How To Style Your Home By Zoning

So, you've knocked down the wall in between your kitchen and dining room, the plaster's dry, the skirting boards have been sanded... but now what?

Many of us make the decision to turn two rooms into one bright open space but struggle to give identity to the new area we've created.
Some of us may want an area set for eating whilst others may want a quiet corner nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, but how do we create these?

Interior design expert Julia Kendell believes we can add style and character to our homes by zoning areas creatively, no matter how large or small they are.
"Zoning multiple areas to identify individual functional spaces can work just as successfully in large rooms as it can in the most bijoux of spaces," Julia says.

Interior zoning focuses on creating recognisable sub spaces or zones inside larger spaces through décor and materials rather than structural elements such as walls and doors. By applying unique materials, surfaces, colours and lighting, an open plan living area can be achieved whilst not feeling too sparse and still having that homely feel we all want.

"With the growing trend for open plan living and large wet areas, there are endless possibilities to creatively zone areas by adding character and distinctive style with tiles, mosaics and warm woods," says Julia.

Consider the function of each area and define it by choosing a practical flooring option suitable for cooking, eating and socialising.

We decided to use Crystal Cream as our kitchen flooring. For our dining and socialising area, we went for Solid Tropica Acacia which defines the area and creates a real design statement. By using different wall tiles and colours we created a real sense of space and clean lines whilst still having our separate zones.

 Mosaics can also be used to zone a room by colour. A room that lacks distinctive architectural features can really benefit from a mosaic feature which creates a focal point along with zoning different areas.