Creating an open floor plan: kitchen, living room, and dining room

An open floor plan (kitchen, living room, dining room) is one of the most popular house layouts today. And with good reason. More and more homeowners are looking to integrate all the social areas of their house, such as the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room. 

The reason is that the role of the kitchen has radically changed over the decades. Today, space is not just meant for cooking meals but also for having informal get-togethers with family and friends. That’s why it’s necessary to reduce any visual barriers between the kitchen and the other living areas.

In this way, the homeowners can be in the living room, dining room, or kitchen, doing different things, without losing contact with the rest of the family members.

Another advantage of an open floor plan — kitchen, living room, and dining room is that it gains more space and fluidity, due to the reduction of extra walls that separate the rooms.No wonder, such a house design has become a great solution for home renovations with small spaces. As a bonus, this type of layout improves natural lighting and ventilation in a more optimal and comfortable way.

Our expert architect gives you a great idea to utilize the open floor plan (kitchen, living room, dining room) in a typical “U” shaped kitchen. 

The structure

Total dimensions: 31.50ft x 20.34ft

Height: 10.50ft

Total area: 640.67 ft²

“U” shaped kitchen area: 13.45ft x 20.34ft

Minimum circulation: 1.97ft

Maximum circulation: 3.94ft

The design model is an open concept kitchen leading to an outdoor terrace or patio, located on the main floor of the house. There are two accesses — the first one connects to the front area of the house and the guest bathroom, and the second access connects with the entrance from the garage. 

The kitchen island, measuring 4.92ft x 8.53ft — with a 2.62ft x 1.64ft kitchen sink — is at the center. It has a circulation perimeter of 3.61ft. The architect recommends using gold-colored sink faucets for an elegant touch.

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The look

Here’s a side view from the living room to the dining room. 

Side view from the side from the dining room to the living room. 

View from the terrace door to the kitchen.

View from the other end of the kitchen.

The storage

There’s sufficient kitchen storage and a pantry area next to the access doors. The floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets have a beautiful finish to add character to the traditional-contemporary shaker-style doors and drawers. They are embellished with gold knockers.

The cabinets measure 7.55ft x 2.30ft and the storage includes a kitchen pantry and appliance storage for the refrigerator, gas oven, microwave, and dishwasher. The white kitchen island also has storage. 

The color scheme

Light gray walls and white ceiling perfectly reflect light, both natural and artificial, making the living space look brighter and bigger.

The architect recommends kitchen cabinetry in blue willow to enhance the look of the cooking space. White top cabinets in the range hood area can offer a beautiful contrast to the blue. The kitchen appliances and the hood are black with contrasting silver and gold details. They are the perfect focal elements of the kitchen.

The color palette of the entire area contrasts with the violet chairs with a seating capacity of 4 to 8 seats.

The backsplash tile is white and gray arranged in a herringbone zig-zag pattern — all the way to the ceiling. The architect suggests installing white quartz countertops.

The wooden floor — in medium tone wood — gives a nice continuity to the open concept floor plan.

The lighting

An interesting light fixture with 10 bulbs is suspended from the ceiling to the center of the island, at a height of 6.56ft. The rest of the room lighting is through recessed LED lights and more pendant lights. The windows (4.10ft x 4.27ft) allow a good amount of natural light and ventilation into the kitchen space. It’s important that the ceiling is higher than 8.20ft so as not to make the room feel smaller than it is — or make you feel stifled! 

The decor

The living room-dining room measures 14.44ft x 20.34ft. There are ample built-in white-colored shelves alongside a 4.27ft wide gas fireplace, which is located in the center. Each side of the shelf is 5.09ft. There’s a good mix of closed cabinets and open shelving to display family photos and decorative items. 

The fireplace is clad in tiles, with gray and earth tones, and has a white wooden mantle on which rests a 48 inch TV. 

The architect suggests simple yet comfortable sofas, divan, and chairs, with a minimum capacity for 7 seats. Nautical blue, gray, and white cushions and armchairs contrast well with azure blue and purple. There’s a wooden coffee table with metal rods in black and an area rug to complete the look. 

The dining room (14.44ftx1.80ft) has a rectangular dining table and stylish chairs and a divan that can accommodate up to 8+5 seats. The turquoise blue divan seating and cream-colored dining chairs with metallic legs in gold, complement the entire home decor. The look of the dining room is cozy yet elegant and is accentuated through stunning suspended lamps. Interesting wall art lends an ethereal look to the area. 

Read more: Tv placement in living rooms

Access to the outside

Space has a connection to the patio, garden, or terrace through a 9.84ft wide folding glazed sliding door. The openness makes the area pleasant and welcoming, and able to accommodate a number of people. The visual connection with the outside is a boon during get-togethers and makes the space appear wide open.

Open floor plan (kitchen, living room, dining room)

This home design style that our in-house architect proposes makes good use of a smallish space. If you have a large open space, you could always add more built-in storage and seating — or a more elaborate great room/family room. And, perhaps a bar, a home office, or any other interesting home design ideas.

The elements and the color contrasts create a good balance through the walls, ceilings, cabinets, panels, and shelves. The result is a beautiful interior design — with continuity in the area and a spatial arrangement.

Written by Ramona Sinha. June 11, 2021

Ramona is a content writer for Kukun. This experienced blogger uses simple and succinct words to decipher the complex phenomenon called life. An avid traveler, she’s a digital nomad at heart and an animal lover from the depths of her soul.