Below we share the best ways to decorate a combined living room and dining room, including the pros and cons, lighting, colors and decor.
Index
Pros and cons of a combined living room and dining room
Combined living and dining room benefits.
Ideal for entertaining guests.🇧🇷 The owner can see what is happening in each of the rooms. That means you can watch TV, listen to music, chat with people in the living room, kitchen and/or dining room while you prepare meals.
best resale value🇧🇷 Many homebuyers are looking for open concept designs that can have a positive impact on their home's resale value.
Easier to see for small children🇧🇷 It can also be good if the children do their homework at the dining table while the parents are there to help if necessary. Theoretically you can't be in two rooms at the same time, so it had better be a big one.
The open concept has much more natural light.🇧🇷 A larger room usually has more windows and natural light, as well as more seating areas anddining room lamps.
You can use the layout you currently have🇧🇷 Some houses are not equipped with a dining room, but only with a large living room. That puts it in a corner, but combining the rooms gives you the best of both worlds without any major upgrades.
Disadvantages of the combined living room and dining room
Easier to confuse.In an open floor plan with a combined living and dining room, items are not contained in a designated area. This can add to clutter if left unattended.
can be crowded🇧🇷 If the floor plan is not large enough (or an area intended for two rooms), it can become tight, which can result in furniture and users sitting on top of each other and poor airflow.
Based on the pros and cons listed above, it might help you decide which oneIdeas to transform the room, decorating tips and tricks you must use in your space.
Create separate living and dining areas
Create separation:Another good advice is to leave a walkway between the two rooms, even if you are considering placing a rug there. If you can't do this, make sure the backs of your dining room chairs face the largest sofa.
This provides the greatest barrier between the two realms. If the room is too small for the walkway and rug, adding one in each room brings a center to each area and marks them as different.
Use a divider:If none of these tactics are enough to separate the rooms, there's an option to get a screen. This is an item that can add beauty to an area, it can even be a work of art if you let it. The screens can have conceivable shapes, sizes and colors.
Combination of colors to paint the living room and dining room
select neutralColor living room colorthroughout and adding the same two or three accent colors in both rooms can keep things different enough while also coordinating.
For example:Paint the walls a neutral gray, use light pink, white and gray variations for the living room furniture. Keep all hard surfaces a darker gray.
In the dining room, use the same darker gray on all hard surfaces, swapping out the pink for leaf green and a slightly lighter orange and some white.
To tie it all together, set up a work of art that includes orange and pale pink flowers with green leaves. This gives the rooms two separate accent colors and brings the two rooms together.
Combined lighting for living room and dining room
This is done in many homes to make room for the dining table. This can be done by hanging a beautiful chandelier or pendant lights above the dining table.
Adding dimmers to lights can give you more control when the room isn't being used and set the right mood when needed.
In a room there is usually something less elaborate. Sometimes there are just a few ceiling lights, sometimes a ceiling fan and light, often there are floor lamps on either side of the TV and some furniture next to it.
Avoiding glare is more important in the living room than in the dining room, but as a single space, consider both lighting fixtures. See most populartypes of lightshere.
Combined ideas to decorate the bedroom and apartment
Most often it is difficult to tastefully fill one wall in two rooms, and this leaves room for two schemes or spotlights. As mentioned in the color section, art choices can play a big part in bringing rooms together.
Choosing the same finishes or styles for the art is important to maintain cohesion. You don't want a modern painting with an old photograph a meter away.
use soil:Dividing a floor space is a great way to define two different areas. Living and dining rooms carpeted with linoleum, vinyl, hardwood, or another hard surface will instantly add definition to spaces.
You can also use large area rugs to create separate areas for living and dining rooms. The separation is outlined right in the flooring, but gives each room the flooring it likely needs.
It can also be a good reason to keep food and crafts in the dining room while keeping games and family time in the living room to avoid spills. You can find more information on this pageDining room floor ideas.
FAQs
Should the living room and dining room be the same color? ›
Decorating your living environment involves lifestyle choices that are reflected in personal taste. Adjoining living and dining rooms needn't be decorated alike just because they are next to each other. You can use a totally different color scheme in each room as long as your color choice creates a unity to the spaces.
How do I place a dining area in my living room? ›To make your dining area look like a separate space from the rest of the living room, try hanging a sideboard on the wall and accenting it with art. Hanging the sideboard takes up less space, and it also gives you a chance to add extra decor.
What should be considered first during the design and the layout for a dining room? ›Plan your dining room lighting early on in the design process because it's a really important element as it will set the tone for the whole room. You want to make sure there's enough light so your guests don't appear to be sat in a cave, but you still want it to feel glowy and ambient.
How do you divide room ideas? ›- Curtains. Using curtains as a partition is a simple technique to segregate portions in a room. ...
- Screens. Screen dividers help divide a room without entirely closing it off. ...
- Glass Partitions. ...
- Bookcase Divider. ...
- Artificial Wall.
Purple and pink, teal with white, yellow with grey, yellow with blue, green with teal, and brown and white are some of the best color combinations for living room.
How can I make my living room look more expensive? ›- Decorate with second-hand, vintage, and antique pieces. ...
- Skip mass-produced pieces and be unique. ...
- Never underestimate the power of art. ...
