11 Modern Small Open Concept Living Room and Kitchen Decor Ideas

Having an open concept living room and kitchen is cool for women who love trendy ideas about home decor. However, making the best out of it in terms of decoration is often a challenge. You want to create that seamless flow, foster connectivity while being mindful of your small space, and avoid clutter and disjointed look.

I have done a lot of research on this and made such decorations in my home. So I’m here to share 11 ideas on how you too can decorate your open concept living and kitchen space to make it look airy, uncluttered, inviting, and cozy.

The open concept living room and kitchen have become a trend in modern home design. It creates an airer atmosphere and makes small living spaces look bigger. Many women in America, Canada, and Europe love this idea of having the living room and kitchen blend seamlessly which allows cooking, relaxation, and entertainment to happen within an open and close space. 

Let’s look at them one after another and how you can transform your compact open concept living room and kitchen into a refreshing, functional, and cozy space.

1. Go for Neutral Color Palette 

Neutral colors like beige, white, and gray make small spaces large. That’s why you should use them in your open concept living room and kitchen decor to make them fuller and cohesive. They also create an airier and brighter atmosphere, which is much needed in an open concept living room and kitchen. More interesting is that neutral colors provide a unified backdrop, which can also create an expanded visual. 

Palettes of cool grays, warm beiges, and soft whites provide the foundation for different decor styles, which makes it easier for your space to adapt to versatile decor you may want to implement in the future.

 You can also incorporate pops of colors via living room and kitchen accessories like throw pillows, fruit baskets, artwork, rugs, etc. The aim is to create a cohesive look, personality, and interest without overwhelming the space. 

2. Use Multifunctional Furniture 

Every piece of furniture you add to an open concept living room and kitchen should earn its keep. In this case, multifunctional furniture will make sense, as it will maximize space and functionality without ignoring style. 

When your living and kitchen space has furniture that serves dual or multiple purposes, it keeps things clean, and uncluttered and gives way for additional space needs. 

For example, a dining table in your kitchen can be used to serve meals to visitors in the living room. This saves the need to have a dining table in the kitchen and living room. 

Sofa beds can serve as relaxation chairs for visitors in the living room and also serve as beds for them to sleep at night without you having to worry about taking them to a separate guest room. 

Kitchen cabinets can serve as a place to store wine glass cups, which eliminates the need for a separate wine cup shelf in the living room.

 I bought one on Amazon a few years ago, and you can get different designs of them on furniture outlets like IKEA, Wayfair, and West Elm. 

3. Add Open Shelving 

Open shelving is an ideal storage solution for an open concept living room and kitchen area, as it provides more space without making your space look cluttered or messy. What I like about open shelving is that it maintains openness and accessibility, which makes it easier to display and organize decor items and other elements you use daily in your living and kitchen areas.

For example, I have a stylish shelf in my home that I use to store basic cookware like cookbooks, dishes, and glassware. The same shelf serves as a place to hold media equipment, magazines, and baskets for miscellaneous items in the living room area. 

This stylish shelf also doubles as a decorative piece. I keep a mix of decorative elements like potted plants, art pieces, and frame photos on it, which balances functionality and aesthetics without overcrowding it.

4. Use Rugs To Clearly Define Spaces

In an open concept living room and kitchen area, clearly defining spaces is important, and using rugs is my preferred way of doing it to keep things tidy and simple without creating physical barriers. 

Many women use it for a living room and dining room combo, and it also makes sense in open concept living and kitchen area decor.

Rugs define zones of open space in the home so that the function of every area can be defined. These ideas not only enhance the functionality of areas but also add a touch of depth and interest to the space. 

Before you use rugs to define areas in your open concept living and kitchen space, consider factors like size and pattern. 

Choose rugs that are proportionate to the area. In the living room area, ensure it covers basic furniture pieces like a couch and a tea table. In the kitchen area, let it fit perfectly underneath the basic kitchen furniture like a kitchen island, and chairs so you can move furniture easily without catching on the edges of the rug. 

Go for unique and interesting rug patterns that clearly distinguish between the two areas. I prefer bold and geometric patterns in the living area, while solid colors and simple patterns work fine in the kitchen area.

5. Make the Best Of Vertical Spaces

Some people often pay less attention to vertical spaces when thinking of the best way to maximize space and decorate their open concept living and kitchen areas. 

When working in a small space, every niche of space matters, whether ground or up. Walls can be a perfect place to store items in the living and kitchen area, which frees space on the ground floor.

For instance, you can mount wall storage to keep cookbooks, kitchenware, and decor items, which frees space on the kitchen countertop or kitchen island. 

It is also suitable to store magazines, photo albums, and books in the living room. And if you like artwork in your living and kitchen area, your wall is the perfect place to hang them for functionality and aesthetic purposes. 

