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Home Decorating living room

Open Floorplan: living room/dining room OR extra big living room?

11 years ago

I posted earlier in the week about windows and paint colors in the house my husband and I are buying, but right now my biggest question is what to do with the living space. It looks like originally the room was intended as a living and dining space. There is a low-hanging light fixture suspended from the cathedral ceiling in the space outside the kitchen nook. The area is carpeted. The current owners (the sellers) have instead used the entire space as a living room, making the room feel much bigger. On the wall with the windows, there is a sliding glass door on the right (near the couch).

In terms of design and resale value, what would be the best bet for this space: divide it into a dining space with a smaller living space, or do as the sellers are doing now-- make it a bigger living room? There is enough room for a small table in the kitchen nook, but i'm not sure about formal entertaining.

Note: I'm not sure how long we'll be living there, but would tiling the kitchen all the way to the door to the backyard be a wise investment, or would it cause potential buyers to be unable to use the space as a big living space? Does anyone have experience with carpeted dining areas?

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Comments (12)

JessicaW0614
Original Author
11 years ago
view of other side of living room
JessicaW0614
Original Author
11 years ago
kitchen nook
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JessicaW0614
Original Author
11 years ago
divider between the living room and kitchen
porkandham
11 years ago
Can you make the flooring (I'd go with wood floors.) consistent throughout the entire space?
User
11 years ago
Yes, I agree, wood floors would be the best solution to your question, especially if resale is in your future. Tile is actually very hard on the legs and back which is why a lot of people won't use it anymore for kitchen floors.
teacats
11 years ago
Or perhaps take a look at wood plank-alternative type floors .... throughout the kitchen/living area/dining areas? Depends on what sellers are offering throughout homes in your area/price range etc. Check out local new homes/real estate listings etc. for some ideas ....
jane__ny
11 years ago
Is this house in Florida? I see so many of these layouts. If it is, I would go with a wood-looking tile. I'm so impressed how 'real' it looks. I've been fooled thinking it was wood and it was tile. One house we were considering had beautiful cherry floors but the bedrooms were carpet. I was able to match the color of the tile to the wood floors.

Tile is better for hot, humid climates, in my opinion.

Jane
Oakley
11 years ago
I definitely wouldn't add tile to the LR. The PO's may have used the area as a dining space, but it doesn't look like a dining space.

Do you plan on keeping the carpet? If not, I'd do wood as others have mentioned above. Run it all the way to the breakfast room, and possibly to the kitchen.

I have tile in the kitchen and it doesn't bother me. If I spent the whole day in the kitchen it might but that's what cute kitchen runners are for!
User
11 years ago
Second suggestion for a single flooring throughout, but I would make it even more open and tear down as much of that kitchen enclosure as possible.
bronwynsmom
11 years ago
I vote for hardwood or engineered wood through the whole space, including the kitchen.
Opening the wall would be nice, but I suspect your appliances are arrayed along that wall? I'd paint the wall the same pale color as the living space, and hang a really big mirror on the wall if you can't open it.
Then you open the wall visually, and reflect the light from the sliders back into the space.
(I know...me and mirrors. They are great manipulators of space, particularly when you commit to making them big!)
camlan
11 years ago
I'd go with a single flooring throughout the space.

You can always create two separate areas in the space by use of area rugs and the position of the furniture.

But once you have divided the space with different flooring, it is difficult to treat the space as one big room.

One type of flooring, whatever you choose, will give you more options.
chispa
11 years ago
The rooms looks like it would be a bit tight if it was used as a dining room and living room. I agree with going with just one type of flooring for the whole space.

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