To keep an open floor plan {especially longer, narrower spaces} from resembling a dark and dingy bowling alley, natural and artificial light sources are necessary.  As with any room, lighting can make or break the deal.

LOTS OF LIGHTING

To let in as much natural light as possible, try curtains that can be drawn open during the day to drench your interiors in sunlight.  Maybe shades are more your style?  Make sure they’re retractable.  I tend to steer clear of sheers as I feel they filter natural light too much.  Here’s a great example of an open space benefiting from all that natural light has to offer.

While all the window treatments in an open space need not be the same in each zone, they should be cohesive.  Consider how the window coverings look from different zones.  {This kind of goes back to selecting a cohesive color scheme.}  In spots that receive unwanted direct sunlight, come up with a way to temporarily block it out when desired.

When the sun goes down or when natural light alone isn’t cutting it, artificial light sources may be used.  This includes recessed lighting, track lighting, table lamps, pendants, ceiling fans with lights, floor lamps, chandeliers and sconces.  For open floor plans, I particularly like recessed lighting, pendants, chandeliers and a few lamps.  Just like an area rug, lighting can define a zone within an open space.  Kitchens and family/living rooms are great places for recessed lighting as it reduces the need for furniture or floor space required to house lamps.  Pendants and chandeliers are wonderful choices for open kitchens and dining areas. Placed just above an island or dining table, they automatically give the space below presence and make floating furniture look like it ought to be there.  When used in combination with a dimmer switch, pendants or chandeliers can add tons of ambience.  {Handy Hubby installed a dimmer switch on our dining chandy.  We dim it at night and it puts off a lovely, soft glow…almost like candlelight.}  As far as lamps go, 1 or 2 – maybe 3 in a larger room – scattered around a family/living room is plenty.  {If you need more light, try recessed lighting or a ceiling fan with a light on it overhead.}  The problem comes when trying to figure out where to place lamps in an open space.  Corners are good as long as there is a chair/sofa to anchor the lamp.  Obviously, you don’t want a lone floor lamp standing by itself in a corner.  And by “corners are good” I don’t mean stuck back deep into a corner.  Any furniture/lamp should sit out a bit from the corner…remember you’re bringing the furniture into the room if possible.  Floating sofas, sectionals and chairs in need of a task lamp can pose a problem. Under some circumstances, an outlet may not be easily accessible.  You may be able to plug the lamp into an extension cord and run it under the furniture or rug to a nearby outlet.  Please be sure it’s not a tripping/child safety issue though!  {I have the 2 floor lamps in our living room plugged into an extension cord that runs under the sofa to an outlet just behind a curtain.  It’s out of traffic’s way and nearly invisible.} Another option is to install a floor outlet.  This is easy to do if a basement or crawl space exists under the proposed spot for the new floor outlet. {I would love to install a floor outlet in our family room beneath our sectional.  Maybe a future DIY project?}  I think some people would be very turned off {pun intended} by this solution thinking, “What if I ever move my furniture?”  Proper placement of the outlet would be key but very doable.

Enough talk.  Let’s walk the walk.  Here are a few pendants being used to establish open dining areas.  Notice the shapes of the pendants…they don’t always match the shape of the dining table. Also pay attention to the different types of window treatments used to let in natural light.

In this kitchen/dining combo, a trio of shiny metal pendants hangs above the island while a lighter, softer pendant lights the dining area.

This is one of my favorite open dining areas.  1 large pendant + flowing curtains hung high and wide + textural light filtering shades = an airy place to chow down.  Mmmmm.

How about some recessed lighting?  Check out this open living space.  With ample recessed lighting in the living area, the designer chose to forgo lamps.  A chandelier defines the dining area. Sometimes just a pendant or chandy above a dining table is enough to ground the area, negating the need for a rug.

Here’s a look at a long, narrow space nicely divided up into zones.  {See the dining area beyond the sofa?}  I think the placement of the floor lamp is perfect.  It provides task lighting for sofa sitters but isn’t too far out into the room that it requires an extension cord or floor outlet.  If you look closely, there is also track lighting above the quad of black and white photos in the dining area.

Arc lamps can be a practical choice in an open living space.  The base can sit over to the side of the room {in reach of a wall outlet} while the light source hangs out and over the seating area.

Finally, a few rooms that have a mix of light sources employed to make for an open and bright space.  See if you can pick out all the light sources.

