The Art of Making Open Spaces Feel Intimately Yours

Picture this: You've just moved into an expansive open-plan living room. The space is gorgeous with endless possibilities, but it feels like a beautiful blank canvas that's somehow intimidating to fill. You walk through the front door and wonder, How do I make this feel like mine?

We've all been there. That moment when you realise that turning a newly furnished house into a space that whispers your name requires more than just pretty things, it requires intention, storytelling, and yes, a little bit of styling magic.

Here's what we've learned after years of breathing life into open spaces: Your furniture isn't just decoration. It narrates the design intention of the space. 

The Welcome That Sets Everything in Motion

The first chapter of any home's story begins the moment you step inside. In this particular living room, we knew we had mere seconds to establish the mood, to hint at the personality that would unfold throughout the space.

So we started with a showstopper, a custom entryway table we designed with KStone that feels more like a sculpture. The blue undertones in the marble seem to dazzle in the light, while those bold trapezium legs plant themselves with quiet confidence. It's the kind of piece that makes visitors pause, that signals this isn't just any house, it is a home with design character. 

But here's the secret: while everyone's admiring its beauty, this stunning table is quietly working overtime, creating an invisible boundary between the entryway and living room. No walls or literal partition needed. 

The Anchor That Holds Everything Together

As your eye travels deeper into the room, it lands on what we like to call the heart of the space, a bookshelf that's so much more than storage. Positioned exactly where it needs to be to catch your attention, it becomes the visual anchor that everything else revolves around.

But here's where the real magic happens. We lined the back panels with the most gorgeous plum-colored grasscloth from Jim Thompson, a richly woven, organic material that feels like a warm embrace. Run your fingers across it, and you'll understand why we would cover every surface in the house with this if we could. It creates this sophisticated backdrop that makes every sculptural object, every book, feel like it belongs in a curated gallery.

Below, the doors are wrapped in rust-orange geometric textile that echoes the existing cabinetry's warm undertones. Where the grasscloth whispers elegance, this embroidered pattern exudes playful sophistication, it's one of those details most people won't consciously notice, but everyone will feel.

The Moment Colour Walks Into the Room

Surrounded by all that beautiful wood paneling, we knew the space was craving something unexpected, a burst of joy that would lighten the mood without losing the sophistication. Enter the Sancal Magnum Chair from Grafunkt, dressed in the most divine sky-blue velvet with contrasting yellow-gold accents.

The silhouette is refined and grown-up, but those colours? They bring this wonderful sense of lightheartedness. It's the kind of chair that makes you want to curl up with a book and stay awhile.

Nestled between two Oliver Tub Chairs, there's the Bowler Table, its tile-red metal surface creating this perfect conversation between the bookshelf's warm tones and the seating area's cooler palette. Small details like this are what transform a room from merely furnished to thoughtfully composed. 

The Quiet Corner That Steals Hearts

The most enchanting moments in a home often unfold in its quietest corners. In this intimate alcove, we've nestled a King Living chair, one of their beautifully customisable pieces where you can select from an array of fabrics to suit your vision. Here, we chose a textile that was destined to dance with the surrounding lighting, creating one of those thoughtful details that transforms a simple nook into something rather magical: a piece that doesn't just occupy space, but actually converses with it, capturing and reflecting the room's gentle luminosity.

Designing this moment took precision and countless fabric samples held up against windows at different times of day. But when we finally found the one that aligned even with the existing lighting fixtures, we knew we'd found something special.

Your Story Starts Here

Creating a home that feels unmistakably yours isn't about following rules or copying what you see in magazines. It's about understanding how furniture can reflect your personality, how texture and colour can create mood, how thoughtful placement can make even the most expansive space feel intimate and personal.

At Make Room, we believe every house has the potential to be spun into an intimate home. Sometimes you just need someone to help you find the first line.

Find your design style with our style quiz!

If you're ready to discover what your space is trying to say, our Style Quiz might just reveal a design identity you didn't know was there all along.

Because at the end of the day, the most beautiful homes aren't the ones that look perfect, they're the ones that feel like they could only belong to you.