When it comes to the right number of finishes for an open-plan room, it’s generally wise to use no fewer than three and no more than five. And remember, when choosing finishes it’s important to create a balanced look. If, for example, you have a lot of hard materials, such as stone, in the kitchen, balance them out with curves and warm materials, such as wood, in the dining and living areas. Tip: Don’t plan for open shelves in an open-plan space unless you love styling.
applying a neutral color to the walls in the living, kitchen and dining areas, which will give you a solid base and create a sense of flow among the zones. Then add in one or two supplementary colors, which you can use in different strengths and shades for the finishes and furniture in the three areas.
You’ll often see open-plan spaces where the kitchen has no style relationship to the architecture of the house or the adjoining living area, interior designer Danielle Trippett says. Solution: Make your kitchen a considered part of the architecture of your home and the style of the living area right from the planning stage, Trippett suggests. When choosing elements for your kitchen — such as colors, cabinet styles and countertop and backsplash materials — ask yourself if they suit the design era of your home and the decor in the adjoining spaces. Repeating the same colors and finishes in your kitchen and living spaces can help create a sense of cohesion between the two areas.
Lighting plays a hugely important part in setting the mood in a room, yet it’s often not considered early enough in the design process, Ristevski says. As a result, it’s often not located where it will actually be used. This makes it difficult to create ambiance within the individual parts of an open-plan space. It’s harder still to create atmosphere when lights aren’t on dimmers or can’t be turned on and off individually. Solution: Plan lighting and electrical elements at the start of the design project, Ristevski recommends. Think carefully about furniture placement and make sure lighting is positioned where it needs to be. For example, if the sofa is in the middle of the room, an electrical outlet may need to be installed in the floor. Remember, there are fewer walls in an open-plan kitchen, living and dining space than in individual, closed-off rooms, so you need to be far more deliberate in your planning for elements such as electricity, lighting and television connections.
Mismatched furniture and decor items can easily overcomplicate an open-plan space and make it look busy. The different elements in an open-plan space need to “speak” to one another as though they’re from the same family, without being too matchy-matchy or feeling forced, interior designer Kirsty Ristevski says. Solution: Choose a style you love and that will work throughout your open-plan space, Ristevski says. Select furniture and accessories that vary in color and material yet still speak to one another visually (such as different shades of the same color). Tip: Open-plan rooms tend to be noisier than closed-off rooms. You can help reduce noise levels by adding in softening elements such as curtains, rugs and throws.
Solution: A simple way to define the individual areas is to move the sofa across the room to split it in half, Siketa says. Adding a rug under the sofa and a floor lamp or table tamps beside the sofa will give more definition to the living zone. Then, if you can, create a sense of continuity among the kitchen, living and dining spaces by using the same flooring throughout. Tip: Add interest to your open-plan scheme by incorporating vertical layers. The best way to do this is to create different layers of height using floor lamps, pendant lights and potted plants.
This very out of place mirror over the stove top
note nooks under cabinets by fireplace
cabinets and counter tops are oppostie
german smear on fireplace
Opt for drawer pull and other hardware that DON'T have hard, sharp corners and edges! I see so many of these "dream" kitchens with hardware that you'd be lucky to suffer ONLY a bruise if you bumped into it.. In some, the handle has a bar extended beyond the piece that is attached to the front of the drawer or cabinet. Tailor made to catch and rip clothing.
There are a couple of ways to help protect your sink cabinet from moisture. You can order the cabinet with an all-plywood construction (most semicustom and prefabricated cabinets are constructed of a mixture of pressed wood and plywood). An all-plywood construction makes the cabinet less penetrable. You can also purchase a cabinet mat, which looks like a tray and is placed at the base of the sink cabinet. It will serve as a moisture barrier and catch any liquid leaks or spills.
Steer clear of stainless steel and chrome hardware. They show fingerprints and water spots and are harder to clean. Oil-rubbed bronze, satin bronze, polished nickel, brushed nickel and white hardware are the cream of the crop as far as easy maintenance goes. Choose the look that best suits the style of your kitchen.
nice touch on the island think about this. use of not as deep cabinets on the upper under the counter depth upper cabinets in the wood finish
another photo of upper cabinets deep then a lower set that aren't as deep
Bright undercabinet lights will make the open area above the counter feel larger. They also create a focal point a little lower down on the wall, so your eyes are drawn to the most open area instead of up to the bulkier cabinets.
Using lots of white always helps a kitchen feel more seamless and open, especially when it’s the finish for the cabinets themselves. In this example the white upper cabinets and white ceiling blend together to de-emphasize how large the cabinets are, giving the whole room a light and airy appearance.
great bookshelves
The white walls with the light flooring with the dark tile. In my house this is the dark fireplace wall. The concrete floor has the potential to be dark also. Keep it lighter
A book wall behind the cafe table in the kitchen? on the wall next to the fireplace? Or on the fireplace wall?
doors behind the cafe table, on the wall next to the fireplace. They wouldn't open to anything, they would be decorative.
doors on the wall next to the fireplace, they wouldn't go anywhere, they would just look awesome.
micro in island
grey paint
sectional with 1 chair
sectional, great size picture, bookcase
lots of light, accent color against the white
note storage to the right of the fireplace
runner in kitchen
very balanced. black on opposite walls bounces eye back and forth, black on back wall bring eye through. HIGH CEILINGS be AWARE this WON'T work at my house
white with brick
The bench has the leg in the middle
Q