Anyone who wishes to incorporate a contemporary touch into their home design can do so by simply embracing the commodity of an open floor plan. Of course, a layout such as this one also gives you the opportunity to try out your artistic endeavors and experiment with various decoration techniques. These few tips can give you just the amount of inspiration to get you started.
Play With Lighting
One of the best aspects of having an open floor plan is learning how to implement and play with different kinds of lighting. A design such as this one requires a fair amount of illumination and like that can tolerate a different combination of lighting features. Other than the fact that an open floor plan makes a perfect setting for ceiling to floor windows and skylights, it goes quite well with dramatic and recessed lighting fixtures. A dramatic chandelier can greatly illuminate a space, but also give it a stylish touch, while smaller pendant fixtures can easily draw attention to individual spaces.
Roomception
The idea of creating a room inside of a room might seem a bit uncanny, but it’s actually quite doable and very much desirable in a layout such as this one. An open floor plan gives you the opportunity to combine certain spaces and rooms and create multipurpose areas. This can be achieved quite easily by visually separating the spaces and giving them a subtle transition zone. This way you can easily blend together a family room, dining room and the kitchen while preserving your original sense of style. Another way to achieve this concept is to add levels, i.e. create a split level room.
Incorporate Color
The use of color has always played a major role in interior design as it has the ability to transform the complete space, create an illusion of a much broader or smaller space, but also put accent on certain places and connect or divide a room. This is why it’s crucial to learn how to smartly incorporate color into your open floor design. One of the options is to apply a neutral foundation and permeate the whole space with touches of bright and vivid hues. Another option is to use different shades of the same color in separate spaces. This will create a subtle and soothing transition between the rooms, without adding a distasteful and splashy vibe to the space.
Choose a Theme
While a theme surely isn’t a necessary component, it can greatly aid you in the choice of your decorative pieces and other accessories. Placing too much different decorations can create a rather unappetizing setting and make it appear quite confusing. This is why the best solution is to rely on details within the same style or at least the same color, texture or pattern. This way you can easily interconnect the rooms and place items such as vases, sculptures or paintings in similar shapes or sizes. Area rugs are one of the best decorative pieces, as they have the ability to connect or even desalinate the space.
Separate By Zones
While a spacious area with lots of room and lighting seems like a great idea, sometimes these broad spaces can take away the personality and intimacy out of the space. This is why people rely on some subtle but yet effective solutions for separating the rooms into different zones. Some of the most popular options are using transparent divisions such as sliding glass doors or stylish bi fold doors. Another option is to use folding screens, drapes or even creating green walls.
In the last couple of years, an open floor plan has become an essential part of a modern household. Not only does this layout give the household a broader sensation, but it also provides a great space for entertainment as well. With just a few simple hacks and a clever use of imagination, an open floor plan can easily become your fairy-tale palace.
Country & Victorian Times 