FIRST ROW
• 1 Choose large statement pieces, like the two Chinese armoires in this photo from Living Etc, to anchor the dominant area of the room. The collection of birdcages emphasizes the symmetry even further, giving the eye a concrete place to land in that wide open space.
• 2 Rugs are also a great way to delineate the space, creating little "rooms" within the larger room. Here a round textured rug works well for the lounge area, while a more formal rectangular rug defines the dining room. The low arrangements of branches on the floor also provide some demarcation, emphasizing the architectural details that break up the room. (Image also from Living Etc.)
• 3 In this open-plan room from an upcoming house tour, a large, contrasting solid-color rug has the same effect as actual walls without breaking up the lovely light and air in the space.
• 4 Shelving units are another great way to define a room-within-a-room. We've got an open shelf next to our dining table to give that area of the room some weight (a counterpoint to the large sofa in the nearby living area).
• 5 Statement chandeliers create separate focal points for each area of this open-plan space (from Inspace Locations).
SECOND ROW
• 6 Another example of dramatic lighting used to demarcate an open place. The three large pendants over the dining table here add interesting depth and contrast against the outdoor view beyond. (Image from Aun and Su-Lyn's home on Design*Sponge.)
• 7 Architectural details, like the fireplace and inset niche along the far wall in this room from Airspace, are a great help in dividing an open space. If you're lucky enough to have some lovely details, work with what you've got, be it exposed beams, columns, staircases, molding, etc.
• 8 The aforementioned exposed beams give this open room from House Beautiful some structure.
Do you have an open-plan room in your home? If so, how do you handle the decorating challenge?
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Comments (6)
I LOVE an open floorplan. We just moved from a very big open floorplan to a smaller version. In our new home, the kitchen looks over the family room by virtue of a taller than typical half wall with a granite overhang, same stone as the countertops.
Nice enough, but in the context of the "great room" (the kitchen and family room combined) the kitchen yells KITCHEN!
When we renovate, I will remove this higher than half wall among other things like upper cabinets and instead use freestanding functional kitchen furniture pieces as work stations rather than continuous cabinetry. This way the room will look even larger, I predict. I'm a kitchen designer but I don't necessarily want my kitchen to be within a great room/open floorplan but stand apart visually. I want it all to work/blend together. Transitioning from one area to the next is very important in open floorplans.
We are really struggling with our open floor plan. I'd love to make better use of the space, but we have a spiral staircase right in the middle of the room. We use it to delineate office space from the rest of the room, but that's sort of where we get off track. The rest of the room is an odd dining room/ libraby combo. Eesh.
I want those birdcages SO.MUCH. The armoires aren't bad either! Our floor plan isn't open, but we have a ton of French doors between rooms which gives a similar airy feel and also creates some of the same challenges of making sure the rooms work with each other. For us the challenge isn't to create separate little areas, but to make sure that the separate areas we've created work together since they are all visible.
there is something to love in each of these photos which almost makes the floorplan secondary (a good thing IMO). such a pretty rug in the last shot... too bad the closest approximation within my budget (the nate berkus version) is a shedding awful mess according to reviewers.
photo one - *skies parting* love.
As usual, AT seems to read my mind. I'm about to move (like, in three days) into an apartment with an open plan dining/living room. My current apartment has this, too, but longer, narrower, darker, and more awkward! Thanks for the inspiration. I'm looking forward to being able to do something really awesome in the new place.
Living in an open plan is really rather simple.
Simply get a huge area rug, place it in front of the focal point of your room, and arrange the seating area on it.
The spaces around the edges are where you can then arrange eating areas, work space, secondary sitting areas, etc. as your needs and space allow.