Open plan living space

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Open plan living space

by sylvia
(texas)

Help,
I live in a 1800 square foot room and I am going to install a bathroom and shower and bathroom sink in it

I need ideas on how to get the most of my space also bedroom, living room, kitchen and closet space. I do have high ceilings.

I need to make it look like a home all in one room

please help me out any ideas you might have

Thanks
Sylvia

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Open plan living space

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May 16, 2011
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Open plan planning...
by: Charlotte

Hi Sylvia

That sounds like a big project!

I think you almost certainly need to create a layout plan, thinking carefully about where you want to position each element of your super-room...

Think carefully about the position of windows, drains, water supply/plumbing, electrical sockets and lighting, while planning your new room.

You may be able to use existing facilities like these, or add or move fittings, to suit your requirements more.

How open plan do you want your new home to be?

A private (enclosed) bathroom, or just the toilet?

How about your bedroom? Do you want this to be enclosed/separate? Or just screened off? Or an integral part of your main room?

Again, for the kitchen? Would you like this separate, screened, or integral to the main space?

You (or a builder) may be able to create small rooms, for bathroom, or bedroom...

...or you could perhaps consider a low wall (perhaps just above head height, for privacy) that will create a more private space, for parts of the room you'd like to keep more private. I was wondering if you could use glass bricks for this - to keep the sense of space and light, and avoid very high walls that may make your room feel oddly proportioned, or enclosed.

If you don't want to create permanent/semi-permanent walls in your super-room, perhaps you create any necessary screening with furniture (wardrobes, shelving units, sofas, sideboards etc)

Kitchen counters can be a useful way of partitioning kitchens from the rest of the room (if you wish) - and overhead shelving (open front and back) can also be used, to help it feel more separate, while keeping the overall open plan nature of the room intact.

Open shelving (accessible front and back) can create a more open feel to a partition, if this is what you prefer.

Even quite low pieces of furniture positioned at right angles to a wall can create a barrier kind of feel, to effectively separate a section of the room for you.

Or how about a folding screen, that could be moved around the space, or folded up completely, depending on what you wanted to screen off.

Also consider using curtains, voiles, blinds, decorative door bead curtains, etc as a partition - and one that can be pulled back as and when you need it, which could come in really handy.

Continues below...

May 16, 2011
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Continues from above comment
by: Charlotte

Continues from above...

Depending on how you like to use your space, and your style of living, it can be quite nice to try to separate living, dining, kitchen, sleeping, relaxing areas off from each other.

You can try partitioning with walls, screens, furniture, as above, or, if you prefer, or if space dictates, use colors, or rugs (change in floor surface) to visually separate the spaces.

You can include different accents in the same basic color scheme, or mix together harmonious colors to create a color scheme that fits well together as a whole, but also suits the way you want to use the space too.

Look out for cunning storage ideas to suit small spaces, and multi-function rooms...

How about a futon, sofa bed, fold-away bed, bunk bed with storage underneath, folding tables and chairs, custom built storage?

It can be useful to use all your wall space efficiently - so consider this carefully, and even think about a library-style ladder/steps, so that you can make use of wall space high up on your walls.

If the room is tall, and budget, and/or lease/building restrictions permit, have you considered building a mezzanine level, perhaps for sleeping, which would free up more space for storage or living beneath..?

I'm sure there are plenty of different ways which you could arrange your new space - the main thing is to plan very carefully, thinking about any limitations of the actual physical room (windows, lighting, sockets, plumbing etc)

More about drawing your layout plan, here...

Try not to line furniture up around the walls - make full use of the space in the centre of the room.

A really good place to look for ideas are the display rooms/homes at Ikea, if there is one near you - they seem to specialise in open-plan living, storage solutions and multi-function rooms, so take a look and see if you can glean any useful ideas.

Keep a look out for any great storage and space saving ideas you can use.

Some of these open plan living ideas may also be of use.

Also take a look at these apartment decorating ideas

I do hope some of these ideas will have helped you with your project.

Wishing you much luck - and do come back and ask if you have any more questions, and let us know how you are getting on.

Best wishes

Charlotte

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Interior Design It Yourself
Perfect Personality Palettes
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Open plan living space

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Open plan living space