Interior design ideas · Open-plan living, dining and kitchen
Stone underfoot, plaster on the walls, oak around the arches, and one family of paper lanterns to tie three rooms together.
Nothing about this address is Mediterranean. The windows look out over a city skyline from a high floor. The shell is another matter: limestone runs from the window wall to the kitchen without a threshold, the openings off the plan are arches cased in oak, and a travertine fireplace anchors the living room.
The furniture is modern and makes no attempt to look old: an Eames style lounge chair in black leather, Marcel Breuer’s cantilevered cane chairs on chrome tube, a C-shaped side table and a two-tier table from the Bauhaus and Swiss modular traditions, and the round washi lanterns Isamu Noguchi began designing in 1951. Chrome and black leather read crisply against the soft stone. Paper and cane pick up its warmth.
One family of lanterns connects the three zones. Round paper pendants hang over the sofa, the dining table and the kitchen island, and a tall paper floor lamp stands at the window. Below, we walk the plan from the fireplace to the island, with the sizes, hanging heights and clearances behind each choice, then list the pieces we sell.
Honed limestone, warm plaster, a tumbled-stone wainscot, oak beams and arches, a travertine fireplace.
Chrome tube, black leather and hand-woven cane: modern pieces that sit on the old materials without imitating them.
One family of round paper lanterns at three sizes, plus a tall paper floor lamp, warm bulbs and a dimmer for each zone.
The shell: limestone, plaster and oak
Start with the floor. It is the largest surface in the plan and the only one that crosses every room. Here it is limestone in large rectangles of mixed lengths, honed to a matte face with softened edges. A honed or brushed finish forgives grit and wear far better than a polished one, and a single material laid without thresholds is what lets three rooms read as one.
The walls are a warm, chalky plaster. Their lower part is lined in small tumbled-stone mosaic to just below door-handle height: a wainscot that takes knocks from chairs and gives the long walls a horizon line. Overhead, oak beams cross the living room and a recessed panel of oak boards sits above the dining table, so the ceilings feel close and domestic without being lowered.
The arch between the living room and the dining room sets the main sightline. The sofa, the coffee table and the largest lantern all sit on its center line. From the dining table you see the lantern and the fireplace framed in the arch; from the fireplace, the same arch frames the dining room.
The fireplace wall
The fireplace has a travertine surround and a simply molded mantel, set against a chimney breast of irregular fieldstone. Built-in bookcases fill the alcoves on both sides, with oak-lined shelves above and painted cabinets below in a soft sage-cream, each bay lit by a brass picture light.
Because the wall is symmetrical, the shelves can be styled loosely: books stacked and upright, small framed landscapes, ceramic jars, a pair of brass candlesticks on the mantel. Seen from the sofa, the lantern hangs in front of the fieldstone, and the paper, the travertine and the plaster sit within a few shades of one another.
Finish schedule
| Surface | In these rooms | To specify |
|---|---|---|
| Floor | Limestone in large rectangles of mixed lengths, honed, with softened edges | Honed or brushed limestone, one material through all three rooms; a matte sealer in the kitchen |
| Walls | Warm off-white plaster with a slightly chalky surface | Lime plaster or limewash; in paint, start from Farrow & Ball Pointing No. 2003 or Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 |
| Wainscot | Small tumbled-stone mosaic to just below door-handle height | Tumbled travertine or limestone mosaic with a straight top edge |
| Fireplace | Travertine surround and mantel; fieldstone chimney breast | Filled, honed travertine for the surround; a natural stone veneer above it |
| Joinery | Oak-lined shelves; painted lower cabinets in sage-cream with black knobs | Oiled oak; for the paint, start from Farrow & Ball French Gray No. 18 |
| Ceilings | Oak beams in the living room; a recessed panel of oak boards over the dining table | Oak or oak-veneer boards in a matte oil finish |
| Openings | Arches cased in oak | Wide, plain casings; the curve is the detail |
| Windows | White casements; striped linen curtains on a brass rod; striped Roman shades in the kitchen | Off-white frames, such as Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65; linen with a narrow stripe |
| Metals | Polished chrome on the furniture; brass on the curtain rod, picture lights and kitchen taps | Chrome on everything that moves, brass on everything fixed, so each metal has one job |
| Planting | An olive tree in patterned terracotta; fiddle-leaf figs in gray planters; a Japanese maple by the window | Large single plants in plain or patterned clay, not many small ones |
Paint names are starting points, not matches. Sample them on the wall and look at them in your own light, morning and evening.
