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luckyme7

Ideas to define space in open floor plan

luckyme7
9 years ago

In the house we are planning to build, the kitchen, breakfast nook and family room are all in a straight line, one after the other. We would have liked to put a bay window by the breakfast nook to define that space, but due to limitation in buildable area we are not allowed to do it.

My husband thinks it would look like a bowling alley to have one behind the other but I think we can define space using furniture, paint color and perhaps curtain. Also we will have the door to the patio separating the breakfast nook and family room, even though it would all be in a straight line. Across from the door to the patio, we would also have the passage leading to dining room.

Should we add changes like a column or coffered ceiling to define the space in this particular situation?

I am personally not a fan of sunken family room. we will have hardwood floors throughout, so defining space using different flooring is not an option.

Any ideas to define space that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg?

Comments (6)

  • mrsb1227
    9 years ago

    The home we are building has a similar setup and are defining spaces in several ways. Our lighting will be one way we define the spaces; there will be pendant lights over the kitchen island, a small chandelier over the breakfast area table, and another larger chandelier in the family room. The family room will have a cathedral ceiling, while the breakfast and kitchen area will have 9 ft ceilings. We will also have carpet in our family room. I know you said you will have hardwood throughout (which I prefer but hardwood in family room would be an upcharge for us), but you could define family room space with a nice area rug.

  • kayakboy
    9 years ago

    We are using Ceiling details to define the spaces - Dining space has a cove ceiling, while Living space has a funky set of ceiling overlapping rectangles.

    Architect said framing and sheet rock is cheaper than any other detail we could have picked.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    I'm not a fan of sunken rooms either. Love the look, but think of aging and the difficulty steps will bring.

    We have some open spaces and used flooring and ceiling to define the spaces. For example, our kitchen is open to our FR so I added a soffit, arched to match the arched edge in the island, and changed the flooring also in the arched shape to define the spaces. The wall color in the kitchen is also different from the FR though they coordinate. I also used tall lamps on the book case behind the sofa to act as a visual break between the two rooms.

    We also have a DR that is open to the library, so we again used different ceilings, flooring treatment and columns and trim molding to help define the spaces without enclosing them.

    Looking from the library to the DR

    Close up of flooring treatment between the two rooms. In addition to the "brass" trim element, we ran the graining in the opposite direction to make the space feel more defined.

    Coffered ceiling between the two rooms with different ceiling color as well.

  • renovator8
    9 years ago

    I would avoid steps inside a living space.

    I often define spaces with beams, often real ones wrapped with drywall or wood.

  • bird_lover66
    9 years ago

    Design of windows and ceilings (height, beams, etc.) and the use of area rugs can really help create "spaces within a space."

  • mushcreek
    9 years ago

    The back of our new house is essentially one room, divided into LR, DR, and kitchen. I built a small wall about 20" deep, and a dropped transom between each 'room'. These will be cased like a door way. The LR has a plain ceiling, the DR will be coffered, and the kitchen will be tin. We might add a couple columns at the LR/DR divide to further define the space. Also, there is a peninsula across about half of the kitchen opening.

    We opted for the walls, as it would be relatively cheap and easy to remove them if we decided that we wanted it more open. Bear in mind that a wall of 24" or more would require an electrical outlet, which is why we limited the size of ours.