The typical great room's floor plan offers the design challenge of separating a large space into separate functional areas to keep the large space from feeling overwhelming. A home that features an open floor plan but distinct separate rooms presents a different dilemma: how to preserve the look of each room while maintaining design continuity from room to room. Interior designer Doug Martin used color and fabric to pull together three adjoining rooms of a large country home. The clients wanted a warm, livable space where the whole family could gather for reading, cooking, conversation and casual meals. Fabrics and furnishings had to be comfortable and practical for this family of four children, three dogs and two birds. The starting point for decorating the three rooms was the color chosen for the family-room walls -- a sensational tangerine that gives the room a warm glow. Soft chenille armchairs match the walls, and a tribal-design Pakistani rug in tones of tangerine, black and ivory blends nicely with a durable and comfortable leather couch (figure A). Soft yellow on the walls of the adjoining breakfast area distinguish the space from the family room. Chintz fabric with a tropical feel, used as dining-room draperies and dog-eared jabot valances in the family room, ties the rooms together with tones of tangerine and yellow (figure B). The kitchen, with its large fireplace, is a favorite gathering spot for this family of active cooks. It's connected to the breakfast area with serviceable limestone flooring that reflects the farmhouse ambience and is also practical.
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