Living Room Design Ideas For Open Floor Plans
HUGH NEWELL JACOBSEN
Place all seating and coffee tables, etc. in the center of two-thirds of the space. Back the sofa up against a refectory table the same length as the sofa; table to serve as buffet. The remaining space is for dining.
MARTYN BULLARD
When decorating an undefined living/dining area it is important to choose which end of the room you want to dine in. I usually suggest the dining area towards the windows, thus defining the area and making the dining experience more special. Also as most of us have TVs in our living rooms these days it is better to have them hung on a wall away from too much intense or direct sun light.
TIMOTHY CORRIGAN
Try using area rugs (even on top of wall-to-wall carpet) to help separate the spaces. You can also hang a chandelier or light fixture over the table to help define the dining area. I have also made the dining area more of a library with a large round table that can easily be cleaned off to double as a dining table.
GEOFFREY BRADFIELD
I believe that creating islands with area rugs is a successful ploy at creating distinct spaces in an open-plan environment.
ELLIE CULLMAN
If the functions truly overlap, treat it as one space with one big rug so it doesn't make each area feel too small. But, if you can create a floor plan where the living room furniture is adjacent to the dining table, it might be better to separate them visually with two rugs to make each space feel distinct and more spacious. In either case, keep the palette and materials the same or closely related within the two areas.
SALLY SIRKIN LEWIS
It depends upon the client's lifestyle. If the client or clients are busy executives who generally eat out most evenings, I have used a table to double as a writing table with one chair at the back and two chairs facing. I then use the same chairs in the living and bedroom areas in the event they will be entertaining and the table is used for dining. If the clients are both business and family oriented I have placed the furnishings to delineate the space. In my daughter's home I designed the J. Robert Scott "Racetrack" cabinet to divide the dining area from the living area. Of course, I think it important that the two spaces are totally coordinated so as to flow as one space.
WILLIAM HODGINS
Do not try to separate or distinguish' the spaces—the kinds of furniture will define the spaces.
PAUL WISEMAN
Have the dining room read like a library alcove with books, lamps, etc, which can be converted to a dining room that looks like a large luxurious living room. Can be traditional or contemporary.
DONNA LIVINGSTON
Currently my living room and dining room flow together. The rooms can be defined by separating area rugs and seating arrangements. They all work together by uniting the fabrics, color schemes and draperies that offer a peaceful harmony.
SUZANNE LOVELL
Use a library table to give distinction and to divide the space on site lines.
RON MANN
Given that there is no separate living room and no separate dining room, it is time to rethink the social aspect of living in this kind of open space. I say combine the two into a new casual dining/lounging arrangement, with no formal dining table. The lounge furniture should be structured and dimensioned to serve as both lounge and dining chair, with the eating surfaces detachable from the lounges.
JUAN MONTOYA
I did in a job in Philadelphia using a screen that is not solid, but semi-transparent, and that does not go all the way up to the ceiling. Or I did in my own apartment in NY where the library corner defines the dining area.
WALLACE CUNNINGHAM
I like a scatter of furniture that can be moved, enlarging the dining room table when necessary and shrinking it accordingly. So, if one wanted to divide the space, which I generally would not, I would suggest that it is done by defining it with the limits of two different carpets, artwork or screens, or perhaps even a kinetic wall or architectural device.
LAURA HUNT
Most rooms today are multifunctional—it's never an issue of separation. Just make sure it flows.
ROBERT COUTURIER
It is a problem in itself since it cannot be furnished as three independent rooms or it will look as one big room where the walls are missing. I would try to keep the styles of the furniture and the furnishing of the same style and same period. Keep the wall treatment consistent as well as the floor treatment throughout the room. One should also underplay the dining area since it is the one most often unoccupied, and maybe treat it more as a library table or area.
CARLETON VARNEY
Use a folding screen, such as a Coromandel screen, a plant area, the lighting in itself, or a change in floor treatment, i carpet.
JACQUES ST. DIZIER
Many times we lay out the living room with a sofa with it's back parallel to the dining table. Then we put a sofa back console behind it with a pair of candlestick lamps on it. This not only creates a slight visual separation but the console can also serve as a serving area. We also often divide the spaces with a standing screen or an open shelving unit.
KARIN BLAKE
Define the space by using a couch or couches to separate the living room from the dining room.
WILLIAM GEORGIS
Use such furnishings as a commode or a screen to differentiate between the spaces.
RODERICK SHADE
I usually treat this type of space as one big room—a living room with an eating area in it—or a big dining room with a living room in it, depending on the clients usage. I think it is a mistake to try and break up these types of rooms.
STEPHEN SHADLEY
I have always liked rooms that have multiple uses. Since dining tables aren't always used on a daily basis anymore, they can serve other purposes. They can act as a desk, work table or an entry table. Chairs can also serve double-duty in other parts of the room or home. You still have the ability to bring it all together for special occasions but not give over the space to just one function.
MITCHELL TURNBOUGH
A project of mine published in AD November 2006 had a living and dining room with no clear distinction. My solution for this space was to use a transitional piece of seating—an eight-foot-diameter button-tufted borne —between the two areas. If the space is not so grand, I would use the dining table (when not dining) as a library table full of beautiful picture books, reference material and a single sculptural object or collection of objects.
PENNY DRUE BAIRD
Don't try to fight it—be realistic about what size dining room you need and directly add it into the space.