Combination living and dining rooms are perfectly suited for the way we live today, where open plan spaces tend to dominate in both new builds and existing home renovations. Clever furniture placement and accessorizing can help create flow in a mixed-use space, creating well defined but flexible zones for living and dining. Aiming for an equal amount of seating for living and dining will ensure that the room feels balanced, though you can feel free to change the ratio if you use the room more for one function than the other. Choosing a harmonious color palette and furniture that works well together without matching ensures a cohesive, stylish, livable overall design.
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01 of 10
Use Color to Define Space
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Bertrand Fompeyrine / Atelier Steve
In this Paris living room/dining room combo designed by French interior design firm Atelier Steve, sleek built-in wall storage helps prevent clutter and free up space in the center of the room. A Danish midcentury modern dining table with antique French Napoléon III style chairs occupies one side of the room, while a contemporary coffee table and a built-in nook painted blue incorporates seating and wall lighting that takes up less square footage than a traditional sofa, making the 540-square-foot Paris apartment feel grand.
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02 of 10
Try a Sectional
![All-white living and dining room combo]()
In this chic streamlined all-white apartment living and dining room space designed by Seattle-based OreStudios, sticking with an all-white palette accented with soft touches of gray and warm wood tones keeps the dual-purpose space feeling light, airy and fresh. The dining room centered between the kitchen and the living room allows for maximum flow and a sectional sofa with high armrests helps to define the seating area by the windows.
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03 of 10
Change Directions
![Living dining room]()
Paul Bradbury / Getty Images
This relaxed all-white living room-dining room combo has a cohesive look thanks to white floors, walls, ceilings, ceiling beams, and painted furniture. A back-to-back layout that features a living area with its anchor sofa positioned away from the dining room creates distinct zones within the same seamless space.
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04 of 10
Create Dual Focal Points
![Rural French living dining room]()
Rrrainbow / Getty Images
In this rural French farmhouse, the living and dining areas inhabit opposite ends of a long rectangular space. A large-scale antique glass-front storage cabinet helps define the dining space while providing practical storage for tableware. At the far end of the room, a white sofa is positioned away from the dining room, facing a fireplace flanked by upholstered armchairs that creates a focal point for the living room. It’s an old school reminder that open plan living wasn’t invented yesterday.
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05 of 10
Anchor the Dining Table
![Living and dining room]()
In this luxe modern apartment designed by OreStudios, a palette of soft grays and whites and mid-century classics like Eames Eiffel chairs and an iconic Eames lounger create a harmonious feel. An oval dining table has rounded corners that preserve the room’s flow, anchored by a striking Random Light pendant light to create a soothing, sophisticated, harmonious space with effortlessly distinct areas for living and dining.
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06 of 10
Work the Angles
![Cozy living and dining room combo]()
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Andreas von Einsiedel / Getty Images
This Scottish cottage has an open-plan living and dining room that features a pair of white-and-beige gingham-covered sofas and a rustic round wood coffee table centered around a cozy fireplace with a simple jute area rug to define the space. The dining area is a few steps away, tucked under the eaves, with a turned-leg light warm wood dining table and simple country style wooden chairs that harmonize with the golden and beige tones of the room.
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07 of 10
Sideline the Sofa
![Modern living dining room]()
Nikada / Getty Images
In this living room/dining room, the sofa is positioned against the side wall by the windows facing the TV to create a lounge space. A tripod floor lamp and a large plant helps to define the seating area from the adjacent dining table that floats in the middle of the room.
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08 of 10
Create a Dining Corner
![Living dining room combo]()
Andreas von Einsiedel / Getty Images
This home in the clapboard Granary building in Suffolk, England includes a cozy corner cozy dining room anchored with a light-colored area rug and a delicate glass star pendant light. A simple palette of white, black and light warm wood tones and rustic, homey furniture unifies the space.
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09 of 10
Balance It Out
![Living room dining room]()
In this Scandi-inspired living room-dining room combo, the living area is flanked by a wall of windows on one side and a simple rectangular wood dining table on the other that is the same width as the window, helping to create a sense of proportion and structure in the open-plan space. A palette of light woods, camel upholstery on the sofa and blush pink accents keep the space feeling airy and comfortable.
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10 of 10
Make It Cohesive
![Living room dining room]()
In this spacious modern finished basement living room dining room, an area rug defines the seating area. Eames-style Eiffel chairs and pale yellow and black accents scattered throughout the room create a sense of connection between the cohabitating spaces.
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How do you make a living room dining room combo feel like two separate spaces?
You can create distinct zones in a combination living and dining room using a mix of furniture placement, lighting, color choices, and decor. Position the sofa with its back to the dining table to create a sense of separation with an adjacent dining area. Use lighting to anchor individual zones, such as a large pendant light over the dining table to define it as a separate space while using table or floor lamps around the living room area. Use different colors or variations of the same tone in each space to give each area personality, and use decor such as area rugs to define one space from the other.
How do you fit a dining table into a small living room?
For a small living room, consider using a round table that will save space and preserve flow. You can also opt for a space-saving wall-mounted pull-down dining table that can be stowed away when not in use, or a drop leaf table that can contract and expand according to your needs.
How do you decorate a long and narrow living room dining room combo space?
The easiest way to decorate a long and narrow living room and dining room is to divide the room visually using furniture layout. This could mean placing your sofa in the middle of the space with its back to the dining room so that you face different directions when using each side of the room. You can break up linear lines by using curvy furniture such as a round dining table and chairs. Resist the temptation to push all the furniture against the walls and float the furniture in the center of the room if it is wide enough.
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