Question: I live in a 1950s ranch-style home. My goal is to arrange the 14-by-28-foot living and dining room to make good use of the space. The room has a 10-foot-wide picture window, an 8-foot-wide sliding glass door out to a deck and vaulted ceilings.

I think I should rotate the dining room table to align it with the kitchen counter and door. We do watch TV, but I think the media cabinet's location wastes the wall space. I also wonder if there is too much furniture in the room, though I would like to add an ottoman and have seating near the fireplace.

The kitchen was remodeled a few years back. A 3-by-8-foot space in the corner with windows into the carport and foyer has never been completed. It has a round table but feels cramped. Do you think it would be better to knock out the wall between the foyer and kitchen?

Lisa Kahapea
Millbrae

Answer: It appears that you're three-quarters of the way toward having a beautiful living space. The final quarter will transform this room from good to great.

I would go beyond knocking out a wall and turn this whole area into a more open floor plan. So yes, take out the window wall that's between the kitchen and foyer. I have an idea for how to make this space interesting and functional.

I would also remove the short wall that's between the far counter of the kitchen and dining area, and the wall that's over the pass-through counter and stove. You must leave the header beam that's inside this wall to maintain the structural integrity of your house, but by removing the plasterboard that's covering it you'll enhance the open feeling of the room.

Now let's add creative elements that will pull this space together.

Opening up a room The kitchen area contains a seating nook with table and bench (near entry). The open living/dining area is furnished for TV watching, dining and conversation, with storage.

For the kitchen area I suggest building a seating nook with a table for light dining and doing paperwork. It can also be a gathering place for friends while you're working in the kitchen. To separate it from the entry, make sure the back of the bench that's facing the foyer is tall. Behind it, facing into the foyer, is a cabinet for hidden storage and a surface for key and mail drop. Now the living room. You have nice, modern, black leather furniture and the room has a high ceiling and is light and airy. You can take this feeling to the next level with furniture placement and paint colors. Paint the long wall behind where the dining table will be a dynamic, strong color. Choose one that works best for you, then carry this same color into just the back wall of the bookcase next to the fireplace. The rest of the walls could be a neutral ivory or beige.

To unify the room, I suggest you start with a large, light-color area rug instead of your small, patterned area rug. This large rug will open the appearance of the room even more and make the furniture relate better to the space. It's easy to find a large remnant of wall-to-wall carpeting and have it bound in a matching color to make an area rug exactly the size you need.

I agree that putting the TV over the fireplace is a great idea; you reinforce the focal point of the room with both elements together. The bookcase on the side of the fireplace is a good place to put the necessary TV components, but I suggest you remove the cabinet door for total open shelving. This will enhance the look and simultaneously allow air flow around the electronics. Since you'll see the hardware, choose containers for storing DVDs and CDs that have a sleek, modern look.

Place the larger of your two sofas facing the fireplace and TV, and put the smaller sofa perpendicular to it. Opposite the smaller sofa is your club chair.

Between all the leather furniture is a 40-inch square glass coffee table that has a stainless steel base in the form of an "X." This "Barcelona" table is a Bauhaus period piece designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1927 that's become a classic. Its size is perfect for the scale of your leather furniture, and it also will unify the room.

On the long living room wall is a long, low console cabinet to create hidden storage space. This piece should be simple in design so it's in keeping with everything else. Over it, you can hang a large, horizontal piece of art.

Since we're going for an open feeling, I suggest that the dining table also be glass. Add six chairs around it. The seat fabric of the chairs is a good place to add a color similar to the painted wall. Keep the design of the chairs simple and open.

On the dining area wall you can hang a horizontal, framed mirror to reflect the openness and light.

This design smooths the relationship between what you already have in both the furniture and architecture of your rooms.

 

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