Design Challenge: How To Style An Open Floor Plan That’s Too Open

If you’re living in a home with an open floor plan, it can be difficult to organize the space. You can achieve a trendy loft-like feel in your home by connecting your entry to your living room to your dining room, but it can also get confusing. There’s no separation between the different functions, and the room as a whole doesn’t look cohesive. So how do you style an open floor plan that’s too open? Do you try to create physical barriers? Or are there ways to create the illusion of separation?

Room dividers seem like the obvious route, but they don’t work in every space. Here are four different ways you can create more structure in your open home, per the advice of Spacejoy designers — no room dividers needed.

Accent Walls Can Inform Your Accent Colors

One way to create the illusion of separation in the open space is with accent walls. Paint or apply a patterned wallpaper to draw focus to that particular part of the room. Use it to frame focal points, like the small walls around your dining nook or the wall behind your TV. Spacejoy designer Sarah Nelson particularly likes bold colored accent walls. She recommends painting the main wall in each area a bright color and centering that “room’s” decor around that accent color. This helps separate the rooms without needing to actually form physical boundaries.

Welcome To The Jungle

Large plants like birds of paradise or fiddle-leaf fig trees help create some separation. Place those plants in the corners or along larger pieces of furniture. For example, a large tree placed at the corner of your sofa will reveal the rest of the room as you turn around the corner. You can also theme each area with different kinds of plants. An array of hanging plants in one “room” will contrast nicely with more potted plants in another.

Rugs Help Create Physical Boundaries

If you don’t want to put up vertical barriers to separate each “room,” use rugs instead. For your living room, Spacejoy designer Marisa Rhone suggests, “Use a large rug for the main seating area and something smaller like a cowhide or sheepskin to create a reading nook.” Runners can also simulate the feeling of a hallway if you’re trying to connect two separate spaces. In addition to variance in size, it’s best to mix textures and patterns as well.

Use Larger Furniture As Physical Barriers

Larger pieces of furniture like a chaise or bench can be used as physical barriers between each room. Place your largest sofa with its back toward your kitchen like in the photo above to block off the space. If you live in a smaller apartment, you can also experiment with height. A high-top table can work as both a kitchen island and your breakfast bar. Play around with different pieces to see how you can make your space feel the coziest.

If you like these home decor ideas and want to bring them to life in your home, or design your own perfect living space, start a project on Spacejoy. You will receive unlimited access to an expert design team who can translate your vision and guide you to your perfect room design. Our unique technology allows you to view your room in 3D and interact with your design. Move and swap the products with a touch of a finger to see the unlimited possibilities. Our team will also curate a shopping list for you with handpicked products to suit your budget and your style that you can shop right away on our platform. Your dream home is now one click away. Click here for pricing plans.