How to Use a Formal Living Room When Your Kitchen is Open-plan
Has your living room become redundant since you opened up your kitchen? Here are some ideas of how to put it to good use
If you have room within a kitchen for a sofa or armchairs, or an extension has given you a second living space, chances are this is your day-to-day, most-used lounging area. If you have a TV in there, too, you may find you don’t even move out in the evenings.
But does this arrangement leave another room in your home – often a more ‘formal’ living room – under-used? If so, read on and let these three homes inspire ideas for how to make more of your ‘other’ sitting room.
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But does this arrangement leave another room in your home – often a more ‘formal’ living room – under-used? If so, read on and let these three homes inspire ideas for how to make more of your ‘other’ sitting room.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
In the other half of the space, what had been a ‘corridor’ is now an inviting lounge area, connected to the music room and also to the kitchen.
“Previously, the family had shallow, open shelving with some closed cupboards here,” Josie says. “The cupboards led up to the kitchen wall, making the space very narrow. So we removed all of that to open up this section of the room, giving it better usability and allowing us to put the sofa here.”
To replace the storage that was taken out, Josie designed shallow shelving and relocated paperwork to a new home office upstairs.
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“Previously, the family had shallow, open shelving with some closed cupboards here,” Josie says. “The cupboards led up to the kitchen wall, making the space very narrow. So we removed all of that to open up this section of the room, giving it better usability and allowing us to put the sofa here.”
To replace the storage that was taken out, Josie designed shallow shelving and relocated paperwork to a new home office upstairs.
Read reviews of interior designers in your area in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
This shows the kitchen, which had been extended before Josie took on the project, and the corridor leading to the music room and lounge. It contains armchair seating and a dining area.
Take a full tour of this family home.
Take a full tour of this family home.
2. The Dining Room
Who lives here? Interior designer Mel Massey with her husband and two sons
Location North London
Property A four-bedroom Victorian terraced townhouse
Designer Mel Massey of Mel Massey Studio
Mel and her husband had lived in their home for 15 years and the space wasn’t working for them anymore. The decision was either to move or reconfigure the layout; they opted for the latter.
As part of the project, an extension was added to the ground floor, which created a sunny living room complete with a concealed TV. The couple therefore didn’t need a second living area, so they turned the room at the front of the house into this dining zone.
Who lives here? Interior designer Mel Massey with her husband and two sons
Location North London
Property A four-bedroom Victorian terraced townhouse
Designer Mel Massey of Mel Massey Studio
Mel and her husband had lived in their home for 15 years and the space wasn’t working for them anymore. The decision was either to move or reconfigure the layout; they opted for the latter.
As part of the project, an extension was added to the ground floor, which created a sunny living room complete with a concealed TV. The couple therefore didn’t need a second living area, so they turned the room at the front of the house into this dining zone.
It’s an unusual layout, but it works brilliantly and makes very good use of the space. Take a look at the floorplan.
Previously, the kitchen was very small and was located at the back of the house. Mel decided to move it to the centre of the open-plan layout in an area that would otherwise have been used as a thoroughfare.
Previously, the kitchen was very small and was located at the back of the house. Mel decided to move it to the centre of the open-plan layout in an area that would otherwise have been used as a thoroughfare.
This view shows how the dining area – behind the camera – connects to the kitchen and the living area beyond.
Tour the rest of this family home.
Tour the rest of this family home.
3. The Bar and Media Room
Who lives here? A young couple with two small children
Location South-west London
Property A four-bed house in a new development
Designer Debbie Hannah of Decorbuddi
“We find a lot of clients use the original living room as a library, a playroom or, these days, a workspace. This is a little more unusual,” Debbie Hannah says.
Debbie’s clients have an open-plan kitchen and living space downstairs, which is used during the day and is very much a family area. The upstairs living room was consequently a little neglected and didn’t get used much.
The homeowners had a clear brief. “They wanted an adult space for entertaining with friends,” Debbie says. Now, at one end there’s a U-shaped bar and, at the other, a comfy place to enjoy films, TV and their vinyl collection.
The L-shaped room has a balcony at one end and Debbie’s redesign takes advantage of this. The bar has comfortable seats where guests can sit and chat to the hosts as they make drinks, while also being close to the French windows.
Who lives here? A young couple with two small children
Location South-west London
Property A four-bed house in a new development
Designer Debbie Hannah of Decorbuddi
“We find a lot of clients use the original living room as a library, a playroom or, these days, a workspace. This is a little more unusual,” Debbie Hannah says.
Debbie’s clients have an open-plan kitchen and living space downstairs, which is used during the day and is very much a family area. The upstairs living room was consequently a little neglected and didn’t get used much.
The homeowners had a clear brief. “They wanted an adult space for entertaining with friends,” Debbie says. Now, at one end there’s a U-shaped bar and, at the other, a comfy place to enjoy films, TV and their vinyl collection.
The L-shaped room has a balcony at one end and Debbie’s redesign takes advantage of this. The bar has comfortable seats where guests can sit and chat to the hosts as they make drinks, while also being close to the French windows.
The previously underused room as it was.
This is the media area on the other side of the room. “It was very much about creating a space that would be atmospheric in the evenings as well as during the day, hence the colours,” Debbie says. The starting point for the palette was the couple’s existing deep blue sofa. The dark hue also helps to disguise the TV. “We wanted it to look lovely as a living room, too,” she adds.
Debbie zoned the space by laying a rug in this area. She also fitted wall panelling to boost character at this end of the room.
A large cabinet conceals audio-visual paraphernalia, while shelves show off the owners’ music. Part of the project, as is often the case with any room that changes function, was to completely rewire the room.
Debbie zoned the space by laying a rug in this area. She also fitted wall panelling to boost character at this end of the room.
A large cabinet conceals audio-visual paraphernalia, while shelves show off the owners’ music. Part of the project, as is often the case with any room that changes function, was to completely rewire the room.
The bar was designed to make it easy to socialise while serving guests and includes a wine fridge (just out of shot). “LED lighting under the shelves helps the area to twinkle along with the glasses,” Debbie says.
Brass details tie in with accents on the other side of the room, while the marble-effect solid surface worktop adds a further layer of glamour.
Learn more about this transformation.
Tell us…
Do you have two living areas or rooms? If so, let us know how you’ve designed each of them – and which of these ideas floats your boat.
Brass details tie in with accents on the other side of the room, while the marble-effect solid surface worktop adds a further layer of glamour.
Learn more about this transformation.
Tell us…
Do you have two living areas or rooms? If so, let us know how you’ve designed each of them – and which of these ideas floats your boat.
Who lives here? A family of four with two small children
Location Wimbledon, south-west London
Property A four-bedroom Victorian terraced house
Designer Josie Harris-Taylor of Kia Designs
This light-filled space was previously the living room, with the area behind it – the ubiquitous Victorian ‘middle room’ – left as somewhat of a corridor between here and the kitchen. “We’ve enabled this to work better as one large space,” Josie says.
The room now fulfils a specific function for the musical family who live here. “They wanted to create a very music-focused area as part of their communal living space,” Josie says. “And they’d always wanted a baby grand piano, but had nowhere to put one.”
The new layout created space for a piano, so they bought this one to put into the reconfigured room. Josie added a window seat to create what she describes as a “music nook”.