7 Tips To Personalise Your Open-Plan Look

7 Tips To Personalise Your Open-Plan Look

7 Tips To Personalise Your Open-Plan Look

Modern living means open plan homes. It’s light, breezy, and allows for a modern sense of space and design. It does however take a bit of design work to get right. Whether you’re living in an older home, and looking to create a greater sense of space, or you’ve got an open plan layout you want to make better use of, there are tips and tricks you can use to keep the space feeling modern, and open, while still keeping everything in its place. Embrace open plan with these top design tips.

1. Brighten It Up

Open plan is all about making your space feel light and breezy. The best way to do that is to let in more light. Adding texture to your lighting, by mixing up wall sconces with hanging lamps and floor lamps will give your lighting some dimension. Using similar fixtures throughout an open plan layout, such as using round ceiling lamps in the kitchen and round floor lamps in a living space, can also help you bring the space together and feel more unified. Using similar fixtures throughout an open plan layout, such as using round ceiling lamps in the kitchen and round floor lamps in a living space, can also help you bring the space together and feel more unified. If you’re wanting something unique and perhaps a statement piece in the room, why not go for some bright neon lights or a sign from Neon Filter.

2. Let In Lots Of Natural Light

Of course, what to do with your lamps is only part of your lighting options. Use some lighter curtains on your window and arrange furniture to take advantage of outside lighting when you really want to add some brightness and freshness. Adding mirrors to bounce the light not only helps your space look bigger, but it also helps keep the room bright.

3. Create Zones With Furniture And Colour Palette

Any interior designer will tell you the most effective way to organise an open-plan layout is to create zones. Think about how you want to divide up the space. Kitchen work area in one space, entertaining in another, and a cosy spot for family time can flow into one another nicely, depending on how you arrange the furniture. Get creative. Use bookshelves as room dividers. Make use of accent colours to designate spaces in separate ‘rooms,’ and create a sense of flow with multi-function furniture like a coffee table that can double as a desk, or a kitchen island that can work for entertaining, or as a worktop.

4. Pop With Some Color

Speaking of color, just because you’re going with something open-plan and modern doesn’t mean you should feel the need to stick to neutral tones. Have some fun with brightly-coloured furniture and accents here and there to tie the room together, or designate space by function. Bright kitchen appliances that lead into matching bright chair cushions for your table helps provide some flow from a kitchen workspace to an entertainment space. Get creative and mix and match a bit.

5. Soften Things Up

Of course, you want your nice, bright, open plan space to be welcoming. Welcoming means keeping things cosy. Stay away from monochromatic colour palettes and harsh lines. Add some soft furnishings, like throw pillows. Light, bright cotton curtains add personality and privacy while giving a touch of softness. Finish up with a gorgeous area rug to tie the room together. Remember to keep at least three pieces of furniture to anchor the rug to one area. It’s a cosy way to divide the room!

6. Know When To Leave Well Enough Alone

Open plan is great, but before you go knocking down any walls, think practically. What will you use the room for? Don’t do anything without consulting with a contractor, especially in an older home. Once you’ve determined which walls are safe to come down, think about storage space. As beautiful as open-plan is, you might consider keeping cupboards, closets, and pantries. Does your open-plan living space open out to the front or back doors? And if so, would you want to leave a mudroom in the space to keep everything organised, tidy, and ready for entertaining? It all depends on how you want the room to function.

7. Personalise To Pull Everything Together

It also depends a lot on you, and what you want in your home. Personalise your open-plan space to stop it looking too modern and sterile. An accent wall, photo wall, or scattered shelf displays throughout the space add personal touches that stop your open-plan space from looking too bland. Avoid the cluttered look by keeping photo themes together along your walls, and keeping any collections together. You don’t need much to add a memorable personal touch.

If you want to upgrade your interiors, the best way to modernise is to go with open-plan. Opening up your floor plan takes some work, and some thinking, but it doesn’t have to be overly complicated. You don’t need to scale down to the bare essentials to create a sense of openness and keep your home from feeling too cluttered.

Lisa x

*This is a collaborative post.