Anyone who’s watched HGTV recently may have noticed the current trend of open-concept floor plans. While this design can make a small room feel larger and act as a dynamic entertaining space, it can also have its challenges for designing it properly. Here are the best tips and tricks we use to effectively design an open concept space.
As great as open-concept homes seem, decorating one large, uninterrupted space can be a daunting challenge.
As you can tell from the image below of a space we were staging, there is a lot of space to cover. To make the most of your open-concept living space, we chose to maintain a cohesive design throughout while creating visual separation to subtly define each area.
Consider Space & it’s Potential Function
Something we recommend doing first is looking at your space and asking the following questions:
- How big is the size?
- What is the layout?
- Are there any columns or natural dividing lines?
Then, determine how many functions the space will serve. If your space is extremely large, you may get to designate more spaces for specifics like the TV Room, Dining Room, and a Lounging Area. Next, create separate areas based on function. Use furniture groupings to define your “rooms” allowing enough space between each to accommodate traffic flow.
Hot Tip: If you have pillars, this can be a great indicator of where one room can be!
Choose a Color Scheme and Make it Consistent
Something really important when designing an open concept space is having consistency in the color scheme. If you want to simplify your open-concept floor plan, keep the wall color the same all through the space. The use of a consistent color scheme creates flow from one area to the next.
In our case, the walls were a gorgeous brick, so for the kitchen space, we made sure to complement it with one of our favorite neutral colors! If your walls have distinct breaks or angles, you might want to consider a monochromatic palette. Essentially, you are just using subtle variations of the same shade to help indicate where one room begins and another ends.
Tip: Keep the reds, blues, and any jewel hue to be used as the pop of color!
Furnish and Accessorize
Select furniture and small touches that give each area a singular presence. As you can see from the photos below, we added a gorgeous pop of color with the red rug for the desk/workspace, while in other ‘rooms’ we used different accessories to help give that space its own personality.
Something important to remember is that you want to keep the furniture and accent pieces in similar if not the same style. It doesn’t have to be super matchy, but make sure it is again, consistent.
Open concept spaces are great in theory, but can often result in a challenge when it comes to decorating. That’s why creating a game plan of how the space will function as well as establishing consistency in your color scheme and furnishings are essential.
Now, it’s your turn! What do you think of open-concept layouts? Do you have any suggestions on how to put them together? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
