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Open Floor Plan Home

Many of us find ourselves living in open floor plan homes these days and, if you don’t have one, you might be looking for ways to cut away walls and open things up. The open and airy feeling of open floor plans is wonderful, but can present some home decorating quandaries, for sure.

• How do I select paint colors when walls are shared between rooms?
• Do I have to use the same color paint for the entire open space?
• How do I furnish one large room as opposed to multiple smaller, defined rooms?

These are but a few of the questions that open floor plans conjure up and can oftentimes cause paralysis…”I don’t know how to deal with this space so I won’t!” Well, that won’t work for the long haul so here are a few ideas for turning your open space into a space to love:

Layout

If you find you’d prefer to section off an open floor plan into smaller areas, consider flexible room dividers such as decorative screens, trees, or double sided bookcases. These items can be easily moved to open up the space when needed and can define and add privacy on a day to day basis.

Keeping your floor plan open does not mean that a room cannot be properly defined. Resist the urge to line the walls of your rooms with furniture creating large gaps between seating areas. Use area rugs and furnishings to define conversation clusters in a living room, for example. You will add warmth and coziness to the space making it much more inviting.

If you entertain regularly and need to maximize your seating, consider a daybed or chaise that is open on both sides and can function as seating in two “rooms.” An alternative might be a beautiful upholstered bench that can float as seating in your dining room during the holidays and anchor a beautiful piece of art against the wall the rest of the year…storage optional!

Color

Open floor plan homes typically account for the majority of color consultations performed. All of that wall can be very intimidating when it runs up to a second floor or over into the adjoining room. The key here is harmony in your color palette. While the topic of color requires its own article…or more like a series of articles (stay tuned), it’s important to know one thing: all walls do not have to be the same color in an open floor plan.

Diversifying your color palette in an open floor plan will add depth and interest to your space. In addition to identifying colors that work in harmony, another key to diversifying is to find the appropriate places to divide spaces. Corners are always a logical start and stop. Inevitably, however, there is almost always at least one wall that is shared. Unless there are architectural elements that can be added to naturally divide the space, identify a color that will transfer well between the two rooms, be it an accent color that is shared or a more neutral color that recedes and allows your furniture and accessories to take center stage.

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