Family Command Center For Your Home - The Inspired Decorator

Create A Family Command Center That Works For Your Home

Everyone wants an organized home. We want a way to keep on top of schedules, cleaning, meals, and feel like we have our life together. Life gets crazy, and you don’t know what you can do differently. And what works for your friends’ house won’t necessarily help yours. That’s why you need to customize the solutions to fit your household. That’s why a Family Command Center is so great. It’s versatile and made to fit your needs.

What’s a Family Command Center?

If you’re intrigued but sitting there going ” Sara, what’s that even mean? And how is it supposed to get us sorted and on track?” Well, you’re in the right spot my friend. A family command center is a central location for keeping track of everything that’s affecting your family at home and away from home. It’s a spot that everyone checks daily to stay in the know. It’s your family’s central station. But what goes into it, depends on the needs of your family. That’s the beauty of it.

Why Create One In The First Place

A section of the mudroom was turned into the family command center. It's simple and function with a large diy whiteboard calendar, chalkboard for notes, an area for mail sorting, designated backpack location, and a bench with bins for gloves and mitts.

Here’s my backstory. I was in your shoes recently. The calendar organizing system I was using was no longer working. I had a calendar at work, a calendar in my phone, a day planner, a mini one on my fridge, a calendar at home hanging on the wall, and none of them were jiving. Plus it was a lot to remember to check and transfer around. I’d write something down in my phone but forget to transfer it to one of the calendars at home. Then my husband was out of the loop of what was going on because the information was just with me. It was a disaster and I knew it needed to change.

For us, the perfect time to get our act together was over the summer when activities slowed down some, and before school (and kids activities) started up again. So I started doing so research. I had spotted these beautiful mudrooms on Pinterest where people had walls with big calendars, clocks, menus, family pictures, hooks for keys, coats, and backpacks. They looked gorgeous but I kept thinking, I don’t need all of that.

But that’s what makes a Family Command Center so functional and versatile! You add as much or as little as you need for your command center to work for you.

Here’s the key things I discovered to making your own family command center.

Key Points Of a Great Command Center

Location:

It needs to be in a high traffic area. If you set it up by the front entry, but you guys only use your garage door, no one is going to go out of their way to check the schedule. By placing it in the direct line of traffic it’s easy for everyone to check it on their way out the door, and update it on their way back in.

Before the corner of the mudroom was a hot spot. It was the drop it and leave it zone for anything going to and from the garage. Converting it to a family command center has kept it clean and organized.
- the Inspired Decorator — Before shot of where the family command center is now located. The benefit of converting this area to a command center is it’s no longer a drop zone.

Address Your Needs:

What do you feel desperately needs to be addressed in your home? Is it staying on top of schedules, is it keeping track of paperwork, is it a jumble of shoes, coats and backpacks? Do you often misplace your keys? Do you mix up your kids’ names? (I threw that one in for a laugh. Of course you do, we all do. Including the dog.) Once you know what the big sore spots then you can take care of them.

A bench in the mudroom is a great idea for anyone needing to sit to put on shoes. This one has storage to hide the mess of mitts, hats ,and leashes. It's underneath the family command center which is the central organizing hub. — This bench with storage bins is great for containing the mess of mitts and hats. Every person gets their own bin.

KISS:

Keep It Super Simple. Only include that which you need in your command center. If you only need that month’s calendar, a spot for your keys, and a mirror to check for bags under eyes before you walk out the door, then that’s all you put on your family command center wall. If you focus on adding all the organizer’s anyone could ever need and making it too decorative, then it loses its functionality. And your attention. You won’t use it, your family won’t know how to use it, and it will become a waste. I do not want that!

On the other hand, if you have a large family, you are probably going to need more organizers. You may need 2 calendars to keep track of upcoming appointments and game days. You may need a clock to remind your kids that the bus comes in 2 minutes. Other necessities could be a shoe rack, coat hooks, paper trays for school permission slips, a grocery list so you don’t forget to pick up milk. You get my point.

Your family command center should be made to best cater to your unique needs, and not just because it looks pretty. This one is really about function first. That doesn’t mean you can’t dress it up, but don’t get carried away and lose track of its purpose.

When planning on how to make your family command center, I'd suggest finding your key pieces and setting them up first. Then you can add extra touches for function and style to work with those pieces. Here the notes calendar, bench, and start of the diy calendar are in place.
- the Inspired Decorator — A blank canvas. Set up the basic parts of your command center and use that as a starting point for personalizing.

What Can You Put In Your Command Center?

Pinterest is a great place to look for family command center inspiration. There are lots of options out there, like the one below by Lauren at Bless’er House, and many ways to style yours. Before you start looking though, make sure you know what your needs are so you don’t get overwhelmed by all the options. It’s also a good idea to know your design style so that it’s reflected in your command center too. If you’re not sure of your personal design style, my style guide can help you out. Since you’re using it every day, you may as well enjoy what you’re looking at.

Lauren at Bless'er House made over an area of her kitchen into this function command center. It features the items she requires daily in a clean and simple layout. — This simple command center by Lauren at Bless’er House is function and beautiful.

Here is a list of items that you may want in your command center

Monthly Calendar- this can be a paper calendar, a whiteboard calendar, a chalkboard calendar. Big or small depending on how much you need to write down for each day
Second Calendar- if your house is busy, a second calendar can help you plan ahead and keep track of next months going-ons
To Do List
Note Board
Weekly Menu Board
Grocery List
In/ Out Mail Sorter
Paper Tray for Each Family Member
Key Holder
Phone Charging Station
Coat Hooks
Backpack hooks
Bench
Chore Chart

A chalkboard is a great way to keep track of to-do lists and notes. You could also use one for a weekly menu plan or shopping lists. A chalk marker is used so that notes can't be accidently wiped off.
- the Inspired Decorator

A second framed chalkboard was picked up and turned into a matching calendar. A whiteboard wall sticker was cut and adhered over the chalkboard. A permanent marker was used to draw the grid, but a whiteboard markers are used to fill in the dates, months, and schedules.
- the Inspired Decorator — This diy whiteboard calendar is made from a matching framed chalkboard so that it would match the notes chalkboard. A whiteboard sticker was applied over top, and the grid was drawn on.

The wall mount mail baskets are from Amazon. They are just the right size to hold letters and envelops without sticking out too far if someone is sitting on the bench beneath them.
- the Inspired Decorator

Your Home Organization

A family command center is one of many ways you can organize your home and your schedule. It is not for everyone, but it could be the right solution for a busy family. My biggest advice for when you are planning yours is to really look past all of the options for what you can jam into a command center wall to discover what will actually simplify your routine and life.

Measuring the placement of your pieces, or doing a flatlay on the floor can save you from having to shift and rehang your pieces.

After I had everything in place I stepped back and realized I had put everything up too high! If I had to dig out my paint-splattered footstool to write dates on the calendar, there was no way I would use it daily. So every nail and screw was marked 6 inches down to a more user-friendly height. Thank goodness the boards cover all the nail holes.

So don’t be afraid of putting nail holes in your walls or rearranging things after they go up. Perhaps you find out the layout didn’t work as great as you first thought. Or instead of a monthly calendar, you discover what you really need is a super-focused weekly calendar. Make those adjustments- as long as the end goal is still to create a family command center area that ultimately serves your family to its fullest.

And when you are done make sure to send me a picture. I would love to see and hear about your project! Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter to stay in direct contact with me.

Family Command Center

Create A Family Command Center That Works For Your Home

What’s a Family Command Center?

Why Create One In The First Place