Top Interior Design Tips For Your Open Plan Room

How To Style Your Open Plan Space with The Living House

We have teamed up with our friends at The Living House, family friendly interior designers, to hear their top tips on designing an open plan kitchen / dining / living space.

Designing an open plan space can be tricky, there are so many decisions to make, and it can quickly become quite overwhelming. After many years of designing open plan rooms for families, we’ve shared with you five interior design tips to help you create a room that is as practical as it is beautiful.

Decide On A Furniture Layout First

As exciting as it is to start furniture shopping, one key piece of advice we recommend is to consider how you’re going to use the space and then decide on a layout. An open plan kitchen area is used by the whole family therefore, considering what you need to get out of the space is important. This can include questions such as:

- How much storage do we need?

- How many people do we want to sit around the dining table, including guests?

- Can we include a seating area with a sofa or armchairs?

- Is there enough space for the kids to do their homework at the table?

These are the types of questions you need to ask yourselves before you begin to buy anything for the space. As interior designers, we often see pieces of furniture that are too big for the space or aren’t in keeping with the overall look because the design hasn’t been well thought out beforehand.

Measure up the room, do a sketch of the floorplan and measure out what furniture can comfortably fit within the space. Use masking tape and mark out on the floor where the furniture will be. This will help you know if you can get everything you want out of the room or if you need to make some compromises and come up with some clever interior design ideas.

Dining Tables

With so many dining tables to choose from, where do you start? Peppermill has a beautiful selection of dining tables, whether you want a contemporary, industrial, Scandi, or even traditional look. If you’re short on space, you may want to consider an extendable dining table that you can extend for when you have guests but doesn’t take up too much space on a daily basis. If your open plan kitchen diner is a busy family room, look at surfaces that are hard wearing and have longevity, such as the Mayfair Dining Table, which is solid oak.

Dining Chairs

Dining chairs are a great way to introduce colour to your open plan kitchen. You can mix up the colours or styles of the dining chairs to create an interesting and well designed look. As your room is open, don’t forget about the backs of the dining chairs. As you will see the chairs from all angles, you want the back to be as lovely as the front. We particularly like the Venice Dining Chair for its curved wood contemporary back. It is nailing the popular curved 2024 interior trend. If you’re wanting dining chairs that are family friendly, the faux leather Woodstock Dining Chairs would be a great addition to your dining area.

Want to break up the dining chairs or tight on space? A dining bench could be your answer. We love dining room benches because they are an ideal seat for children and can be tucked neatly away under the dining table. The Scandinavian Bench is a really affordable option from Peppermill and would work beautifully in a contemporary Scandi home.

Storage

In a family home, the more storage, the better. To avoid your open plan room looking cluttered, incorporate plenty of useful storage. This could be built in storage, such as banquette seating with storage underneath, or it could be freestanding pieces of furniture, such as a sideboard. When choosing furniture pieces, avoid going for the matching set and mix up the pieces to create a well designed look. We particularly love the Vintage Pine Kitchen Dresser Sideboard, with a mix of open shelving and closed storage, it's the perfect piece if you’re wanting an eclectic feel. If you’re opting for a contemporary industrial style, then the Saxton Sideboard is an interesting sideboard, with the carved geometric wood detail adding texture and pattern to your space. Go for a sideboard with legs, because when you can see underneath furniture, it will give the illusion of more space.

Lighting

Lighting is important in any room, but especially when it comes to open plan kitchens. As it is a multifunctional space, lighting can be used to zone all the different areas within the room. If you have a kitchen island, install pendant lights above to highlight and zone the island. The Capella and Lynx pendant lights, among many others at Peppermill Interiors, would work brilliantly above a kitchen island in a set of three. Always look at the size of the lights before buying, as you don’t want to go for lights that are too small as they will look lost in the room. In other areas of the room, place a large pendant above the dining table. To layer up the softer lighting, add table lamps and floor lamps to create a cosy atmosphere in the room.

Create a cosy sociable seating area

Peppermill Interiors has a beautiful range of accent chairs, which are perfect if you have a living area within your open plan kitchen. One of our favourites is the Salisbury Faux Leather Vintage Chair, it's such an affordable price for the style. If you like leather but don’t want to use the material in the bigger pieces, such as the sofa, the Salisbury Chair is a great way to incorporate some leather into the room (our favourite colourway is the warm tan). If you’re wanting to add a natural texture to your open plan room, the Tuscany Rattan Armchair is gorgeous. It's another piece from Peppermill that is on trend for 2024, with the black option being in boucle fabric.

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If you would like some help designing your home with the whole family in mind, take a look at The Living House’s affordable online interior design packages. Whether you’re considering a full redesign or a spruce up, they can take the stress away, and give you the confidence to move forward. Their online interior design packages are a flat fee and they can work to any budget large or small, saving you money along the way and ensuring you get the results you want and expect!