Home design has changed considerably in the last 50 years. Homes today are built with open floor plans. While that change has been revolutionary, creating intimate space in an open floor plan has not always been easy. The kitchen is no longer delegated to the back of the home, hidden away from the rest of the house like the ugly step sister it used to be.

Today’s homes are usually built with the kitchen as the focal point of the home. Designers, architects and especially the homeowner, have realized that everything happens in the kitchen. The kitchen is truly the heart of the home. An open floor plan allows for better traffic flow, better lighting and provides a great space for entertaining. But what do you do when you want more intimate gatherings or just a little peace from the hustle and bustle of daily life?

As a homeowner you want a large, open floor plan, and yet you still want to retain some of the coziness that smaller rooms provide.

There are many ways you can create warmth and intimacy in a home with open floor plans!

Creating Intimate Space in an Open Floor Plan

Color – Proper choice of  color is a great way to create warmth and provide that cozy feeling that you want to retain without giving up the benefits of an open floor plan. Implementing a warm color scheme that also mixes colder and darker shades can completely transform the look and feel of a room. Choose paint, fabrics, and decorative elements with the entirety of the color scheme in mind. Colors that add warmth to a room are yellow, orange, and red.

Furnishings – Clever placement of furniture is a great way to carve our smaller areas in the room. Area rugs are a great way to define an area of the room, and combined with different light fixtures, can create a room within a room. The placement of your couch or cedar chests and benches can also help to separate the living area from the dining area.

Flooring Choices – Using different flooring materials can break up a large room. You may want the kitchen and dining areas to be wood or tile, while you choose to carpet the living area to carpeted. You can even change the color of the flooring for a similar effect.

Plants  – Adding plants to your home can not only add a great splash of color to your home, but they also help add warmth and life. Filling your home with plants and flowers is a very inexpensive way to make your open floor plan look lively and intimate at the same time. When choosing your plants, be sure to pick plants that need little light and care. Before buying your plants, be sure to find out if they can be toxic to kids or pets.

A little creativity can go a long way when transforming your home into a warm and intimate place to live regardless of the type of floor plan.

For more ideas and tips for building a custom home please download our resource guide.