Great rooms are a popular trend in home building today, but the appealing sense of openness can be overwhelming for the decorator. The key to furnishing great rooms is creating functional areas. Great rooms lends themselves to a variety of uses, and are thus flexible in the way of furnishings, but sometimes, so much flexibility leaves too many unexplored options. Here are a few tips to guide the overwhelmed decorator.

First, determine what functional areas you would like to incorporate. Typical great rooms might include a dining area, a sitting or entertainment area, or a home office. Draw a rough sketch of the great room's dimensions, and draw circles around where you want to place each area. Think about how the space will be used. Placing a dining area furthest from the kitchen may not be practical, and likewise, putting the TV where a lot of sun comes in may make it difficult to watch. Consider the lighting, sockets and electrical connections required for each. This will give you an idea of how to arrange your furniture in the room. In some cases, the lighting and sockets will dictate certain areas, such as a chandelier over an assumed dining area or cable connections for the TV. However, if such signals don't work for your intended use, don't let those indicators limit your design.

Second, decide which pieces will go in which area. At a minimum, furniture should match in function, color palette and style. Dining sets are often paired with china cabinets or buffet tables; sofas and chairs are paired with coffee tables and side tables; and office desks and chairs a paired with good lighting, and perhaps trash cans or file cabinets.

At this point, you may want to consider if the areas need more visual separation than what is obtained from simply arranging the furniture. Rugs provide a means of distinguishing the different areas in an attractive and unobtrusive way. To make a bigger impact in visual separation, consider curtains hung from the ceiling, half walls or other room dividers. Pot racks, cabinets (upper, lower or both), and shelving units with no back are some examples of room dividers that are functional as well as visually appealing.

The best arrangement of sofas and chairs in an entertainment area is a topic of debate, but ultimately it is dependent on your own personal preference and intended use of the area. If you know full well that the television will be the center of activity in the area, then make the TV a focal point, and ensure that all or most of the seating is in viewing range and will not have glare from windows and frequently used lights. Consider ottomans or bean bags for additional seating on the floor. If, on the other hand, you intend to watch TV sparingly, and want the area to serve as more of a sitting and conversational area, the arrangement will tend to look different. Place two long sofas, or their equivalent in love seats and chairs, facing one another, with just enough distance between them for a coffee table and sufficient walking room. The TV or entertainment system would be centered at one end, so it is visible from all the seats, but not the primary focus.

Finally, to tie the whole room together, a consistent color scheme, similar pieces of artwork and throw pillows with similar fabrics and patterns can be used throughout the great room. With a neutral color palette, one color that pops can be scattered around the space to draw the eye around the room. Carrying themes from one area to another, using similar color woods and fabrics, and similar styles will turn an overwhelming task into a great room with big impact and functionality.

Learn more about this author, Laura Lee Winger.
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