Away Room Design Tips-According To LiLu Interiors

Away Room Design

By Lisa Peck, ASID
An away room is the perfect addition to a open floor plan home. Within a great room there is much activity and contemporary homes have moved away from the idea of a formal living room or dining room. I’ve always enjoyed the idea of an away room, cozy and quiet to spend time in. When preparing for writing this blog, I discovered the away room concept was first popularized by Sarah Susanka, author of the Not so Big House.
The beauty of the title of an “Away Room” is you can imagine multiple uses for the space instead of a room like a study or a living room.
When designing an away room there are some specific considerations and design decisions that can help you create a successful room.

What will you do in your away room?

While having a room just for television, piano playing or reading sounds delightful for many this is a luxury of space. An away room could serve different functions for different members of your family. A quiet retreat away from the great room might serve many purposes. However the key to designing a successful away room is to understand how you might use it and design it to support the use.
Providing the appropriate furnishings, lighting, electrical and storage space for each activity that might take place will help it feel like a quiet retreat for each person who spend a little time in the away room. Whether they are practicing piano, strumming their guitar, reading, watching a movie or pursuing an art or craft. The point is to have the room for a quiet pursuit that is separate from the hubbub of the main living areas.

Details: Design by LiLu Interiors

What mood do you want your away room to have?

An away room could strike any chord, from light and happy to cozy and welcoming! By understanding the mood you want it to have you can choose the colors and textures that more easily match your mood. Bright or light colors with smooth surfaces create a light happy mood and richer colors with more texture a cozy space.
If you need the mood of the room to be flexible, choosing mid-tones with some texture and pairing these with flexible lighting will give each occupant some control over the mood they require for their individual pursuit.

Details: Images via Benjamin Moore, Rosemary Hallgarten and Home Depot

Ensure acoustical privacy

The main function of the away room is to have a spot outside of the busy community areas of a home. So ensuring acoustical privacy is one design consideration that must be addressed. Consider placing the room at the end of a corridor, far removed from the great room. Be able to close the door and be truly separate. While a barn door can be a popular choice today, it may not be a great choice for an away room because they will not prevent noise from the great room from getting into the room.  In addition, if you have a particularly noisy household you might want to consider even further measures like doubling up on drywall with staggered joints and insulation in the wall.
Hope you enjoy your time away!