In recent years it has come to my attention that homes are gravitating toward the open floor plan. This can be a great thing as smaller rooms will seem larger and it can make a home seem like a friendlier place to be. For the most part, open kitchens are becoming the norm where walls are removed for that nice open look. But is open design always the correct choice? Would you say....forsake the walls in your bathroom or bedroom? No, there is definitely a certain degree of sharing that nobody wants to have in a home. I bring this up because I recently had some friends over who suggested that I divide off my enormous living room somehow as it resembles an airplane hangar. The minimalist approach to home furnishing can have its drawbacks if your place is as large as mine. I have half of it set up with a living room set and the other side is pretty open as it is a high traffic area leading out to the porch. The room is 25ft by 14ft with furniture only occupying a 14ft by 14ft square of space. I decided to use a gigantic backless bookshelf to provide a small seperation. Now there is a slight division in the space giving the illusion of two rooms yet still allowing for a nice open design. I'm still moving a few things around to reconfigure things for this improvement. Although not always the answer in a home, dividing off a room in this way is a nice change from the school of thought that major renovations are necessary to change home design and provide a more comforting atmosphere. Here are some pics of the division. What do you think?
