by Kris Kennedy

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

Great Room Decorating

The unique nature of the great room offers a challenge, but if you select furniture with a 3D nature, the room opens and close into living areas that provide interaction. Select furnishings that look well from all angles.

Great Room Definition

The great room concept developed as the means to offer a room in which people could work, play and converse while in the same room. The living room, dinning area, office, game area and video area remain usually within eyesight of a semi-open kitchen. The great room advantage lies with people conversing while doing a multiple of activities. Parents can supervise children while enjoying their own activities. The challenge comes from trying to give the room separate areas without the traditional walls.

Kitchen

Many cooks claim to enjoy visiting with family and quests while they prepare the meal. This comes about with a well-placed breakfast bar that allows visible view of the kitchen, but not the usual mess. If the breakfast bar's height is a little higher than the kitchen work area, the work area remains hidden, but not the cook. Place a decorative centerpiece in the center of the breakfast bar to tie to the decoration of the great room and it becomes a portion of the great room as well.

Dining Area

First, select a dinning table that fits the space selected. It should be next to the kitchen, but does not need to be behind the breakfast bar if that is not the ideal location. Since the centerpiece and selection of the bar stools match the great room the dinning area can flow from more than one direction.

With the use of a fully complete buffet hutch that is open with glass, you can place a boundary between the living area and the dinning area. The hutch should be fully open with glasses. This allows the visual field to expand beyond the dinning area.

Living Area

A sectional sofa has proven the ideal piece of furniture for a living area. It can define the space of conversation and media in the middle of the room. Either it can face a wall with a wall mount television or an entertainment center on the wall. A sofa table behind one of the tables can provide for keeping items available for use in decorative containers. Some of these include drawers or cabinets. This can provide for game items, magazine or other activities.

Game and Office

If you have room for a full size pool table, this might finish the room, but an air hockey or foosball table could fit in a corner as an office or computer station can stand in the other. With this, parents can supervise the recreation and communications of underage members of the family.

The Great room is truly a family room because the family lives together in the room. Maybe noise may be a factor, but, oh well, the family is together.

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