HOME INTERIORS & PROPERTY SERVICES
of your kitchen units for storage used in nearby areas, choosing a design that looks as good for a TV stand, say, as for a cutlery drawer. Versatility is key and you should consider not just colour but also texture, and even handles – long, slender handles tend to look better in modern living spaces than dumpy round ones, for example. Solutions for storage Knocking two rooms together gives you a gorgeous open area – but, because you’ve lost wall space for cupboards and shelves, much less room to hide your clutter. One solution is to use tall, open shelving that doubles as a room divider as well as marksandspencer.com somewhere to display your stuff, while if you have a flat-screen TV, mount it on a media wall with storage for DVDs concealed behind it. In fact, make the most of every tiny corner, building storage into sloping ceilings, around windows or in any alcove you can find. buying and arranging furniture Conventional furniture won’t necessarily have the right proportions to work well in open-plan living areas, so you may have to look for larger-than-average pieces, and bear in mind that they have to look good from all angles, not just the front. Avoid the temptation to place all the furniture around the edges of the room (it will look like a nursing home); instead, create cosy sitting areas within the main space – with two sofas facing each other, with tables and lamps behind, perhaps, or else use modular furniture which creates sociable corners. BY KATHERINE SORRELL
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