Floor Planning | Creating Two Spaces Out of One
Since open plans are becoming more and more popular, it's not uncommon for us to have very large spaces to work with for floor planning. On one hand, it's nice because space is great but on the other hand it can create a design dilemma because we have to figure out how to separate the spaces using furniture rather than walls. And even then, you may want to separate the space but you don't necessarily want it to feel disconnected. Do you see why people hire us?
Today we're going to give you some tips for furnishing larger rooms and making them into two functional spaces without actually building walls. It allows for a great party space and also gives you tons of seating but may take a little more planning than you like.
First of all, it's always important to ground the space. If your room has wood or tile, you absolutely need a rug...or rugs. This can be one large rug that visually ties the entire space together even if it's being used as two separate rooms, or it can be 2 smaller rugs to create the two separate spaces. It can be nice to have one larger rug instead of two because it makes the space feel like it flows, even if it can be used for different purposes.
The trick with bringing in different kinds of furniture is that it all needs to flow. If you're making a great room into a seating area and dining area, it needs to make sense when it's all seen together even if it's not always going to be used together. Bring in lighter pieces that don't feel too heavy. Since it's a lot of furniture, you don't want the eye to get overwhelmed with so many different pieces.
Even if your colors are light, bring in lots of texture to create depth. Since the room is already a vast expanse, it needs something to give it variety. Play with textures in fabrics, rugs, pillows, and art to help broaden to overall feel.
Be sure to use your lighting to help further define the space. Hang a statement chandelier over the dining table and a fun flush mount in the seating area. Bring in the ambient lighting as well for more layering. Lighting matters!
Finally, don't forget to treat your windows. Regardless of whether or not you have a small window or a window that runs the entire length of the room, don't forget to bring the softgoods up! The walls and windows needs to be treated as well!