Open-plan living spaces are becoming increasingly popular and are the first choice when it comes to building your own home. No wonder! In this way, a large and spacious area is created, which is also very beneficial from a social point of view. While you're cooking, you can chat with the others who are relaxing on the sofa and when you have visitors, you don't have to constantly interrupt conversations to get something from the next room. But if you still want to visually divide the living areas, you can achieve this in a variety of ways. While some can be implemented without major construction work, others are suitable if you are planning a new house. In this article we will show you how you can divide a large room using different elements and ideas. Whether with room dividers, ceiling designs or different floor coverings – the variants are diverse.
We've already mentioned some of the reasons for this: You're not constantly being pulled out of conversations because you have to quickly go to the other room. Small apartments and houses in particular appear much more spacious this way. If the kitchen were separated by walls, the result would probably be an inconvenient and narrow space. So if you need to save on living space overall, it's best to opt for an open living room with a living room, kitchen and dining area.
There are visually very interesting variants, but they are more difficult or even impossible to implement in a finished house or apartment and are therefore better suited for new construction. This includes, among others, this variant in which different floor heights are simply designed. No more than two levels difference should be chosen. Otherwise, getting on and off becomes more uncomfortable and you have to think about a railing, which would simply be annoying in the middle of an open space.
The higher area should best be planned for the kitchen, because seating areas that are lower appear very cozy and inviting. For the kitchen, which you can see above, only two levels were chosen, which are completely sufficient. On the two open sides there is the dining area and the seating area with a couch.
This variant is also suitable for new buildings. Simply use different ceiling heights for the different areas. Of course, you can also visually divide the space in a finished house or apartment in this way by creating a suspended ceiling. However, you should not forget that you will lose room height. Therefore, it is best to plan this before construction. The high ceiling creates a particularly spacious, open living space and is ideal if you want to visually divide a large room. The room looks very attractive, especially in combination with large window fronts.
It is best to combine the idea with the ceiling with the second floor. This is also the reason why it is best suited for a new house. You can see a great example above. The kitchen is under the second floor. The living area extends up to the ceiling and looks friendly and modern. Large windows distribute sufficient light in both the seating area and the kitchen. The lower ceiling makes the kitchen look cozier, while the seating area looks inviting, modern and elegant.
An alternative to full walls are half-height walls, which are perfect if you want to divide a large room. They visually divide the room and can also be very useful. On the one hand, they offer the opportunity to accommodate various furniture such as sofas, sideboards, side tables, lowboards and the like. On the other hand, shelves or even a fireplace, which can be designed on two sides, can also be integrated into it.
Such half-height walls can be planned into a new building or added later without requiring complicated and time-consuming construction work. The living space above uses such design elements. One of the walls serves as a back wall for the sofa and has a compartment for firewood. Another half-height wall contains a fireplace. The walls frame the seating area and visually separate it from the rest of the room. However, his open character is not disturbed, but rather emphasized.
Visually less noticeable, but also very impressive, is to design the different living areas with different floor coverings. This idea, which allows you to divide a large room, can also be used retroactively. There are two options available to you: Either you lay two or more completely different floor coverings such as laminate and tiles or tiles and carpet, or you choose one and the same type of floor covering in different colors. While the kitchen should be tiled, the carpet in the seating area is best.
A carpet can also be used if the entire living room has the same floor covering and you still want to visually delimit the seating area without having to replace the floor covering. You can see a good example of this above. While the entire living room was furnished with laminate, the lounge has its own area with the help of a carpet. Feel free to divide all three areas (seating and dining area and kitchen) with different floor coverings. In this way you can divide a large room according to your taste.
The principle with the wall color is the same as with the floor covering. But here you just use the walls to divide the living space into different areas. This is a good option if you find white walls too sterile and want to paint them a color either way. This idea can also be used sustainably if you want to divide a large room into an apartment or buy a finished house. It is important that all colors match well with each other. That's why it's advantageous to use different shades of one color. This creates harmony and a comfortable atmosphere.
This color design is very interesting. The colors white and gray were combined, with the transition in particular looking very attractive. Such an idea can be implemented with some renovation work. Plasterboard is usually used. You can also create interesting shapes and practical, built-in shelves that look particularly good with a different wall color.
Very often different furniture is simply used. Shelves are often used for this purpose because, on the one hand, they offer storage space, but on the other hand, their open design means they do not visually restrict the space. But the sofa can also be used for this purpose. If you are a plant fan, these are also a good option with which you can bring nature into the house and make the living space appear more lively.
Above you can see a living room where the sofa serves as a room divider. It is a corner sofa that stands freely in the seating area and in this way separates the lounge from the dining area and the kitchen. The sofa has an integrated shelf on the back, which can also be set up separately. You decide for yourself whether the shelf should be the height of the sofa or ceiling height as above.
