by Janice Suchoski

Created on: July 05, 2009

A Great Room is a combination room. It is an open version of the traditional living room, family room and often, the dining room as well. While modern methods of entertaining thrive in these large open spaces they can be a challenge to decorate in the most beneficial manner to the homeowner.

If a great room is open to the kitchen space a good place to begin with furnishings is the dining area. Most people socialize around food so this area should not be last on the list. Before buying a table, a homeowner should realistically decide what type of dining set is needed. If huge parties or family gatherings are a regular entertaining mode, the chosen table should meet the demand. A twelve foot table may not be the best option, however, if measured space is unequal to that challenge. A table with removable leaves would fill the allotted space comfortably most of the time with the expansion capacity ready when called for. Extra chairs can be scattered about the great room for extra seating then moved to the table for service when required.

Long narrow spaces are accepting to long narrow tables. Shorter spaces may be better served by a round table. A larger round tabletop can be made for times when extra guests are expected. Such a top is easily rolled into a closet or under a bed for storage and can increase the capacity of a smaller round table by up to four chairs.

With the dining area filled, the space left for family living is clearly defined. First, the homeowner must decide upon and establish a focal point. A fireplace, television or window with a view is a typical focal point. Many large rooms have more than one focal point and the homeowner needs to decide which will predominate. The question of how the room will primarily be used will establish the best one.

Seating should be scaled to fit the living space area, leaving plenty of room for foot traffic, trips to the fridge and Fido with his waving tail. Just because a great room is large, all furniture should not be huge. The great room supports varied activities and the furnishings of each space should be in scale with its own use area. Choose enough seating for general family use, include a couple of extra chairs or ottomans and scatter extra dining chairs where they can be used for both spaces.

The vertical space in a great room can be daunting. Huge furnishings may only make the floor space feel smaller and more cramped. Instead, fill empty

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