Open Plan Interior Designs
Living Room and Dining Room

Open plan designs are becoming the modern, must-have option for living and dining rooms. Too often, I think, that poor dining room sits unused, gathering clutter and dust. So why not combine a relaxed and friendly living room and dining room into one area?

Your family will be able to enjoy spending time, all together in one room - an important point to consider when modern life seems to mean so much less time for family life, and family leisure time.

Open plan interior designs for living room/dining room are ultra-modern, wonderfully spacious, super-sophisticated and look absolutely gorgeous in all these glossy magazines...

If you are considering making two small reception rooms into one open plan area, or would like to reclaim a bit of that unused hallway or corridor into a useful living area, read on for great, practical tips ...

• Don't go knocking any walls down without taking advice from a structural engineer - particularly for any load-bearing walls!


• Will you keep any structural divides within the room? Such as a large archway? Or sliding or folding doors?


• Try to incorporate alcoves into your living space at the planning stage of your interior designs for living room/dining room- these can be very useful for storage - and for creating the idea of a change of 'role' or 'mood' in your open plan area. For example - an alcove under the stairs would be the ideal spot for a desk - tucked away - with the separate function and role of studying, or computer work, confined to a specific area. You could also use an alcove for a big, comfy sofa, and create a quiet reading area.


• Consider your natural light sources for an open plan room - will the only window be at one end? So creating a dark half to the room? Can you knock through to create a porthole, window or glass-tiles, to give more light, and a feeling of space to the room?


• Think about your lighting carefully as you plan your interior designs for living room/dining rooms - use a good combination of task, mood and accent lighting, to enhance different tasks and areas, and to create different moods and feelings in the different parts of the room. Click here to find out more about how to use lights and lighting to help design your room.


• One of the main challenges when planning open plan interior designs for living room and dining room areas, is whether to to design for one large, single room, or to section the separate areas for living, dining or study, off from each other. The ideal is to create a combination of both, with each separate area combining to form one unified room.


• The key to achieving this in your open plan interior designs for living room/dining room, is in good organisation, layout, and color and style.


• The layout can be cleverly devised to create several separate areas within the whole...
  
  • Don't line all the furniture up around the edges of the room, with a large, empty space in the middle.
  
  
  • Use a modular sofa as a 'divide' to separate the living and dining areas.
  
  
  • Centre the living area around a coffee table, to create a cosy feeling of intimacy.
  
  
  • Create visual 'screens', with storage walls and shelving systems (put these at right angles to the walls)or folding screens, or beaded door curtains.
  
  
  • Define the separate dining area with a low-level pendant light.
  
  
  • Rugs can also help to visually define separate areas within your open plan space.







• If your open plan area also incorporates an area that people have to walk through to get between rooms, this can cause some problems in your interior designs for living room/dining room. People will naturally take the shortest route between two points - and this can be very off-putting, if you are sitting watching TV, and trying to relax, and someone keeps walking through. I speak from experience - you had to walk right through our open plan living/diner in our previous house, to get from the kitchen to the stairs ... very annoying!


• Try to re-arrange your furniture, so that people will not need to walk through the actual living or dining areas. You may need to screen or section off two areas, creating a kind of 'passageway' in between, so that your relaxing, studying, watching TV or eating, does not get too disturbed!


• Although open plan interior designs for living room/dining rooms create more space, don't be tempted to fill the room with loads more furniture. Open plan areas can easily appear overcrowded with furniture and look cluttered. If it fits with your style, try glass, or clear acrylic furniture. This gives you a clear path of vision, so making your room appear less cluttered.


• Remember, in an open plan area, you don't have a room where you can dump a load of clutter and close the door, keeping it nicely out of sight. Take care that your open plan room does not get too cluttered.


• Take your storage options seriously for your interior designs for living room/dining room. Include lots of it! Shelves and storage units can be ideal solutions, and can double up as screens/room divides. Try to find shelving units that can be accessed from either side, so that they will look attractive from both angles - and you will be able to catch little glimpses of the room beyond...


• Make sure your open plan room has a focal point - a fireplace is the obvious focal point, but you may want to draw attention to a window, dining table or attractive picture, as an alternative focal point. Consider if your room arrangement actually requires two focal points.


• Keep your separate areas unified by keeping to one style and color scheme as you plan your interior designs for living room/dining room.


• One option is to choose one strong color, to unite the two rooms. Add white, cream or neutral colors to any alcoves to add dimension and interest to the room.


• Or choose a color scheme based on two main colors, for example red and green, (these are complementary colors - click here for more help and advice on creating decorating color schemes that work). One area could be decorated in red with green accents, whilst the other could be decorated in green with red accents.


• Use the same fabric for napkins and table-runners, in the dining area, as the fabric for the sofa, chairs, cushions or throws in the living area.


• Cleverly thought out, open plan interior designs for living room/dining rooms, can create gorgeous, multi-functional areas - but, before you strike that first sledgehammer blow, and give up your two separate living and dining rooms, consider if you are really ready?


• Two separate rooms will be far simpler to create a layout that works, and will probably fit more furniture in sensibly, as there is far more wall space. You will have two rooms with easily defined functions and roles, and you can create two separate styles or themes, and get to choose two separate color schemes.


• Are you prepared to have lots of different, noisy tasks going on in one place at once? Lots of people in the same room at the same time? More mess? Less privacy? And no really quiet, private little spot to study, read, listen to music or watch TV on your own?


• If you do think that this is the layout for you, an open plan living/dining room can give a really modern feel, make the most of available space and give you a really welcoming, practical space - so why not go for it!

  Take a look at the practical guide to decorating living rooms.

  Read more style and design tips and living room decorating ideas.

  Get tips for decorating a dining room area.

  Return to the main interior decorating living room page.

  Have you got your free subscription to my interior design e-zine? Receive my free, monthly, e-mail newsletter, full of interior design hints, tips and ideas, straight to your inbox.
  
  

  Enter your E-mail Address Enter your First Name (optional) Then Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure. I promise to use it only to send you Interior Design It Yourself E-zine.

  
  Return from this open plan interior designs living room and dining room page to the Home Page
  
  Top of Page
  
  Search for words or phrases inside my site:
  
  
  

  Custom Search

  
  
  

  

  
  

  ---