Some of the best ideas for great room decorating involve creating several distinctly functioning areas within the space. Many great rooms are large enough to allow for dining, entertaining, and watching television. Some of these large living areas have enough room to add a study and/or music section. A great room is typically located right off the kitchen of a home, so dining space should be the first consideration.
When planning the dining area in a great room off the kitchen, it's important to allow enough space to comfortably pull out the chairs from the table. Typically, living room furniture in a great room is placed next to the dining section, but enough space should be left to use both functions comfortably. One of the best ideas for great room decorating is to use the biggest amount of space for the types of furnishings that will be used the most. For example, people who have a lot of large dinner parties could use the great room as mostly dining and living room space and omit a study. A family who needs room for children to do homework, on the other hand, could furnish part of the great room with desks and bookcases.
Interior decorating tips for great rooms often advise that while creating distinct, functional areas within the open space is important, keeping the style and colors consistent is crucial. Even though great rooms are large with different areas such as dining and living, since the space is totally open, the eye takes in everything at once. If different colors or styles are used in each area, the overall effect is likely to look choppy and mismatched. Great room decorating can be quite simple if no more than three main colors, including or adding neutrals, are used. Using different shades and intensities of the colors can add sophistication and depth to great room design.
For example, in a palette of red, green and taupe, dark and light versions of the colors can be used throughout the great room in different patterns and solids to add visual interest. The style, such as traditional, modern or country, should also be consistent when applying great room decorating ideas. Rustic furniture around a fireplace at one end of the room and modern plastic dining pieces at the other might work, but it also has a good chance of making the space look mismatched. For this reason, wood tones should also be similar if they are used in a great room.