How To Use Just Three Elements To Define Areas In An Open Concept

Open floor plans offer as many possibilities as they do limitations. With no physical boundaries in place, you can move seamlessly through the space, keep your eye on every corner of the room, and maximize the flow of air and natural light. You feel free. But is there such a thing as too much freedom? Some designers think so. If done wrong, an open concept can become a big sea of nothingness, rendering each of the home's different areas into one big, unvarying space that blurs the identity of each area. When done right, however, you can retain the magic of multiple rooms, each with its individual personality, without the hassle and constriction of walls.

Although every single decor element at your disposal can help you in this mission, there are three particularly simple solutions for a well-defined space without a bulky room divider. To successfully section your open floor plan, use rugs, lighting, and art. With little effort and plenty of creativity, these features can create distinct moments in your space's different areas without sacrificing harmony throughout. 

Rugs are one of the easiest ways to create zones in an open floor plan. Beyond their decorative appeal and warm, cozy qualities, rugs provide visible limits and structure without taking up space. Before you start playing around with these pieces to create a layout that works for you, it's important to understand the dos and don'ts of styling rugs in a large wall-less area. 

Typically, you would use rugs to section off your dining and living room areas, but they also work in cooking and working spaces. In dining rooms, rugs should be considerably large, allowing enough space to pull chairs out and to accommodate at least the front feet of your furniture, respectively. In living rooms, smaller, narrower, runner-type accent rugs work best. Feel free to vary in patterns, colors, and textures for extra separation between areas, but make sure that they form a cohesive whole by sticking to a consistent color palette.

Lighting and art have similar roles. By experimenting with scale and boldness, you can turn these pieces into focal points that will immediately anchor a certain area. Like rugs, these elements work best in the areas that are most frequently used. You can take this a step further, though, and use different scales and levels of boldness for each zone, always keeping their main purpose in mind. 

Soft lighting and understated art can make your living room feel extra cozy, while brighter lighting and louder prints are the best fit for a busy, lively space like the kitchen. In modern homes, however, it's important to remember that many areas serve dual, sometimes even triple, roles. A relaxation space by night can be a home office by day, and a kitchen can be a dining room. A great way to accommodate all these needs is to layer your lighting and opt for dimmable systems. For instance, you can bring ambient lighting through sconces and soft floor lamps, and then add a table lamp for task lighting. 

When it comes to art, mixing it up is also recommended. Depending on the feel of each area, alternate between one massive statement print that takes up a big chunk of the wall, a gallery wall, a gorgeous mirror, and something three-dimensional like a planter, a clock, or a sculpture. This way, each space will have its own identity.