Open room layout poses visual challenges
Because open spaces in the home create a welcome feeling of airiness, they've become quite popular over the years. However, some occupants of homes with this kind of layout have discovered that there's also a downside: lack of privacy. Short of undertaking a construction project, you can address this unwelcome feeling of exposure by changing furniture arrangements and flooring and wallcoverings. Clever manipulation of these elements can visually separate one part of a large open space or physically block a sightline -in both cases producing a sense of enclosure.
Q. Our home has no foyer, only a small entrance area with a coat closet. Immediately to the left is a staircase and to the right is a living room with a fireplace. Besides letting anyone who enters the house see right into the living room, this open layout leaves us, as well as our guests, with an unattractive view of the spindly staircase. Can you suggest a solution that doesn't involve building a wall?
A. Some open room layouts do leave their occupants feeling like they're living in a train station. Lack of privacy and unpleasant views are common complaints in these situations - and they can be addressed without putting up a wall. One option, if you haven't already taken advantage of it, is to arrange the living room seating around the fireplace. That would presumably leave your guests facing away from the staircase while producing at least an illusion of privacy. Another possibility - which falls under the category of "Don't lower the river; raise the bridge" - is to beautify the staircase and its surrounding area. The photo presents an example of how that can be done. You could eliminate the open balustrade and its unsightly spindles by building a parapet. (That's the same as a low wall, but I'm trying to stick to my original claim that no wall construction is necessary.) Such an alteration can greatly enhance the appearance of the staircase, as this model suggests.
The photo, by the way, comes from "Bungalow Style," a Taunton Press book by Treena Crochet. It shows an Arts and Crafts-style wood and wallpaper treatment, with each element nicely complementing the other.
This solution doesn't address the issue of privacy, but it certainly eliminates the problem of an unattractive view.
• Readers with general interior design questions for Rita St. Clair can e-mail her at rsca@ritastclair.com.