How to design the perfect open-plan home

How to design the perfect open-plan home

Ever so popular, more and more homes are embracing the open-plan design for the seamless experience it allows between indoor and outdoor, and an easy flow between kitchen, living and dining spaces.

While one big area with different furnishings may sound easy on paper, achieving your dream space that is stylish, functional and visually pleasing isn't quite so.

Careful furniture placement, visual and spatial dividers and colours can all help to achieve home harmony. Here's what you need to know.

Shania Shegedyn

Colour palette

To avoid the room feeling cluttered, messy or awkward, try to use different colours but have a theme running through it, else it will feel disjointed. Here, a soft colour scheme of grey and blue defines the living room but touches of timber connect it back to the kitchen and dining.

Nikole Ramsay

Floor dividers

A well-placed rug will help divide floor space and allow the eye to easily see different areas. Here, the rug helps to ground the space and creates a clear zone.

Shania Shegedyn

Multiple levels

An easy way to differentiate between spaces is to have your floors at different heights. It still maintains the flow and feel of one big open space but adds a visual element.  

Armelle Habib

Furnishings

Pendant lights help to break up the vast space and when on, they create visual and spatial divides.

Armelle Habib

Furniture placement

Having a sofa 'float' in the room, away from the wall, gives a luxurious feel and helps this large space feel fuller. The jet black colour and the coffee table in between help to define the space giving it purpose and reason. The crisp white of the kitchen island sets it apart from the rest of the caramel-coloured space and acts as a visual break.

Nikole Ramsay