Knocking through to create an open-plan kitchen, living and dining is the most common London ground-floor renovation. The mistake is leaving it as one undifferentiated space. Joinery zones it without putting walls back.
1. Media wall as the living-room anchor
A full-height media wall in the living end of the space defines where the sofa sits and anchors the room visually.
2. Bench seat as the zoning line
A long upholstered bench with storage below acts as a backrest for the dining table and a sightline-breaker between zones.
3. Island as the kitchen edge
A kitchen island marks the kitchen boundary. Add bar seating on the dining side to make it work for both.
4. Bookcase wall as a soft divider
A double-sided open bookcase between living and dining zones — storage from both sides, sightlines preserved.
5. Sideboard sized to the bay
A full-width sideboard in the dining-end bay, matched in finish to kitchen joinery, ties the two zones together visually.
6. Floor finish change
Engineered oak in living and dining, large-format tile in the kitchen. Joinery thresholds bridge the change cleanly.
7. Pendant lighting per zone
Cluster pendants over the dining table, a statement pendant over the island, recessed downlights elsewhere. Lighting does as much zoning as joinery.
8. Matched joinery palette
Use the same finish across the kitchen, media wall and sideboard so the joinery reads as one designed scheme rather than three pieces of furniture.
For the living-room joinery side of the equation, see our media wall and living room cabinets pages.
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Book a £150 home survey — fully deductible from your order — or design online in the configurator first.