Open-concept living gives homeowners the opportunity to create multi-functional spaces that serve a variety of purposes for their lifestyle.
However, some people find decorating these spaces a challenge.
In this blog post, we’re sharing five open-concept living design ideas that will help you create a unique and cohesive space in your home.
Create Separation
Without physical walls, defining each space can be difficult, but not impossible.
This is where your creativity will come in handy.
If you want to separate the “rooms” in your open-concept floor plan, consider the following:
- Area rugs – More times than not, the main floor of a home includes the living room and dining room. These two “rooms’ are perfect places to use area rugs to add a degree of separation. The rug in the dining room will go under the table while the rug in the living room can serve as the focal point under the coffee table.
- Dividers – Whether it’s a screen divider, indoor plants, glass partitions, or through the use of furniture, physical dividers can create a level of privacy in an open-concept floor plan.
Draw Attention with Decor
Though each room flows into the next, you can still create a sense of individuality and a great way to do that is with distinct decor features.
A gallery wall in the living room or a magnificent chandelier over the dining room table are two examples.
No matter your choice, picking a unique and attention-grabbing feature for each space can help create an imaginary sense of delineation while keeping the openness of the floor plan intact.
Layered Lighting
Finding the right lighting is essential but tricky in an open floor plan because every light source is on display at all times.
The first step is to go with the flow, meaning when shopping for options do your best to keep your choices aligned with the overall aesthetic of the room.
If you’ve gone with a more modern look, sleek pendant lights over the kitchen island will flow perfectly with the style, for example.
Next, be sure to infuse varying types of lighting in the space. Think ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting. There’s more on that topic in this blog.
Finally, brighten the entire space with natural light. Allowing natural light to pour into this area of your house will create an even blanket of light that works with any design style and floor plan. And, if you want to control how much light comes in, consider custom wood shutters to create a sleek, streamlined look.
Color Cohesion
Repetition in color can pull each room together in a cohesive manner.
For instance, let’s say you’ve found a blue velvet armchair for your living room. That same blue could be found in the dishware that’s displayed on the dining room table and then again with the artwork on the walls and the runner in the main entryway.
A consistent color palette serves as a foundational piece you can build from when decorating and is a helpful tool to leverage when getting started.
Focus on Furniture
Furniture placement plays a role in the overall aesthetic of the room as well as its functionality and flow.
When it comes to looks, you want to arrange your furniture so it flows with the other pieces in the space while also creating a unique distinction in purpose.
The flow of your floor plan is a big piece in the overall puzzle and when arranging furniture and the layout, you’ll want to be mindful of foot traffic. Make it easy and effortless for people to move from space to space.
