I've just moved into an open-plan apartment. The living, dining and kitchen counter are all within the same space, and I'm really struggling with furniture placement.
While open-plan layouts can have a wonderfully spacious feel and an interactive quality - you can chat with your guests or watch TV while you prepare a meal, for example - furniture arrangement and privacy can be tricky issues.
Before you start designing your room, consider how you will use these spaces and whether you want to create one large open space or separate zones.
If you choose open-plan, your colour and material palette are crucial. Try to incorporate the same hues and textures throughout. Pick two or three dominant tones and be sure to use each tone in each area - so if white is one of your colours, have a white sofa, white dining table and white accessories or flowers in the kitchen.
Next, think about furniture layout. Although it defies conventional thinking, placing furniture off the wall or even in the middle of the room works better in an open-plan layout. Try to use key furniture such as your sofa or a television unit between the living and dining area - by doing this with low furniture, you retain the open-plan feel while giving the space structure. Anchor the sofa by adding a thin console table, such as the Foundry Console Table by Crate and Barrel, behind it. Add a few bar stools (www.okfurniture.com) to integrate the kitchen counter with your living space.
Save time - and your back - by trying different furniture arrangements on a screen. You can make a dimensioned floor plan quickly and easily with a free app at www.floorplanner.com.
If you want to create three distinct zones, try using a different colour palette to define each area. For an unconventional approach, divide the space by suspending a series of candle holders or lights from the ceiling.
Bookshelves also work well as space dividers, so long as they're designed to be seen from both sides. Add vases, flowers, photo frames and lamps to the books. The Cubic shelf by Freedom Furniture in Mirdif City Center is excellent. Another option is to erect a screen, but this can look clunky and disrupt the flow of natural light, making the room feel cramped.
Lastly, rugs help to visually define spaces. As a rule of thumb, make sure the rug in the living area accommodates at least the front legs of the sofa. In the dining area, make sure the rug is larger than the table.
Pallavi Dean is an award-winning independent design consultant who practises in the UAE. If you have a question for her, email homes@thenational.ae
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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THE SPECS
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Engine: Electric
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Price: Dh431,800
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Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million