- Add panelling to your walls. ...
- Play with textures. ...
- Pay attention to details in textiles. ...
- Switch off your 'big light' and perfect your lighting.
What is the best living room accent wall color of 2022? Earthy-toned green shades are on the rise in 2022. Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Behr, PPG, and Better Homes & Gardens all chose muted green colors as their Color of the Year for 2022.
What color should not be used in dining spaces? ›According to Color Matters, shades of blue can suppress your appetite – which isn't an ideal feeling to collect in the room that's built for dining.
What colors make a living room look bigger and brighter? ›Lighter paint colors like off-whites, light neutrals, pales, and pastels give the illusion of larger, brighter rooms.
What is the best position for dining table? ›When it comes to dining table seating, the family's head of household should sit on the East side, while the rest of the family can sit on the East, North, or West sides.
Where should a TV be placed in a dining room? ›
If your TV is your focal point, then place it in the center of the seating area. If you have another focal point such as a mantel or a beautiful window, then think about placing it on the wall adjacent to the focal point so it can still be viewed comfortably.
Can I put a couch in my dining room? ›Use Your Couch As A Room Divider
When placed strategically, the back of your couch can act as the perfect room divider, and it won't create a makeshift wall, ruining your airy open plan. Install your couch with the back facing the dining room.
- Space and shape. The first factor you should consider when choosing to redecorate your home is the shape and size of the space you're trying to redesign. ...
- Light and colour. ...
- Atmosphere and aesthetic.
- Change the wall colors.
- Get new dishware and table settings.
- Get a new dining set.
- Change the rest of the decor.
- Change the lighting.
- Tear down some walls.
- Create Different Zones by Arranging Furniture. Our first tip might be the most straightforward and obvious. ...
- Use Area Rugs to Separate Spaces. ...
- Separate Rooms with Curtains. ...
- Divide Areas with Shelving or Closed Storage.
Divide the space visually.
Even a sofa with its back to another space, or a chaise lounge, a large bench, tables between chairs, an attractive screen, large lamps, curtains, or plants can help divide the spaces.
- Decouple the Walls. The first step to building a room in a room that you can use for soundproofing is to decouple the walls, which can be done in several ways. ...
- Add a Floating Ceiling. ...
- Insulate. ...
- Install Drywall. ...
- Fill in Air Gaps. ...
- Choose the Right Door.
Your options include folding dividers, curtains, large bookcases as room dividers, and more. You can use them to change up the layout of a room, provide extra privacy, maximize storage space, or just create a change of scenery.
What do you call a wall that divides a room? ›A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence or business.
Does the dining room need to match the living room? ›No, your living room and dining room furniture don't have to match. In the case of an open-concept floor plan, you might even choose to differentiate between the two spaces. Of course, if you want to match, that's fine, too, but it's not necessary.
How do you tie different rooms together? ›
- Add a floor rug. Area rugs aren't just pretty to look at — they can help reduce noise and trap allergens. ...
- Throw some pillows around. Throw pillows connect furnishings throughout a room by adding dabs of thematic color and texture. ...
- Hang art. Wall art offers instant color and texture that unites a room.
If you prefer to keep things simple and have a relatively small family, an eat-in kitchen may work fine. On the other hand, if you have a large family or like to entertain, you might appreciate having a separate dining room, even if you only used it occasionally.
What colors should you not use in a dining room? ›- It's best to stick with warmer-toned neutrals. So, avoid opting for blue-based neutral colors or shades with a cold undertone, as these colors can leave your dining room feeling dull and uninviting. ...
- It's better to avoid harsh whites. ...
- Try not to go overboard with color.
Create Continuity with Rugs
If you already have different flooring in your living room and dining room and the two rooms have a mismatched look, you can unify the spaces without tearing out your flooring and replacing it. Instead, use area rugs to create a sense of continuity between the two rooms.
Your tables, shelves, chairs, and other furniture don't even need to be the same colour or wood tone to coordinate. There may be different coordinating styles, finishes, and fabrics involved to make up a cohesive and well-designed room.
What is the new interior color for 2022? ›Pantone's Very Peri
Pantone's 2022 Color of the Year is making history with its best reveal yet: an entirely new hue created, for the first time ever, to serve as Color of the Year. They call it Very Peri (17-3938).
What Is an Adjoining Room? An adjoining room is two guest rooms that are located next to each other and are connected by a locked door between them. Adjoining rooms may be booked together by request for one traveling party, or they may be booked separately by two different parties.
How do you mix and match decorating styles? ›A general rule of thumb when mixing-and-matching styles is to follow a color scheme; this will help avoid visual overwhelm. Ideally, this means using two neutral shades and two accent colors. Keeping colors simple will also allow you to focus most of the attention in the room on a particular statement piece.
How many patterns can you mix in a room? ›As a rule of thumb, use at least three patterns in a room. For example, group together a floral, stripe, and polka dot. Another pattern group that works well together is herringbone, stripes, and paisley. A third group of patterns could be two different size plaids and a floral.
How do you mix design styles? ›THE 80/20 RULE
The ratio of 80/20 should always be kept in mind when mixing styles in your home. 80% should be one style type, and 20% make up of the rest of the style (s) you lean towards. Most of us love more than one style and celebrate these styles in the way we decorate our homes.