If your kitchen is not big enough for a table and chairs but opens to a family room, perhaps the family room can be treated like a big country kitchen. (Photo courtesy of Scripps Howard News Service.)

By Rosemary Sadez Friedmann

There are many things that must be considered when planning a design for the interior of a home. The first step is to develop an overall direction. And while this may sound awfully broad, the process is quite manageable when it is broken down into parts.

First decide what it is about the room that is special and then direct the design ideas toward that end.

If the view is particularly attractive, for example, think of the furnishings as background for the view and plan on arranging the furnishings to enhance the view. Then consider toning down the color scheme so as not to detract from that view.

If there is not a view, however, find the focal point. A fireplace, for example, is a great place to cuddle furniture around.

What if there is no focal point? Make one. This can be accomplished with art, special-interest furniture or accent paint on a wall. The focal point can also be the grouping of the furniture itself. Invite conversation by grouping the seating in a round shape and drawing attention through color. If placed in an inviting way, the furnishings will bring the eye to the center of that grouping, while the walls serve as background support.

Once the furniture placement and color scheme are in mind, space planning can be tackled. These decisions also need to be based on existing conditions, including walls and doorways, but they need not always be conventional decisions. For example, if the kitchen is not large enough for a table and chairs but it does open to a family room, perhaps the family room can be treated like a big country kitchen. Set the table and chairs up in there rather than in the designated dining room.

What's the logic? Well, country kitchens have always been an inviting place to gather any time of the day, whether a meal is being served or not. The larger the table that this space can afford will be useful every day, not just for eating. It will provide a great place for the family to be together. Board games, cards and puzzles can be enjoyed there when the table is not being used for eating.

So what do we do with the designated dining room? It might be used as a media or sitting room, or as an office or hobby space. After all, most formal dining rooms are only used once or twice a year. What a waste of space and furniture money!

The living room might serve as the family room. Most living rooms are never used, though the bank collects its mortgage on that square footage as well, so why not use the space more wisely? Put the recliners and the comfortable sofa in there. Certainly there is a wall for the television in this room. If not, maybe there is a nice view out the window.

So whenever you plan your design, think in terms of designing a special plan of your own.

(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of Mystery of Color. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

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