Help with an open plan kitchen, dining and living area...
12 years ago
Hi,
We have recently rented a condo in Singapore that has a floorplan as attached. We are struggling to make the area feel homely rather than 3 seperate areas with a void inbetween. I do not think we are helped by the neutral colouring of floor, walls and ceiling but we cannot change these since it is rented. The other issue is how narrow the area is that leads to the balcony.
We are a young couple that do not entertain at home much so just really looking to create an area that feels homely. We are open to ideas and I would welcome your thoughts/advice
Thanks
Alex
We have recently rented a condo in Singapore that has a floorplan as attached. We are struggling to make the area feel homely rather than 3 seperate areas with a void inbetween. I do not think we are helped by the neutral colouring of floor, walls and ceiling but we cannot change these since it is rented. The other issue is how narrow the area is that leads to the balcony.
We are a young couple that do not entertain at home much so just really looking to create an area that feels homely. We are open to ideas and I would welcome your thoughts/advice
Thanks
Alex
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Comments (19)
PRO12 years ago
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Furniture layout for an awkward open floor plan
Comments (5)David - Thanks! Appreciate that you even drew out the plan. :) You are absolutely right, it's been difficult finding an optimum layout. In fact, our current layout is more or less the same as your plan. Would you have chosen different furniture - a smaller sofa or a different dining table perhaps? (Also, I'm curious: is there a good reason why the architect had the pillar like that?) Mona - Do you mean having a buffet at the entry? I currently do have a sideboard, though it wouldn't fit at the entry - it's about 67" wide by 18" deep. It's currently placed in the middle of the long wall. There's actually still sufficient clearance between it and the 3-seater sofa in David's plan. plague - The household shelter is a local (Singapore) building requirement. Its walls are reinforced and is meant to be a shelter in times of emergency. It can't be removed, and any renovations carried out cannot affect its integrity (there is a list of permitted and prohibited works). Normally it is just used as a pantry or storeroom....See MoreLiving Area Layout - Dilemma
Comments (8)Hi Dagobert Duck (interesting name), I am assuming that this is a townhouse in Asia, as you mention the dry kitchen and wet kitchen (terms used mostly in Singapore) and also from the visible lift on the plan that you shared. I would definitly advice you to keep the dry kitchen and place the dining table close to the dry kitchen or close to the bay window on the left. The space here is rather large and can easily accommodate a regular 2 metre table with 8 chairs. If you are concerned about the view of dining table as you enter the house, you could always place a round table near the entrance to block off the view. I agree with Elaine about placing the furniture away from walls. Place a bunch of fresh flowers or art/sculpture above the round table like in a hotel entrance. So the the first view you see when you enter the house is the table with flowers. Its difficult to give you any further advice as we have no idea what your final vision of the place is? Feel free to contact us in Singapore if you need further advice? Hope you will have the home of your dreams soon....See MoreNeed help for kitchen space planning
Comments (4)I've done a few similar units and created an island. The wc area has too many utilities (waste pipes etc) to be fully removed, plus living in a Maisonette myself, I find it practical to keep a powder room downstairs. You could push the wall between the front door (if you are able to purchase the access area, you can move the front door out as well for even more foyer space). In its place could be full height cabinets as well as your fridge. At the back wall you could plan your basin and hob on the island (or the other way around). My preference is to place a glass wall and door to the yard, so you have the washing machine away from the kitchen and another layer between the kitchen and the powder room. The chute is contained then as well, which works pretty ok. Your laundry will be out of sight if the glass is frosted, but still provides plenty of light. It requires a bit of planning, but you can create a fantastic and practical space. Good luck with your renovation, Arjan...See MoreHDB floor plan: Kitchen and Living Room Ideas
Comments (1)Hi Ibrahim29 Md, some ideas here. This home styled by Boconcept responded to the client's request to turn the living room into a reading corner: https://www.houzz.com.sg/projects/1385019/kate-jin-and-juliens-home and in this project, the service yard seems to harmonise well with the kitchen, even though divided by a screen: I'll leave it to the experts to give more comments!...See More
PRO12 years ago
PRO12 years ago- 12 years agoRight...here are some better attachments.
First photo is from the front door towards the balcony.
Second is from what we have as the lounge area towards the kitched
Third is of the kitchen from near the front dor
Fourth is from the space where we have the two bedroom doors and the bathroom door back into the open plan area
You will see some of our furniture already in place but we are up from getting rid of a lot of this and starting again. The only pieces I really want to keep are the plastic blue chair in the lounge and the dining table/chairs. My girlfriend wants to get rid of the red rug as she doesn't like this with the new blue chair :)
What do you think would work best? How do we make it flow better and make the best of the space?
- 12 years agoAdditionally here is the layout again with some measurements. Finally, you may notice Toro our cat in one of the pictures. He is the reason that we need to avoid leather furniture!
- PRO12 years agolast modified: 12 years agoHello todd192. I am in agreement about the red rug which competes with what you have. A more neutral brown tones will compliment the plastic chair which is on the bright side of blue. Another thing you can do is to switch out the 'daylight' light bulbs to a softer, warmer glow which will make the entire space less 'white'.
PRO12 years ago- PRO12 years agoHi Todd, Add a Striped runner rug in the narrow passage to balcony , it will make the passage look wide .
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- PRO12 years ago
- PRO12 years agolast modified: 12 years ago
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- PRO12 years ago
- 12 years agoI was thinking something like thisbut was worried about damaging it with the chairs too. I guess that is still fairly square...
Checkerboard Haired Cowhide Rug · More Info
Would you try and tie in elements of the lounge area to the dining area (such as the blue from the chair) or would you almost design in isolation? - PRO12 years ago
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- PRO7 years ago
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID