INTERIOR DESIGN ADVICE - HOW TO WIN AT OPEN-PLAN LIVING

Spaces that flow are the dream, but can be challenging to pull off in terms of how they function and how they look. We’ve brought together three experts to share their tips and solutions to help make it work for you.

- JENNIFER MORGAN

ON WHEELS Divide an open-plan space with a moveable unit, so it’s easy to shift things around. Try Casey bookcase on wheels, £429.99, Wayfair. Arundel table, £1,380; Wardley dining chairs, £290 each, all Neptune

STYLED SCHEME ‘Repeat colours, finishes and textures across an open-plan space to “sew” the interior together,’ says Clare.

Open-plan spaces, where we can entertain, keep an eye on the kids and relax, take a lot of planning and insider know-how to get right. We asked a property expert, an interior designer and an architect how they would do open plan…

CONSIDERED BUYS Kunle suggests pocket doors to create zones: ‘Use some of the budget on the fabric of your project, the things you’ll live with for 10 years or so.’

OPEN-PLAN AREAS ARE GREAT FOR FAMILY TIME, BUT WHAT IF WE WANT OUR OWN SPACE?

‘That’s always the big challenge,’ says property expert Kunle Barker. ‘Open plan looks great in magazines and TV shows, but you are all in one space, with noise, cooking smells and everything else going on. The key is to design a space that has the ability to be transformed into different zones by some kind of barrier.’ Clare Pascoe of Pascoe Interiors agrees: ‘Take the time to plan the space to determine how different layouts can create different opportunities.’ Architect Craig Marston of Ke- Design always tries to include a separate room to accompany an open-plan space. ‘This could be a snug where people can shut themselves away,’ he says.

WHAT DOES ‘BROKEN PLAN’ MEAN AND HOW DO WE DO IT?