ask aliveMost 20th century Dutch houses are terraced houses: the living room runs the full depth of the house with windows to the front and back. When furnishing such a house, a little playfulness in the arrangement is welcome, says Barbara Natzijl from vtwonen.
We know the standard layout: in the background the kitchen and the dining table, in the front the living room with the furniture against the wall and facing the television. “The trick is to frame the different functions with wallpaper, paint, wood or tiles on the wall,” says Barbara. “Basically most people have a white plaster wall and nothing that breaks the pipe drawer. “
How could you break the room?
“You can play with the furniture, but you can also place a dividing wall. If you do this with glass, the light will still pass through the living room, but they will still be two separate rooms. We are all familiar with black steel doors, but think further: connecting doors with a white frame, made of wood, and if you opt for glass, there may also be works or patterns, or stained glass. I really like the old attached doors with a cupboard on both sides, but that’s a matter of taste and also depends on the house.
If a house is a bit small, it can also feel cluttered, right?
“With a small doorzon house, you can separate half the width at the height of the panels. For example, place a cabinet that comes to the navel perpendicular to the wall. This means that two spaces remain one, but the room is visually shattered, which creates more privacy. In addition, such a low cabinet does not block the light.
What else can you do for a more playful effect?
“Besides the length, you can also do something with the height. I really like a sitting pit. Of course, you’re not just digging a hole, but you can mimic the effect. If that does not work in the living room area, you can, for example, put the dining table on a kind of podium. You can have it done by a handyman. Such an elevation also makes it possible to define a room, provided that the height of the ceiling allows it.
look here how stylist Eva managed to make a large living room comfortable. The photo above was taken in the bedroom.
Magazines and TV programs sometimes also play with space by applying two different colors to the wall …
,, Yes, I would say it’s possibility number three, which still frames the space. You can paint part of the wall, part of the wallpaper. Or you apply a strip of wallpaper between two cabinets. In one of the episodes of Still in love with your house the stylist painted an airplane on the wall above the dining table. And with a carpet on the floor, you also create islands in the house. A rug can also give you that sense of security that every living room could use.
Watch the videos below for more home inspiration.
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