One of the biggest trends in current home design is having an open concept. Especially for families or people who like to entertain, an open concept in the layout of your home can be a great way for everyone to see and interact with each other at the same time, as you’re not all separated into different rooms and sight lines are clear.
However, decorating these big, open spaces can be a challenge for many homeowners. If you’ve been struggling with this, here are three interior design tips for your open concept home.
Create Distinct Spaces Using Rugs
In a big open concept room, it can be hard to create distinct spaces within a room that feels so large and doesn’t have any building structure to give you direction. One thing you can try to make the spaces of your rooms feel more distinct, according to Lauren Flanagan, a contributor to The Spruce, is to use area rugs as a form of separation.
By using different area rugs for the various spaces that you can to create within your open concept, you can essentially draw lines around the areas of your room that you’re wanting to differentiate. For example, if you have one area rug under your table and another underneath all of your living room furniture, these two spaces will, both visually and spatially, be seen as distinct spaces.
Keep Furniture Off The Walls
For many homes with an open concept, it can be hard to fill the space with the furniture you currently have. And because buying new furniture can get expensive, you might wind up feeling like your open concept feels pretty sparse and empty.
To combat this, Cynthia Bowman, a contributor to Freshome.com, advises that you keep your furniture away from your walls. By having your furniture pieces floating throughout your rooms rather than being pushed against the walls, you can better fill your space. And with your furniture away from your walls, you can use that space between your furniture and your walls as walkways between the different areas of your room.
Make Zones Within Your Space
In addition to using area rugs to separate the rooms within your big open concept room, you may also want to create other, smaller zones within your space as well.
To help you do this, Brian Patrick Flynn, a contributor to HGTV, recommends that you use your large open space to create functional zones that you can use. To do this, think about using a corner of your room as a small workspace with a desk or adding an additional seating section for things like reading or meditation.
If you have an open concept home that you’re not sure how to decorate or design, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you with this.