How to Use Texture to Zone Your Open-Plan Home
Consider these ways to use different materials on the walls to create distinct areas in an open floor plan
When you’re designing an open-plan room, it’s a good idea to think about how you’ll separate each zone. By being creative with the surfaces you use to decorate the walls, you can divide your living, dining and kitchen areas more effectively, adding warmth, interest and personality.
Add shelving. The texture on the wall of this living space was created simply by installing a wood shelving unit. The grid adds a tactile element to the plain white wall, giving the seating area a cozy feel. Its position is pretty clever too — it overhangs slightly to signify that this area is a separate zone.
Weave in bare brick. A good way to zone an area is to leave a wall exposed. This works particularly well in a living room, as a wall of textured brick or stone gives a snug feel to the space. Brickwork frames this wood-burning stove to add character and warmth to the seating spot and to separate it from the kitchen and dining zones.
Mix things up. The designers of this open-plan house used a number of materials to create an interesting layout of different areas. The sleek white paint in the kitchen contrasts with the cozy expanse of botanical wallpaper in the dining zone. The living area is intimate and calm, with a wall of exposed brick, and to the right is a child’s playroom, separated by a rope screen.
By using so many textures around the space, the designers managed to make a large area feel snug and inviting.
Cheer up your home with a dash of the tropics | Find botanical wallpaper
By using so many textures around the space, the designers managed to make a large area feel snug and inviting.
Cheer up your home with a dash of the tropics | Find botanical wallpaper
Tie in surfaces. In this light and airy home, the designers used wood paneling to both separate the two zones and pull them together. The white paneling, right, helps differentiate the dining area from the kitchen. A smaller section of paneling that boxes in the range hood ties the two spaces together.
Give it a library look. Traditional-style wall paneling is finding its way into many well-designed homes. Here, the paneling and a glass partition separate the seating zone from the dining zone, right, and the kitchen, just out of view. The dark paneling is right at home in a living room and gives the area a completely different feel from the rest of the space.
See more photos of this home
See more photos of this home
Cover with cork. How about this creative wall treatment? The colorful wallpaper leads to a new area, clearly marked by a hallway lined in cork. The two contrasting surfaces add character to the space and help demarcate the zones.
Each material is striking and bold, but by placing them next to each other, neither one overwhelms the space.
Each material is striking and bold, but by placing them next to each other, neither one overwhelms the space.
Go hot and cold. In this open-plan studio apartment, the concrete walls give the space a cool, industrial vibe. To bring some coziness to the bedroom, the designers simply added a panel of wood behind the bed. The two zones are connected by the concrete surfaces, but the wood helps create a division between the cool, stylish living area and the warm, snug sleep space.
Tell us: How have you zoned an open-plan space? Share your tips and photos in the Comments.
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A Clear Solution to Zoning an Open-Plan Space
Tell us: How have you zoned an open-plan space? Share your tips and photos in the Comments.
More
How to Divide an Open-Plan Space With a Half Wall
A Clear Solution to Zoning an Open-Plan Space
“It’s a reference to Victorian paneling, which would normally stop at a picture rail or dado,” says architect Richard Skinner of Archea. It covers the ceiling as well, further highlighting the division between the areas.