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Make Sure These Features Are Included in Your Plan

Flooring
The plan should specify the intended floor finish, such as wood, tile, carpet or polished concrete. Carpet is often left out of the building quote and since you’ll likely handle it directly through a supplier. However, other types of flooring, wood in particular, are a different story. Wood flooring is too general of a term, as it can include wood laminates, floating wood floorboards, bamboo and traditional strip flooring. With such a wide range of products and costs, it’s important to understand what the builder has allowed for to avoid any surprises.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Lighting
Lighting is one of the most common items to cause unhappy surprises in a buyer’s budget. The main reason for this is that an electrical plan is completed at the quoting stage. At this point, you’re likely still unaware of the lighting options available, as well as their costs. This can lead to prices being highly underestimated in terms of number and type of lights. Make sure you visit a showroom in the early stages of your project to better inform yourself about what the builder is quoting.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Woodwork
Homeowners are more and more likely to want built-in cabinets for storage and display solutions in a variety of spaces, including the bathrooms, laundry room, bedrooms and family room. Woodwork is easy to identify on a floor plan, but just like wood flooring there are so many options in terms of color, material, fittings, design detail and hardware, it’s very difficult for builders to quote an accurate cost for the item. It’s smart to enlist the help of an interior designer to develop detailed drawings for quoting or specify an allowance in your plan.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Closets
Custom closets are a must-have for many buyers these days. But there are many options for actually fitting out a closet, from wire racks and shelves to high-end custom cabinets. People tend to focus on the size of the closet and forget to consider the details of how it will be used. You can ensure more accurate quotes by including details in the drawings.

Photo: Pottery Barn

Wall tile
Wall tiling is another line item that is assumed to be included in the builder’s quote. However, it’s necessary that both the cost of the tiles and the extent to which they will be used is clear. For example, you’ll need to know the cost per square foot that has been allowed for the tiles (for both floor and wall), as well as whether the wall tiles have been quoted as full height, half height or even skirting tiles only. This may well vary from one bathroom to the next, so make sure to set out your expectations room by room.

Photo: Chameleon Design

How to Decorate an Open Plan Space

Open floor plans have become almost an absolute must in every modern home.  Contemporary homes are all about rooms that flow into one another without any visual obstacles, which can be a decorating challenge for some. The key thing to remember is that having an open floor plan does not mean that each individual area cannot have an identity of its own. Here are a few principles that can help you to organize beautifully and get the most out of your open-plan living space:

Create Spaces Within Your Space

Just because there are no walls doesn’t mean you can’t have different “rooms” in your open space plan. Smaller pockets of space, usually grouped around furniture and art, can create separate spaces within the open plan. Try using large furniture pieces for function or architectural elements as natural partitions to anchor each room.

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Focus Your Accessories

Designing an open plan area can be challenging in that there is so much space to fill. While you might be tempted to fill every square foot with furniture, a few careful arrangements of smaller furniture pieces will complete your room-within-a-room concept.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Delineate the Space with Rugs
Another simple way to organize large, open spaces is by being smart about the positioning of area rugs.  Rugs bring the decor together and clearly create a more organized and curated space.

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Statement Lighting
Another way to set a space apart from the other “rooms” in an open floor plan is to install a distinct light fixture. Defining the dining area with a great statement pendant or globe light will do the trick.

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Use Color to Create Flow
Since an open floor plan demands one uniform backdrop for the entire floor, go with a single neutral color for the walls. Pops of color can then be added as accents in the form of throw pillows, artwork and rugs. In the kitchen, use a new material or color for the cabinets to allow it to stand out as it’s own room.

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Open Up to the Outdoors

Whenever possible, extend your open floor plan even further by incorporating an outdoor room.  A covered porch or patio is extremely versatile and can be used for dining, relaxing and entertaining.

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