How to Decorate an Open Concept Space

May 26, 2020

Most of us love the idea of a big open concept space – it offers us to many possibilities and our living area feels so huge but it can be a big challenge to figure out how to decorate and use all of that open space. In a more traditional style home, we have a lot of walls and those wall provide definition for each room – a designated living room, dining room or office – it is simple to visualize and to furnish. Big open spaces, although lovely, they present challenges for many home owners because everything is so open!

So here are some great tips to tackle the challenges:

1 – Fluidity –

In an open-concept home it’s even more important to make sure that all the elements work together and the space looks cohesive. So stick to a paint colour concept throughout the open space.

If you want to introduce a new colour, try it in a room with doors – like bedrooms and/or bathrooms. One colour throughout keeps the open space feeling. Same goes for the floors – keep it consistent (like the paint) to keep that flow which maintains that spacious feel and look.

2 – Definition –

Some times open is just too open so how do you tackle that? Use rugs to define the rooms. An area rug in a living room pulls the furniture together creating a focused room that’s perfect for conversation but it still keeps that open look and feel. The area rug is also a great way to add some texture and colour.

The image below is a great example of an open floor plan with consistent floors and paint – see how the area rug helps designate the living room and pulls it all together – it’s perfect!

3 – Furniture Arrangement –

When it comes to placing your furniture many of us use walls as our guide – the TV goes on the wall and so does the back of the sofa, right? But if you don’t have any walls what do you do?

You need to place the furniture so that you can create conversation spaces and entertaining spaces and dining spaces, so floating arrangements are key. A floating arrangement means that the sofa or any of the furniture is not anchored to a wall – so it is floating. A sofa table is a great way to add a ‘wall’ and help anchor the sofa so that it doesn’t look lost.

4 – Lighting –

Just like the paint and floors stay consistent with your style and finishes of lighting. If you have brushed nickle – use brushed nickle throughout (at least for your fixtures – you can introduce a few other finishes in your lamps but not too many)

Have a plan when it comes to the fixtures you want to use : hang one big light fixture over each designated area; for example,install a chandelier directly over the dining room table, an overhead ceiling fan with a light kit over the living room, and pendant lighting in the kitchen. Then, go back through and add recessed lights or smaller fixtures throughout the three spaces for a complete lighting design,centering some of these over the walkways you created with your furniture placement.

The light fixtures you choose will have a large impact on whether the overall space is cohesive or disjointed, so take your time choosing the style, finish, size and placement of each.

5 – Accessories –

These little details really add some personality and pull it all together. The small touches you choose for accessories should set each space up as a stunning room on its own, as well as tie all three together so that they coexist beautifully.

Arrange the same style of accent pieces throughout the home; for example, if you’re partial to organic elements such as stones, landscape art and wooden decor, use similar items in each room. Center a low glass bowl of smooth river stones on the dining room table, add a water feature to the corner of the living room and arrange wooden bowls to hold fruit on the kitchen counters. You don’t have to match the pieces, and it’s preferable that you don’t, but keep the elements the same.