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Home Decorating

Furniture placement in open floor plan?

8 years ago

Any suggestions for effectively decorating a large open space? Our new build's great room is 25.7'(l) x 22.5'(w) which is connected with no floor break (ceiling goes from 2 to 1 story) to a nook that measures 10'(l) x 22.5'(w) and then goes into our kitchen. So basically it's a large open rectangle.

I was originally planning to do a sofa + love seat + 2 armchairs furniture layout at the far end by the fireplace, but that seems like that allows for a great deal of wasted space in the middle. Maybe not? Maybe I need larger furniture? Our current couch is 6.5' long.

This space is open to our kitchen, which is 12'(l) x 13'(w). We were considering adding an angled out peninsula into the nook which would add to the functional kitchen space and break up all the rectangles, but maybe look odd?

Any good resources for decorating blank open spaces? We're moving from our 1950s ranch in the city, and given that this space alone is about the size of my former house, it's kind of overwhelming.

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Comments (2)

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
8 years ago
We have had that situation twice. Our solution was to put the Corner Sofa Grouping so it would face the TV and fireplace with conversation chairs place diagonally. Behind each sofa, we put a console desk with chairs. This helped the room serve two purposes. The consoles were work stations, but when company came over, the consoles served as a place for flowers and/or food.

If the company happened to be grand kids, those two laptops got a lot of use!

The extra room between the sofa and kitchen is just a nice place for guests to mingle.
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xarcady
8 years ago
Take a moment to think about what activities you will be doing in this entire space. Watching tv. Cooking. Playing board games/cards? Eating? Hobbies? Reading? Visiting with family and friends?

You've got the kitchen at one end and the tv watching area at the other. In the middle, you could have a game table, or a dining table, or a reading nook, or a craft area. Or a "swing" area, that's good for meals and hobbies and games, depending on what furniture you use.

So my suggestion is to look at the house as a whole, and figure out the best uses for this space, and furnish it to support those uses.
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In the living area, use a sofa on the long wall, two armchairs facing the windows with their backs to the kitchen, and one more chair angled into the seating area under the windows. Loveseats take up a lot of space. You also need to leave enough room for small end tables. Since your island is so narrow, I would forgo using island stools, which gives you more space for a table and chairs. Look for a narrow rectangular table that can be placed fairly close to the wall, and pulled out slightly when you need to use the back side two/three chairs. You can use the two end chairs and two or three side chairs on a daily basis. Don't buy any furniture until you're actually in the space, so you can measure precisely and understand how things will fit.
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