A Combined Living and Dining Room Needs Special Planning
If you are a bit limited for space and you decide that you will need a living and dining room combined you will have to design things a little differently than usual. We can take a look at the layout, storage areas and lighting.
The first thing to say is that the dining area should be as near to the kitchen as possible as you do not want to be carrying plates of food through the living area to get to the dining table.
It may be a good idea to choose a dining table that can also double up as somewhere to keep books or magazines when you are not using it for eating. Try to separate the two areas by means of a screen, sofa or small table if you can.
Try to arrange a storage cupboard in the dining portion for your meal related items like crockery and cutlery. It will make things a lot easier for you when laying the table.
You could put a similar cabinet on the same wall in the living area to give a linking effect. This will be used for your flat screen TV, ornaments books and the like.
As the room is multi purpose, you will need to set up different types of lighting. When you are clearing or laying the table you will need a relatively bright light but for eating you may want something softer. You can use a dimmer switch to give this effect or put in some wall lamps around the room and an overhead light for when using the dining table.
In the living area you can create fantastic pools of light by using table lamps. This is lots better than overhead lighting which can cast a shadow on people’s faces.
If you have any special paintings, prints or ornaments you can use a special lamp just for them to show them in their best light.
Hopefully you will now be happy to invite your friends over for dinner and then sit and watch a movie afterwards, all in the same room.