Many houses today combine the kitchen and living room to allow for entertaining and family time that flows effortlessly. These rooms often have soaring ceilings that capture your attention, but what the rooms sometimes lack are the warm and wonderful feeling that makes guests want to linger. That can be accomplished with warm colors, comfy fabrics full of texture, and furniture that links the rooms and allows you to do more things together: cook a meal, get homework done, or catch up on the happenings of the day. So, let’s point out three ways that you can pull rooms together and make them warm and functional:
Copper Top Server
- Color. Look towards warm tones like caramel, terra cotta or coffee infused latte. You can go warmer and richer on your walls to help bring balance to an otherwise oversized space. A high ceiling absorbs a lot of color, so don’t be afraid of rich colors because we are going to pop it with creamy white trim. A high ceiling also begs for color, so it does not look like a white sheet has been draped over a warm rich room. Tans, blues and greens are great colors for ceilings; they bring the ceiling in a bit without caving in the space. When you paint the ceiling, you also will bring out the great details in the crown molding. So many times this gets missed because the white ceiling next to the white crown all runs together.
- Pick the Right Furniture. Select pieces that do multiple tasks, like a desk that sits behind a sofa that floats in the center of the room. This allows for the homework to get done, a bill to be paid quickly, or laptop access to catch up on the school news. Hooker Furniture has a 48” Heritage Manor Writing Desk that will tuck behind a sofa, and with its clever drop-lid top, could double as a desk or as a place to set up drinks when entertaining or a place to display seasonal decorative accessories. If your kitchen can support an island or it does not have one yet, I found a really great piece! It’s the Copper Key Server from Hooker Furniture. Its casual black finish and copper surface are on trend, and it has pass-through drawers and is finished on all sides so it can float in a room. Two shelves for showing off beautiful pottery or storing cooking items are an added plus. This server/island is the perfect example of furniture doing many tasks so you can use your space in a variety of ways. A TV Console and Hutch combination that holds the flat screen television and other components is the perfect place to start when thinking about furniture to accommodate your TV and electronics. For your seating, look at a curved back sofa matched with 4 chairs. This will allow you to move and mix your furniture to accommodate any type of entertaining; also think about a dining table that has a bench so it can be brought into the great room for extra seating, like the Braxton Rakeback Bench.
- Comfy Fabrics Look for great textures like a burlap weave chenille or soft ultra suedes and brocades are great for sofas. They are durable, hide dirt, and have the perfect feel for those Sunday afternoon naps. A tone on tone pattern is also great for the sofa. Look at golds and greens or aqua blue or brown. I am seeing a lot of pattern on sofas again. You can marry this with leather chairs and a large ottoman. Big graphic patterns are fun and whimsical and pair really well on gate or chain link fabrics. Patterns can be bolder and larger now with the openness of the space, so don’t be afraid go for the color.
We now have great color, comfy fabrics, and the furniture to match, but what makes the rooms flow? Look to add a target color! This is an accent color that draws the eye around the room. A target color is a strong color like RED-GOLD-GREEN or the hottest color out there like PURPLE. Use this in small amounts like picture frames, a throw blanket, pillows or accessories. When you use this color starting at the front door and throughout the home, your eye will seek and search for it pulling your eyes and you around the rooms. Remember great rooms do not happen in a weekend, you need to look at magazine and show homes. This is where you can learn about the great options that are available. So, get to looking and don’t forget the internet for ideas as well. Now- go create that great room!
{ 0 comments… add one }