6 Great Room Design Mistakes to Avoid
August 20, 2020A great room can be a fantastic addition to your custom home design. Because it combines multiple functional spaces into one large open-concept space, a great room maximizes the space in your home and gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to layout and decor. But, because it’s a large multifunctional space, there are also opportunities to get it wrong. Here are a few great room design mistakes to avoid as you’re planning out the one in your custom home:
Mistake #1 – Not Planning Enough Space
Great rooms are usually large rooms, but they don’t always have to be vast huge rooms. However, it is important that they are given enough space in your home plan. When it comes to the pros and cons of great rooms, having enough space is a definite pro, but using it poorly can turn it into a con. You don’t want to be stuck cramming a full separate dining area, a living room, and a kitchen into square footage that isn’t meant to handle all of those functions at once.
By making sure there is enough square footage in your home plan dedicated to a great room, you give yourself the necessary space to create a multipurpose room that looks great and is functional. Plus, it helps you to avoid things looking cramped or cluttered and still gives you the ability to create space and move easily throughout the room.
Mistake #2 – Never Considering the Purpose of the Room
Another one of the great room design mistakes to avoid is never taking the time to consider the purpose of the room. How you and your family will be using the great room and who will be using it the most will help inform the design, layout, and decor of it.
Do you have small children that will be using part of the space to play? Will someone need a place to do homework or office work? How many people are likely to be in the room at once? Will you be hosting guests often? All of these questions and more can help you figure out how to best organize your great room.
Mistake #3 – Ignoring Zones and Footpaths
Because a great room serves multiple functions, one of the best great room design ideas is to define specific zones. You can use furniture, area rugs, color, and more to create a cohesive look in your great room that also designates specific areas or zones.
Another one of the great room layout ideas is to arrange things in a way that creates footpaths and allows movement to flow easily and naturally throughout the room. Ignoring how people might move through the room and not creating easy ways for that movement to happen is one of the great room design mistakes to avoid.
Mistake #4 – Pushing Furniture to the Walls
It can be tempting to push furniture up against the walls of a room in an attempt to create space. But, this often doesn’t work as intended and can make a room seem smaller and less functional.
Instead, float your furniture by leaving some space between it and the wall and by creating groupings of furniture that serve a similar function. Doing this often helps a space look larger, wider, and more open while also making it more functional and is one of the ways to define spaces in an open concept floor plan.
Mistake #5 – Filling the Space With Too Much
A great room tends to have a lot of space because it’s meant to serve several functions. It’s tempting to fill the space with as much as you can, but this can quickly lead to a cluttered, disorganized look and an overwhelming atmosphere. Not only is overloading a space a great room design mistake, but it is also one of the most common interior design mistakes for any room.
Instead of trying to fill all the space you have available, take a more minimalist approach to start with what you need. Once you have your core groupings of furniture, then you can expand and add other things to the room. This allows you to cover the basics and have enough in the room without ending up with too much or not having enough space between zones.
Mistake #6 – Forgetting About Lighting
Lighting is essential to any room and is also important in a great room. When you have multiple zones and functions in one space, it’s important to get the right mix of lighting options. Your lighting needs will be different in the kitchen area, dining area, and living area.
Forgetting about lighting or getting it wrong is one of the great room design mistakes to avoid. Thankfully, there are a lot of versatile lighting choices available. So, in addition to whatever natural light you get from windows or skylights, you can also get the lighting you need in each area of your great room.
These are just a few great room design mistakes to avoid when thinking about the great room in your custom home. Although a great room combines multiple areas into one room, it’s still just one part of your custom home design. There are a lot of details to consider and it can be overwhelming to try and handle it on your own.
Instead of taking it all on yourself, partner with a custom home builder who will help you handle the details, narrow down to personalized options, and ensure you get the home you want. If you’re ready to start making your dream home a reality, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!