. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . . . .2 days Arranging furniture and accessories. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . ..2 days Installing window treatments. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . 4 hours The Tab Furniture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . $4,385 Fabrics. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . ..$1,033 Accessories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . .. . $233 Paint for walls and wood trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . ..$125 Window treatment hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .$50 Picture hooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . $3 __________________________________________ TOTAL $5,829 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/room-ideas/a1162/room-service-32946/>