Go with the flow in an open floor plan—and make it work for you and your lifestyle.

Form a perfect union.

Take your cue from a kitchen’s costly-to-change fittings and duplicate their colors in softer textures in an adjacent sitting area. This sofa’s slightly rumpled slipcover fabric repeats the grayish tones of the streamlined appliances and stone countertops. The area rug and throw pillows echo the kitchen cabinets’ ruddy undertones and black painted details.

Connect open floor plans with color.

When it comes to painting great rooms, it’s sometimes hard to know when to start and stop applying color. The simplest solution? Paint all adjoining walls and architectural details the same color so as not to disrupt visual flow. Further the link between kitchen, eating and sitting areas with similarly hued accents. In this great room, sage green, silvery gray, brown and white tones supply chromatic connections.