GUIDE

FURNISH AND DECORATE OPEN FLOOR PLAN

WHAT IS AN OPEN FLOOR PLAN? 

An open floor plan means that there are no walls between the living room and the kitchen, which makes the home feel larger. This creates a bright, airy, and social space with high flexibility.

Open floor plans have become very popular in the last 20 years, especially since many new apartments, both large and small, are built without walls dividing the living room and kitchen. This makes the apartment feel larger.

There are many advantages to an open floor plan. One of them is that the dining area is close to the kitchen. This facilitates stressful mornings when breakfast needs to be quickly prepared and then cleared away.

The social interaction between family members also increases, as the person preparing or cooking the food can be part of the conversations to a greater extent than if there were walls in between.

HOW TO DECORATE AND FURNISH AN OPEN FLOOR PLAN?

The floor plan shows the relationship between rooms and other areas and is unique to each home. With an open floor plan, the furnishing possibilities are often endless. Here are some of our best tips for decorating a home with an open floor plan.

DEFINE AREAS

An open floor plan often means that the kitchen and living room harmonize in a large shared space. Whether walls separate the rooms or not, there is often a need to specify the different parts of the home. We, therefore, recommend defining the different areas with clear dividers when decorating an open floor plan.

When moving in or wanting to rearrange, you often have an idea you want to realize, but it is quite heavy to move all the furniture at once. A tip from us to you is instead to test-furnish with the lightest furniture in the interior. Let the dining chairs represent the dining area, the carpet and coffee tables symbolically represent the living room, and so on to get a sense of size and placement.

When you have chosen where you want your different areas, it is good to define the different areas with, for example, a bookshelf, or a glass cabinet that stands discreetly against the wall. A large potted plant not only improves air quality but also serves as a nice divider while dampening the noise level. Curtain rails in the ceiling are an optimal solution in front of windows to create a hotel feel. Thicker curtains on rails can also be used to divide a room, which is especially practical in a studio apartment to frame and screen off the bed.

CREATE THE PERFECT DINING AREA IN AN OPEN FLOOR PLAN

Select an area designated for the dining table and chairs that you can easily define with a rug. If you have a spacious home and want the dining area to stand out, we recommend one of our extendable dining tables, whether rectangular, elongated, or oval. Combine this with comfortable chairs for long, delightful dinners with friends and family. An elongated table in an open floor plan nicely connects the living room and kitchen.

In a smaller home with limited space, round dining tables or drop-leaf tables with neat, comfortable chairs are preferable. Many of our round dining tables can be expanded with an extension leaf for evenings with guests. If you have the opportunity to place the dining area near windows, it becomes a pleasant spot with a view to sit and eat, both for everyday meals and dinner parties.

PLACEMENT OF SOFA IN AN OPEN FLOOR PLAN

If you love lounging on the sofa and movie nights, we recommend investing in a lovely modular sofa, which can blossom out and be placed adjacent to the kitchen to enhance social interaction with the person cooking.

If you prefer to separate the kitchen and living room, we recommend placing the sofa with its back towards the kitchen for a natural boundary. A smaller dining set in the kitchen also helps to clearly define the different areas of the home. To avoid the person cooking facing the back of the sofa, you can instead place an appealing piece of furniture like a sideboard or a lower bookshelf against the back of the sofa, decorated with beautiful interior details.

If there is space, it is nice to place two sofas opposite each other with an inviting coffee table in the middle. This creates a lovely spot for conversation and relaxation.

Many newly built homes have thoughtful floor plans where each space is carefully designed for the home's various needs. Many place the sofa against a wall that can be decorated with mirrors or paintings to create an aesthetically pleasing interior. If you choose to place the sofa by the wall, we recommend moving the sofa slightly away from the wall to create an additional sense of space. 

UNIFIED CHOICES OF COLORS AND MATERIALS

Create a unified feel and context by deciding on the style and feel you want to permeate your new home. Then you can add colors and materials that harmonize. A tip from us is to stick to the same undertone and then create contrasts between the furniture and the interior details. For more tips on color and material choices and how to mix different wood colors, you can click on our guide.

Many strive for a unified home, and in an open floor plan, this becomes even more important as the rooms flow into each other without walls separating them.

We hope you have received good tips and advice for decorating an open floor plan. Good luck!