Decorating Open Concept Homes: FunHaus Style, Cohesive

The way to keep a bold open space cohesive is to treat it as one room with several zones: float furniture to mark each area, repeat one color through all of them, and use rugs and lighting to define where each zone starts. FunHaus, my name for Bauhaus structure mixed with playful color, needs this more than most styles, because there are no walls to contain the energy.

If you're wondering how to decorate an open concept home without it turning into a toy store, the steps below are the ones I'd follow. They work for quieter styles too.

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Why do open plans need zones at all?

Even when a plan has no walls, people sort space by function. The National Park Service looked at 467 sampled ranch house floor plans and found that all of them showed some form of spatial zoning, grouping rooms by function. Your open plan needs the same logic, just without the drywall.

Our eyes also read a room as figures against a ground. Gestalt psychology calls this the figure-ground relationship. In practice, a rug or a pendant light becomes the figure that tells you "this is the dining area" against the larger ground of the room.

How do you use furniture as room dividers?

Float your furniture away from the walls. A sofa pushed against the perimeter of a large room leaves the middle undefined, while a sofa with its back to the dining area creates a clear edge. Low-profile pieces such as a modular sectional keep sight lines open and still mark the boundary.

Leave about 36 inches, ideally closer to 42, for the walkway behind floating furniture. Tall open shelving also works as a divider and suits renters, since nothing gets fastened to the building.

Follow the paths you already walk

Watch where you and your pets actually go between the kitchen, the door and the couch. Keep furniture groupings out of those lines. A room that blocks the natural route always feels cluttered, however tidy it is.

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What color should you paint an open concept house?

Pick one color family for the walls and carry it through every zone. Painting the living area yellow and the dining area red in a shared volume makes them fight. A light, calm wall color gives the bolder pieces a backdrop. If you want more palette ideas, see our look at open plan colour schemes.

For the fun part, choose a thread color: one hue that shows up in every zone. Say it's teal. It could be lower kitchen cabinets, a pattern in the dining rug and a lamp base in the living area. Repetition tells the eye the zones belong together, and it frees you to add other accents in one area without chaos.

A common guide is 60-30-10: about 60 percent neutral, 30 percent your thread color and 10 percent loud accents. It's a rule of thumb, not a law, but it stops every color from competing at once.

How do you match scale and materials?

High ceilings and big volumes swallow small furniture. A spindly chair disappears, so choose pieces with visual weight and simple geometric shapes. Bauhaus materials such as tubular steel, chrome, glass and black leather give bright colors something to rest against.

If you share the space with pets, I recommend tightly woven performance fabrics over loose weaves like boucle, which snag and pill quickly. Check the care label for cleaning instructions before you buy.

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How big should rugs be in an open living room layout?

Rugs are the easiest zoning tool. In the living area, at least the front legs of every seat should sit on the rug, and all legs is better. That usually means 8x10 as a minimum, with 9x12 or larger for a big seating group.

In the dining area, the rug should extend about 24 inches past the table edge on every side so chairs stay on it when pulled out. As an architect, I'd give the living rug the bold pattern and keep the dining rug quieter, so the two don't compete. Flat-weave wool or carpet tiles are practical with pets, since a stained tile can be swapped out alone.

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How do you light a space with no ceilings to define zones?

Recessed lights alone give flat, cafeteria-style light. Bring light down with a pendant over the dining table, hung about 30-36 inches above the tabletop, and use floor and table lamps in the living area. Light at human height feels warmer and makes each zone read as its own place.

Glossy or chrome fixtures fit the FunHaus look and double as sculpture when switched off.

Final checks before you call it done

• Squint at the room from one end. If one color dominates, move or repeat it elsewhere, and make sure the thread color appears near, middle and far.
• Walk from the kitchen to the patio door. You want at least 36 inches of clearance.
• Listen for echo. Open plans bounce sound, so add rugs, drapery and fabric art.
• Move breakables above waist height if pets run through.
• Hide cords on floating furniture with flat cord covers under rugs, or use floor outlets. Have a licensed electrician install those.

If your open space leans in a different direction, the same zoning ideas apply in a Wilderkind mood or a Neo Deco glam version. For scent, see common open concept scent mistakes.

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Frequently asked questions