6. Add Kitchen Island Or Bar

Having a kitchen island is a good addition to your open concept living and kitchen area. It creates more counter space and additional seating. It can serve multi-functional purposes like a central place for cooking, dining, and socializing while adding to the beauty and aesthetic of your space. 

For example, compact islands that I have in my home offer more counter space, storage, and seating. There are enough in-built shelves or cabinets which is where I store some kitchen utensils like knives, cutting boards, and plates.

 Also, I store some of my wine glass cups on the shelves since my living room area is just a step away.

Some women also use a Rolling Cart, which is an ideal alternative to installing a kitchen island. It’s suitable if you live in a rented apartment and plan to move soon. Rolling cart is flexible, you can move it about in your kitchen and even use it for some tasks in your living area. This creates more prep and storage space needed in a small open concept living area. 

Breakfast bar is also an option if you want a dining area that doesn’t take up much space. You can attach it to the wall in your living room area, and have all your breakfast there. I have seen breakfast bars with fold-down features that add more convenience while adding to the overall aesthetics of your living area. 

To even make it more cozy and inviting, you can add stylish stools that can be tucked under the kitchen island or breakfast bar when not in use. 

If your kitchen island doesn’t have enough open shelves, use an organizer and trays to keep cookbooks, fruit bowls, and small potted plants so that the top of the island doesn’t look cluttered. 

Adding a pendant light is also cool to create a focal point and light up the entire living and kitchen area. Choose warm fixtures that complement the overall design of your space, be it rustic, modern, or industrial.

7. Choose Smaller Appliances 

Avoid bigger appliances. Instead, go for smaller appliances that enhance functionality and also save space.

 You don’t want to make your open concept living and kitchen area look cluttered by adding bigger sizes of refrigerators and washing machines when smaller and portable ones can serve you without overwhelming your space.

Here is what I recommend; go for a slim and counter-depth refrigerator that can fit properly in a small space in your living and kitchen area. Thermocool, LG, and Samsung make refrigerators that fit in small living spaces. 

For a dishwasher, an 18-inch will make sense instead of 24-inch, which can overwhelm your space. 

If you need ovens and ranges, 24-inch single or dual burners will save space and also serve you. 

And for microwaves, choose those with smaller footprints that free up spaces in the countertop.

8. Create Ambiance With Lighting 

Lighting up your living and kitchen area will make it look fuller and more inviting. It creates that welcoming ambiance while enhancing the functionality of your space.

 While many people focus on lighting only when decorating their living room, kitchen island, or bedroom, it is more important when you want to make the best of an open concept living and kitchen area. 

You need to illuminate every corner of your space, bring out the color scheme, and ensure that other decor accessories aren’t left unnoticed. These are what utilizing light effectively will create. 

There are different types of light that do the magic in a small open-concept living and kitchen space. An example is ambient lighting, which can illuminate the entire space without being too sharp. 

Ceiling-mounted fixtures like chandeliers and recessed lights are commonly used. They provide soft, bright, and diffused light that can serve your living and kitchen area provided you position them well in the ceiling. 

Task light is another type many women use in the kitchen area for cooking activities that require more focused light to get things done properly.

 They can be countertop lights that help you see properly when cutting your vegetables and meat when preparing to cook. In the living area, they can be adjustable table lamps, which are suitable for reading magazines or newspapers at night.

9. Introduce Sliding Or Pocket Doors

Sliding or pocket door is a modern way of creating a fine demarcation between the living and kitchen areas in an open concept space. This is the opposite of traditional swinging doors, which require clearance to open. It’s trendy among women, and many homes with concept layouts have it.

 I like how they are designed – gliding along a track or disappearing into the wall, which frees up spaces it could have taken had it been the traditional door. 

The commonest type are the pocket doors, which slide into a compartment into the wall and disappear when open. They are perfect if you want to create a seamless transition between the living and kitchen areas.

There is also the barn door, which is mounted on the track above the door frame and slides into the wall. They are suitable if you want a rustic or industrial touch to your space, and are recommended if your open-concept layout doesn’t support pocket doors.

If you want privacy in your kitchen area, a sliding glass door will make sense. They are sleek, and modern and allow light to pass through while preventing someone in the living area from seeing what you have in the kitchen.

Bifold door is another type of sliding door you can use in your living and kitchen open concept layout. As they slide to open, they fold in sections, ensuring that little or no space is occupied while providing a barrier if need be.

10. Establish A Focal Point 

You must establish a focal point in your living and kitchen area to draw attention and anchor the space. 

When a visitor walks into your open concept living and kitchen area, they need something that will capture their eyes and hold their attention so they can appreciate the decor efforts you have made. A dry and uninspiring open concept living space is a turn-off. 