Living room: one lantern on the center line
The furniture plan is short. A long, low cream sofa, dressed with a tasseled throw, faces the fireplace with its back to the arch. A two-tier chrome-and-black table stands in front of it, and the lantern hangs above the table. The lounge chair and ottoman sit to one side by the door, angled toward the fire and the windows. A turned-leg pine chest with a table lamp fills the corner between the arch and the windows.
The reading corner
In black leather and walnut, the Eames style lounge chair and ottoman are the room’s main dark note, and a pale scheme needs one dark weight to keep it from washing out. Beside the chair, a chrome C-shaped side table holds a cup or a book; without casters it stands 24 in / 61 cm high.
In the corner by the window, an Akari 14A floor lamp rises 64 in / 162 cm on a slim black tripod. Its shade is only 13 in / 33 cm across, so it brings light to standing height without taking floor space from the curtains.
Two tables, two heights
The coffee table is a frame of chrome tube and black steel panels in the USM Haller manner, with a full lower shelf. Its open sides keep the stone floor in view, and the shelf takes the books so the top can stay almost bare: one clay vase and a few branches.
The table in these views is longer than ours. Our USM Haller style side table is the same system as a 15.2 in / 38.6 cm cube on casters: one at the end of the sofa, or two side by side as a compact coffee table. With the taller C-shaped table by the lounge chair, the seating group has a surface at each height it needs.
Lounge chair: 32.4 in / 82 cm wide and 35 in / 89 cm deep; the ottoman is 25.6 × 21.7 in / 65 × 55 cm. With the ottoman in use, allow about 5 ft / 1.5 m from the back of the chair, plus a path around it.
C-shaped side table: 24 in / 61 cm high without casters, 26 in / 66 cm with them; the top is about 20 × 21 in / 50.5 × 52.6 cm. USM Haller style side table: 15.2 in / 38.6 cm square and 17.2 in / 43.7 cm high on casters.
Leave 14–18 in / 35–45 cm between the sofa and the coffee table, and keep walkways at least 36 in / 91 cm wide.
Lantern size: add the room’s length and width in feet and read the total as a diameter in inches. About 12 × 12 ft points to the 55A, 16 × 15 ft to the 75A and 20 × 18 ft to the 100A. Then check the ceiling height in the lighting plan below.
Dining table: six cane chairs under two lanterns
Through the arch, the dining table is a thick oak slab with a live edge, carried on a timber leg at one end and a rough stone block at the other. It is the most rustic object in the plan, so the chairs around it are the most exact: six Marcel Breuer cane dining chairs, cantilevered on chrome tube, with seat and back frames stained black.
The black frames draw each chair against the pale floor and plaster, and they carry the lounge chair’s black leather through the arch, so the two rooms share a dark accent as well as their lanterns. Cane and chrome keep six chairs light. With no back legs, the floor continues under the seats, which matters when a full row of chairs is in view from the living room.
Above the table, two lanterns hang one behind the other along its length. A pair spreads light down a long table; a single globe in the middle would leave the ends dim.
Each chair is 18.2 in / 46 cm wide and 24 in / 61 cm deep, with an 18.1 in / 46 cm seat, which suits a table about 29–30 in / 74–76 cm high.
Allow 24 in / 61 cm of table edge per person. Six chairs, three a side, need a table at least 72 in / 183 cm long.
