Sep 24, 2026 · 42 min · 13 segments
We're answering your biggest interior design questions in this special Dear Alice Q&A, with practical advice for real homes and real design challenges. We discuss how to make open floor plans feel…
Suzanne HallHostCoreyPanelistOur first question today is from Gabrielle.
She asked, "I would like to ask about the trend of shifting away from open floor plans to separate rooms.
I like separate rooms where possible.
However, I want to make the most of my vaulted ceiling in the kitchen-lounge-dining space.
What are some tips and tricks you could offer to make open floor plans more cozy and better flowing without putting up full walls?"
... same situation at my house, and I think a lot of people have sort of that-
And a couple things I like to do to sort of define these spaces without putting up walls are rugs.
Really grounding a space in a rug, I think gives it sort of the feeling of walls.
Even like, especially in these open-floor plans, sometimes, like, the space starts to feel quite vast because you have vaults and, like, these spaces are shared.
And, and again, like Jess said, almost every home that we do, we have some type of gathering space like this that's usually off the kitchen where we do still employ the open-floor plan concept for this area because that is their, like, main big gathering area.
Our first question today is from Gabrielle.
She asked, "I would like to ask about the trend of shifting away from open floor plans to separate rooms.
I like separate rooms where possible.
However, I want to make the most of my vaulted ceiling in the kitchen-lounge-dining space.
What are some tips and tricks you could offer to make open floor plans more cozy and better flowing without putting up full walls?"
... same situation at my house, and I think a lot of people have sort of that-
And a couple things I like to do to sort of define these spaces without putting up walls are rugs.
Really grounding a space in a rug, I think gives it sort of the feeling of walls.
Even like, especially in these open-floor plans, sometimes, like, the space starts to feel quite vast because you have vaults and, like, these spaces are shared.
And, and again, like Jess said, almost every home that we do, we have some type of gathering space like this that's usually off the kitchen where we do still employ the open-floor plan concept for this area because that is their, like, main big gathering area.
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