I hope this sheds some light {sorry, I couldn’t help myself} on how to keep open spaces feeling bright and airy.  Tomorrow I’ll be back with this series’ final post that will focus on one living space that uses all of the tips I’ve mentioned this week.

images:  1) Jennifer Worts via DecorPad 2) Traci Kearns for Southern Living 3) Lynn Morgan via Cococozy 4) Sarah Dorio photography via DecorPad 5) Candice Olson via Hooked on Houses 6) DecorPad 7) Wayne Vincent photography via DecorPad 8) Lynda Reeves and Michael Graydon photography via DecorPad 9 & 10) Candice Olson for HGTV

Nailing down a cohesive color scheme and establishing a sensible furniture layout can be difficult, but this next trick can be quite easy and fun. {Thank goodness!} Ground zones in an open floor plan with rugs.

MULTITASKING AREA RUGS

Designers use area rugs to define seating areas and  to add color, pattern, texture or warmth to a room.  In an open concept space, rugs can anchor floating furniture {yeah, all that furniture you pulled away from the wall!} and give a zone the feeling of a room.  Just be sure to use a rug of appropriate size.  Ideally, when used with a sofa, the rug should extend beyond the length of the sofa.  You can choose to place the entire sofa on the rug or only the 2 front legs.  This will determine the width needed.  Some overlap is good…meaning most, if not all, of the furniture in the zone should be on the rug in some way – whether that’s completely or partially is up to you.  If using a rug in a dining room/area, the rug should be large enough to accommodate the table and chairs…even when the chairs are pulled out from the table {see image above}.  Not only is this more appealing to the eye, but you won’t have to worry about pesky chair legs getting caught on the edge of a too small rug.

Besides rug size, the other thing to consider is rug material.  From leather to wool to bamboo – and everything in between – there are a slew of options.  {My kitchen rug is made out of recycled plastic bottle caps!}  Be conscious of the wear and tear you expect your rug to encounter.  With kids and pets, sisal and seagrass rugs are durable options.  For washability, cotton dhurries fill the bill.  For softness under foot, wool and jute are popular choices.  {Just know that they will shed.} Take the time to read up on the maintenance and care of any rug you’re considering.  I once bought a wool rug based solely on the {crazy cheap} price and modern pattern only to be hugely disappointed with its performance.  It shed like crazy and was not kid-friendly {i.e. no stain protection}.  I donated it to Goodwill in a matter of months.

But enough of my sad story.  Let’s have some fun and take a look at a few examples of area rugs in action.  This large rug clearly defines a living room just off of its adjoining kitchen.

The warm texture is a good contrast to the concrete floors.

The next open space employs a seagrass rug in its living room.  The black binding border {say that 3 times fast} helps the rug to stand out against the light floors and white sofas.  Plus it picks up on the other black accents {striped pillows, ottoman and island countertop} in the space.

Yet another binded border.  Notice the matching black trim on the curtain panel, too.  {I could totally live in this room, btw.}

What about you bold, fun-loving homeowners?  This geometric cowhide rug should tickle your fancy.  It’s the show-stopper in this vaulted living room.

One more hide rug for your viewing pleasure…see how it’s placed a little off kilter to ‘mess’ things up a bit?  Perfectly imperfect.

Here’s a wool rug adding some monochromatic pattern to an open floor plan.  Look at how the square ottoman is placed perpendicular to the sofa, closing off the seating area {in a good way} from the kitchen but not obstructing the view.

You needn’t use a rug in each zone of an open floor plan.  The living room below gets cozied up with a shag rug underfoot while the dining area remains bare.  {Let’s hear it for ottomans rounding out seating areas!}

This space just looks great from any angle.  Each zone has its own focal point – the living room’s paneled media wall and the dining area’s fireplace.

And, finally, a room with 2 seating areas.  One has a rug and one doesn’t.  I’d sit in either.

So, are you ready to join the rug train?  I don’t think rugs get enough credit.  Often times, people forgo them thinking they’re pointless since they don’t provide seating or any direct purpose.  But I beg to differ.  Rugs have a lot to offer…texture, softness, contrast, color, warmth, interest, definition and pattern.

For fun, look back through all of the images and pick out the cohesive color scheme and sensible furniture layout in each.  It’s good practice.

images: 1) Natural Area Rugs 2 & 3) unknown  4) Evan Joseph photography for Lynn Morgan Design 5) Keith Scott Morton photography for Elle Decor 6) Katie Denham photography, Jay Jeffers design  7) Ashley Goforth design  8) Sunset via DecorPad 9 & 10) a Mountain Street London apartment  11) Iva via Architecture and Decoration Designs