Open-space: ideas for dividing kitchen – living room…
The kitchen and living room are two rooms with quite different functionalities, but are now often seen together in one open-space!
There are pros and cons to having the kitchen and living room in one open space: on the one hand, we have more space, not having dividing walls, brighter rooms, and you definitely increase conviviality because you can talk to guests even while cooking.
On the other hand, the classic clutter in the kitchen, when preparing food, absolutely cannot be hidden, and even all the smells cannot be “enclosed”!
But how do you furnish an open space?
It is a good idea to try to keep, at least optically, these 2 environments separate, emphasizing their different functionalities.
There are at least 7 different ways to create division between these two areas…
Let’s look at them together!
1) USE OF FALSE CEILING and/or PLATFORM
Lowering the ceiling of either area (tends to be better in the kitchen) and perhaps using spotlights will give the impression of an effective division.
You can also do the opposite and decide to raise the kitchen one or two steps: this, too, will divide the two areas.
If the final effective height allows, you may decide to use both the platform and the false ceiling, thus creating two different rooms!
(credit iversonsignaturehomes.com) (credit Paul van de Kooi)
2) THE USE OF COUNTER, ISLAND, OR PENINSULA
If the room is large and spacious, you can place a counter, island, or peninsula (depending on the shape of the kitchen) that delimits the cooking area from the living room.
It will also be super functional as a work surface, and why not as well as a snack table!
In this case, placing the stools so that you sit with your back to the living room looking at the kitchen will emphasize this division even more.
Using lights that “fall” on this top will further help to give the idea of separation!
(credit Aubrie Pick) (credit elmueble.com)
3) PLACE THE SOFA WITH ITS BACK TO THE KITCHEN
The couch placed in this way, so that whoever sits down has his back to the kitchen and looks at the living room will act as a dividing “wall” between the two areas!
Adding a beautiful large rug in front of the couch will, even more, help keep these two spaces optically divided.
If, by chance, the back of the couch is not too visually appealing, you can always put some console table or, even better, a container cabinet, which, in addition to dividing the two rooms, will give more storage space!
Then if the space is tiny, you can lean the couch against the long side of the dining table!
(credit lesh-84.ru)
(credit lesh-84.ru)
4) USE OF DIFFERENT FLOORING
Using different colors or materials for the floors of the two areas will give the impression of two divided rooms.
It is always a matter of optical!
Of course, a sharp line separating these two floorings is not mandatory, but the two surfaces can also meet in a playful and “softer” way by playing with different shapes.
(credit dezotti.com)
(credit socooc.com)
5) THE USE OF COLOR
Color is quite an incredible ally!
You may decide, for example, to divide the living room and kitchen by using a different color for the walls.
As with flooring, platform, or fall ceiling tiles, it is a matter of optics: the eye, seeing different colors, perceives different environments!
You can dare by coloring with the same color as the walls, even the ceiling creating a kind of box effect for the kitchen!
(credit Ban architecture)
(credit Melissa DiRenzo/apartmenttherapy.com)
6) USE OF VERTICAL PARTITIONS
Open (that is, bottomless) bookcases can be extraordinary dividing elements.
They, indeed, will delimit spaces, but without totally closing them off, allowing glance and light to pass through.
If there is not enough space for the thickness of a bookcase, you can create different open partitions, using, for example, wooden slats, or creating honeycomb or lattice structures…
The important thing, in this case, is that they are full height and create a visual separation, but not a sharp one: you must be able to glimpse what is on the other side!
(credit roomandboard.com)
(credit casaegiardino.it)
7) USE OF GLAZING
Stained glass windows are a great alternative to divide the living room and kitchen.
They create separation but keep the brightness intact!
They are ideal for those who would have liked two separate rooms because you also have the option of totally and effectively closing off the kitchen!
That will allow you to really have two separate rooms, but without losing all the advantages that open space offers!
(credit fantastic frank)
(credit decorazione.mobelideen.com)
As always, with a bit of caution and balance, you can also create divisions by using two or more of these listed solutions together!
If you have an open space tell me how you furnished it in the comments, I’d love to get to know you better!
Also, write if you are furnishing it and have any doubts, I will be happy to answer you!
I hope this article with ideas for dividing an open-space the kitchen – living room was helpful and you love it; in case, let me know in the comments, and if you like this kind of tips you can find more on my YouTube channel!
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If you feel that your home, or some environment of it, does not reflect you enough, do not wait any longer and book your consultancy!
This post is also available in: Italian
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