In recent times, some modern homes are built with little or no extra room for a dining room. Even though these houses exist to meet your budget, you can’t deny that having a separate space for your living room and dining room is much more comfortable. For this reason, many people are searching all over the internet for information on small living room dining combo.
Combining a living room and a dining room could be a great way to make the most of your home.
With the right interior design style, you can have your living room separate from your dining room with the right decor to give both a posh look.
Since the space is not as large as you would like, the placement of furniture and decor needs to be carefully studied to avoid a crowdy look and give your house the same sort of sophisticated look a penthouse can have.
So if you’re looking for the best way to decorate your small living room and dining room space, you are in the right place. Sit back and digest the rest of this article.
Small Living Room Dining Room Combo Layout Ideas
Imagine having the perfect space to entertain your guests and also enough room to wine and dine despite having a small room space for both.
How do you create such a combo? How do you know the right things to put in place to achieve such a feat?
Here are some things you can do to successfully create the perfect dining room living room combo.
Setting up Your Furniture
Even if you have a small space for your living room it can still function as your living room and dining room if you manage to space well by getting separate furniture.
For instance, instead of placing your sofa or cushion against a wall, you could place it in the middle so that there will be enough space to move around easily. Then you could place your dining table and dining chairs along the wall leaving enough room between the couch and the dining chairs. That way even if there are no dividers, anyone walking into the room will see clearly that one section of the room is the living area while the other section is the dining room.
The type of furniture you use for your dining area and your living area depends on the style of the call you’re trying to achieve if you’re going for a more modern look you could use chairs and dining tables that are designed to look more ultra-modern or if you want a more traditional look you could get cities and dining table furniture with a more rustic design.
Also getting a coffee table by the side of the sofa could suffice if you did not have enough space for a large centre table. Sometimes some people wonder if they could have different colours or furniture for the living area and the dining room.
The answer to that is that it totally depends on how you want your decor design. You do not necessarily need to have matching furniture. In fact, sometimes mixing colours in the right way could add a certain type of brightness and life to your home. What you need to consider majorly is the size of the room so you would know the right size of furniture to get.
Use the Right Decor
Using the right decor for both spaces matters greatly. Decor for the walls and decor for objects. If you want to use the same paint colour or wallpaper for the walls of the room, you can. It makes the room flow together. If you desire separate wall designs for both areas to give a demarcated look, that’s fine too.
When choosing flooring materials like rugs, carpets, or tiles remember it is for two different areas. So get the ones suitable for dining and those for a living room. Without creating a physical demarcation, the style of decor can announce the presence of two separate rooms within the same space.
For your living area, you could use floor lamps or standing lamps placed on a side stool beside the sofa. Also, the living area should be brightened up with enough lights so that the bright glare from the chandelier will not serve as a distraction to a dimly lit living room.
Use Lighting Fixtures
Chandeliers are mostly found in dining areas so you could have a beautiful chandelier dangling above the space you want to section as a dining area. That alone will give guests a clue that that area is strictly for dining and eating.
If you like, you could use ring lights to add extra colour to the living room especially if you are planning on hosting a house party from time to time so long as it has a remote where the light can be dimmed or put out totally, that’s okay.
Creating a Separate Space
There are different ways of creating a visible space between the living room and dining area. You could make the separation from your furniture arrangement, the lighting or the decor style. Anyone coming in can easily perceive that there are two rooms in one based on their functionality.
However, if you desire a more privatized separation, you could make use of a physical divider such as a folding screen glass or a wooden board. This will totally cancel out any form of distraction from activities carried out in both rooms while giving more room for privacy.
This does not mean you can’t make the wall design of both rooms flow and match. It is even advisable to allow co-ordination of colours and style between the two separate rooms because of their close proximity.
Another way to demarcate both sides is to use a beautifully designed bookshelf or storage shelf that is wide enough to block both rooms.
Note, if the living room space is so small, it is best to stick to an open separation style to avoid a compressed look.
How to Arrange Furniture in Living Room Dining Room Combo
Arranging the furniture for a living room dining room combo is usually the tricky part. If you use a physical demarcator, it can be easier, but if you decide to leave it as an open space, that is where you get your work cut out for you.
Also, the style of decor you want to recreate can determine how best to arrange your furniture for a great combo result.
It is usually best to angle the back of your living room sofa or couch to face the dining area. Do not set it against the wall. If the sofa comes in a set, place the rest diagonally to the one backing the dining area to form a U-shaped or half circle enclosed space. You can then place a centre table in the middle.
If you have just one or two sofas, just make sure the longer one is backing the dining area, then the second one is placed diagonally to the right or left. You could also use a side stool or coffee table in place of a centre table.
If you have a large spaced room, you can settle for a centre table, a long dining table and a sectional sofa.
Also, get upholstery that matches the decor in your home. For instance, if you are going for an ultra-modern look, get furniture pieces that are modern in design. If you have a traditional or rustic setting, get antique furniture.
You can only mix if you are an expert in home decor. If not, stick to what works and stay away from experimenting.
Lastly, your furniture should match the colours of the room so it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb and look dowdy.
Dining Table in Living Room
For your dining area, use the right size of dining table and chairs to fit into the space available for it. Let some of the chairs be laid against the wall or close to the wall, while the opposite chairs back the living room sofa.
Select furniture pieces that are compact in size if the room is really small. The idea is to create enough spaces within the same room and between both areas so you can have enough room to move around easily.
Conclusion
Creating the perfect dining room living room combo should be an easy hack once you have the right layout idea. The transition from the living room to the dining room should be what you look out for when designing your home decor.
If it’s not looking like a dining area, then you probably haven’t placed things in the right order or used the right furniture. If it’s not looking like a living room, then you need to check what went wrong. Remember, the important things that can make or mar your combo is the right furniture, the lighting, the decor and the spacing.
I am hopeful this article will guide you in the right steps to achieve that perfect combo.