Leave 36 in / 91 cm between the table and a wall or cabinet so a chair can be pulled out, and 44 in / 112 cm where people walk behind seated guests.
Hang the lanterns so their lowest point is 30–36 in / 76–91 cm above the tabletop.
The chairs come as a set of six in stained black or natural oak, and as a set of two or a set of four for other table sizes.
Sizing two lanterns to the table
Seen end-on from the window, the room’s warm materials gather in one view: honey-colored oak, the straw of the cane, a patterned terracotta pot under an olive tree, a vase of red-berried branches on the table. The black chair frames sit between them and keep the view from blurring into one warm tone.
Our rule for lanterns over a table: keep each globe at least 6 in / 15 cm inside the table’s edges and leave 12 in / 30 cm of air between globes. Two 75A lanterns, 31.5 in / 80 cm across, therefore need a table at least 43.5 in / 110 cm wide and 87 in / 220 cm long. On a narrower table, choose the 55A.
Kitchen island: the same chair at counter height
Natural oak at the island
The island repeats the dining chair at counter height: the same chrome cantilever and hand-woven cane, with natural oak frames instead of black. At the table, black frames outline six chairs against a pale room. At the island, natural oak counter stools settle into the oak cabinetry, so the kitchen reads quieter than the dining table beside it.
Two more lanterns hang over the island. Over a surface where people work as well as eat, we would specify the 55A, one size down from the table’s pair, so the globes can hang close to the counter without crowding the people at it.
Keep paper away from heat and steam. This island holds no cooktop; the range and its plaster hood sit on the perimeter wall, which is what makes paper lanterns workable over it. Over an island with a cooktop, choose a different fixture.
The rest of the kitchen follows the finish schedule: oak base cabinets, painted wall cabinets, white tile, brass taps and a brass pot filler. With chrome confined to the stools, the furniture still reads as furniture and the fittings as part of the architecture.
Seat height 25.6 in / 65 cm, for counters 35–37 in / 89–94 cm high; aim for 9–11 in / 23–28 cm between the seat and the underside of the counter.
Each stool is 18.1 in / 46 cm wide. Space them 24–26 in / 61–66 cm center to center: two stools need about 52 in / 132 cm of counter, three about 78 in / 198 cm.
Plan an overhang of at least 12 in / 30 cm; 15 in / 38 cm is more comfortable.
Hang island lanterns with their lowest point 30–36 in / 76–91 cm above the counter. Two 55A lanterns need an island at least 35.6 in / 90 cm deep and 71 in / 180 cm long.
The stools are sold in pairs, in natural or stained black oak.
The lighting plan: one family, three sizes
Open plans are often lit in one of two ways that both fall short: a different fixture in every zone, which reads as a showroom, or one fixture at one size everywhere, which gives no zone priority. This plan uses one family at three sizes, so the rooms share a shape and still have a hierarchy.
The round Akari washi paper pendant comes in three diameters: 55A at 23.6 in / 60 cm, 75A at 31.5 in / 80 cm and 100A at 39.4 in / 100 cm. Our specification for a plan like this one is the 100A over the living room, a pair of 75A over the dining table and a pair of 55A over the island. The floor lamp in the window corner is a fourth form of the same paper.
Paper gives soft, even light rather than pools, so the second layer has to come from elsewhere: the brass picture lights over the bookcases, the table lamp on the chest, the floor lamp and, in the kitchen, task light under the wall cabinets. Keep every source warm, around 2700K, and give each zone’s lanterns their own dimmer.
Before choosing the largest size, check the ceiling. Add the lantern’s diameter and a few inches of cord to the clearance you need below it: 7 ft / 213 cm anywhere people walk underneath, or about 5½ ft / 168 cm over a coffee table nobody walks under. Over a coffee table, a 100A needs a ceiling of about 9 ft / 2.75 m; in an 8 ft / 2.45 m room, use the 55A.