You can use the most expensive elements to decorate it and yet it won’t be felt since there is no deliberate effort to create a focal point which creates a sense of harmony and balance, guiding the flow of your open concept space. 

There are ideal elements that you can use to create a focal point in an open concept living and kitchen area. 

One of them is the Fireplace. Be it traditional wood burning, electric, or faux with a decorative mantel fireplace, it can create a focal point in the living area. This adds that cozy and inviting vibe to your living area such that a visitor can keep an eye on it while exploring the decor style of your space. 

Another is Feature Wall, which is common for women who like DIY decor stuff. You can create it in your living or kitchen area by using bold paint colors on texture materials like wood or even wallpapers.

I have also seen women use wall art to create focal points, especially in a feminine kitchen island. The wall art can be an artistic image of you doing kitchen tasks. This will be an ideal focal point when you hang it on the wall in your kitchen area. 

11. Use Mirror To Reflect Light

Having a mirror in a small space is important. It makes it larger and also reflects light which helps to brighten up the space, especially if the architectural design made it dark. 

In an open concept, place it strategically to make your space airy and also enhance openness. Any type of mirror can work here, provided it is large and can reflect light, which is important to transform the overall open space.

Since you are likely to find it hard to choose a suitable position to place the mirror, the below tips will help you:

Place it opposite the window in the living area to reflect the light that comes so it can radiate evenly in your space. 

Position it behind the light sources like table lamps, and pendant lights to enhance the light they emit. This creates a warm and inviting ambiance.

Hang it at the edge of the hallway to make it appear spacious, which adds depth to your space. 

Place it near a focal point, like large wall art or fireplace, to radiate their beauty and also make them more attractive.

Hang it above kitchen furniture or sofa in the living area to create a unique and interesting look.

There are popular mirror styles like sunburst, full-length, rounded, rectangular, or square. Just consider the aesthetic you want to achieve in your living and kitchen area before making a choice. 

Is an open kitchen with a living room a good idea?

Yes, it’s a good idea that’s still trendy. It improves social interaction that allows family interaction with guests. For smaller spaces, it makes them look fuller and more accommodating. Natural light travels more in open concept living spaces which makes it airer, inviting, cool, and brighter. 

However, there are a few bad sides to this which you should know.

 For example, food smells and cooking noises can spread easily, which may not be convenient for your guests in the living area.

Getting rid of gnats that often perch in the kitchen may be hard as they may also perch in the living area since it’s an open space. 

Heat in the kitchen as a result of cooking may spread to the living area, which is common in an open space concept. Plus, any mess in the kitchen can be easily seen from the living room, and this means you have to keep your kitchen tidy always.

How do you separate an open concept living room and kitchen?

There are many ways to separate an open concept living room and kitchen and create a fine demarcation between them. A popular method is using rugs of different patterns to distinguish between the two areas. I have also seen people use color schemes. For instance, you can use a neutral color scheme for the living room area and a complementary color scheme for the kitchen area. Sliding and folding doors can be used to create a demarcation while ensuring privacy, especially in the kitchen area.

Where do you put TV in an open concept living room?

There are many places where you can place your TV in an open concept. It can be against the wall, on a TV stand, above a fireplace in an in-built TV unit or swivel mount. It all depends on your choice and which of the mentioned elements you have in your living area, and also whether you want to watch TV from the kitchen area. If I’m to recommend, since a fireplace is necessary to decorate your living area, you can place it above it and position it in a way that someone in the living and kitchen area can easily watch the TV.

Where do you put a sofa in an open concept living room?

You can put it in a position that faces a focal point like a fireplace or large artwork. It can be in a position where it serves as a divider between the living area and kitchen. Another option is to form an L-shape against the wall, which is cozy and interesting.

Why are open-concept homes going out of style?

Open concept homes are gradually going out of style especially among young women because of noise and heat from the kitchen which affects the living room, and privacy needs which ensures someone in the living room doesn’t see what is going on in the kitchen especially when it’s messy.

 Other reasons are personalization which many people want these days, defined spaces, and controlling odor from the kitchen.

What is the trend in open concept kitchens?

Common trends in open-concept kitchens which I see many women on Instagram share are zoning: which involves using flooring, lighting, and ceiling treatments. Partial separation: which involves using sliding doors and glass partitions. 

Final thoughts

 Small open concept living room and kitchen is still trendy and is a perfect way to maximize a small space to achieve the aesthetic you want. I have shared with you more than 10 different ideas you can implement to make the best of your open concept living and kitchen area. Starting from using neutral colors, and multipurpose furniture to using a mirror to reflect light, you have all you need to make the best of your open concept living and kitchen space.