Lighting schedule
| Zone | Fixture | Size | Height | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | Akari pendant | 100A · Ø 39.4 in / 100 cm | Lowest point about 5½ ft / 168 cm over the coffee table; 7 ft / 213 cm where people walk | Room length + width in feet ≈ diameter in inches; ceiling about 9 ft / 2.75 m or more |
| Window corner | Akari 14A floor lamp | 64 in / 162 cm tall; shade 13 in / 33 cm | Stands on the floor | Light at standing height on a narrow footprint |
| Dining table | Akari pendant × 2 | 75A · Ø 31.5 in / 80 cm | Lowest point 30–36 in / 76–91 cm above the table | Table at least 43.5 × 87 in / 110 × 220 cm |
| Kitchen island | Akari pendant × 2 | 55A · Ø 23.6 in / 60 cm | Lowest point 30–36 in / 76–91 cm above the counter | Island at least 35.6 × 71 in / 90 × 180 cm; never over a cooktop |
| Every zone | Warm-white LED bulbs | About 2700K | A dimmer for each zone | Stay under each pendant’s maximum: 100 W, 150 W or 300 W by size |
Sizes and wattages are from the product pages. Clearances and spacing are common planning guidelines and our own rules of thumb; check them against your ceiling and the fitting instructions.
The Open-Plan Lighting & Layout Planner is a 12-page PDF ($1.99) that turns these rules into worksheets for your own rooms: lantern sizes for the room, the table and the island, hanging heights against your ceiling, seating clearances, a ¼ in = 1 ft scale kit and the finish palette. It includes a 15% code for our Akari lamps and Marcel Breuer cane chairs and counter stools.
The buying list
Shop the look
Seven pieces from these rooms. Each link selects the size, color or finish shown.
Living room, dining table, kitchen island · Washi paper and bamboo
Akari Washi Paper Pendant Lamp
Handmade washi paper over fine bamboo ribs, on an adjustable 118 in / 3 m cord. E27 socket, bulb included. Each link selects that size.
USD / 1 lantern
Living room · Washi paper, wood rings, black tripod
Akari 14A Floor Lamp
A tall, tapering paper lantern on a slim tripod: 64 in / 162 cm high with a 13 in / 33 cm shade. 7W LED included.
$389.99 USD / 1 lamp
View the floor lamp
Living room · Leather and walnut veneer
Eames Style Lounge Chair and Ottoman
Top-grain leather over molded plywood shells with walnut veneer, on a swivel base. Seat height 16.9 in / 43 cm. Each link selects that leather color.
USD / chair and ottoman
Living room · Chrome tube and smoked acrylic
Bauhaus Style C-Shaped Side Table
One run of chrome tube under a smoked acrylic top, so the base slides under a sofa or chair. Each link selects that version.
USD / 1 table
Living room · Chrome tube and powder-coated steel
USM Haller Style Side Table
Chrome tube, ball joints and two steel panels, on casters: 15.2 × 15.2 × 17.2 in / 38.6 × 38.6 × 43.7 cm. Each link selects that color.
USD / 1 table
Dining table · Chrome, oak and hand-woven cane
Marcel Breuer Cane Dining Chairs, Set of 6
Chrome tubular-steel cantilevers with hand-woven cane in solid oak frames. Seat height 18.1 in / 46 cm. Each link selects that finish.
USD / set of 6
Kitchen island · Chrome, oak and hand-woven cane
Marcel Breuer Cane Counter Stools, Set of 2
The same cantilever at counter height, with a built-in footrest. Seat height 25.6 in / 65 cm. Each link selects that finish.
USD / set of 2
These are BreuerHome’s contemporary reproductions and style-inspired designs. They are not made by, licensed by or affiliated with the original manufacturers or the designers’ estates. Prices in USD were checked October 20, 2026; current prices and availability appear on the product pages. The sofa, dining table, kitchen, fireplace, rugs, plants and other styling objects in these rooms are outside this buying list.
Stone underfoot. Paper overhead. One view from the fireplace to the dining table.
