open floor plan
The open floor plan has been a rising home trend since the ’90s. It’s popularity can be credited to the home improvement channels across the United States of America which have been showcasing the “wow factor” of tearing down walls to create spacious, multi-purpose living areas.
These sort of design also includes removing the first-floor suspended slab of a room and leaving a room open from the ground floor to the roof level. Ever since this home improvement channels network first went on the air in 1994. Now, almost everyone is in the process of updating their home to an open floor design or searching for one to buy which has an open floor plan concept on their must-have list.
However, despite their aesthetically appealing design, open floor plans have some downfalls. While the layout may have better flow than a home that’s segmented into separate rooms, there are a few pros and cons that come into play when there are no doors or walls within the heart of your home.
If you’re thinking about knocking out a few walls to open up your living room and kitchen space, you may want to read this first. Here are some reasons you should reconsider an open floor plan in your home.
Disadvantages
It puts you under the stress of having to constantly clean up your house
With an open concept, you can be sitting on your couch and your eyes can easily wander over to all the dirty dishes in your kitchen sink. If you have kids, your clean kitchen could be eclipsed as you peer into the living area and see toys scattered about the room.
While knocking out the walls of your home does give your primary living area better flow and a more spacious feel, you’ll catch yourself tidying up more frequently than in a home with several rooms, where messes can be more easily concealed (or forgotten). Even if you consider yourself a neat freak, anything out of place, whether it be an overturned pillow or a table stacked with bills, will be more noticeable with an open floor plan.
Your house could be noisier
Along with messes, noise is also more prominent in your house if you have an open floor plan because there are fewer doors and walls to stop sounds from travelling throughout the space. Instead, noises bounce around the central area, so you can wind up with a cacophony of meal-prep sounds from the kitchen, the TV playing in the family room, and kids running around and shouting just about everywhere. This doesn’t bode well for those who have shifted to remote work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
You may lose your privacies
Now more than ever, having room to escape to – the proverbial ‘room of one’s own’ – has taken on new meaning and greater significance. To be able to close a door, be free of noise, someone else’s conference call or video chat, just to be in your own space – your head, if you will – is a necessity. We all need physical separation to stay balanced. So, if you’re looking for a few quiet spaces in your home or just to lessen noise overall, the open concept may not be the best option for you.
Arranging furniture may not be an easy task
Usually, designers plan groupings of furniture to take up the generous spaces provided by open floor plan design — perhaps a TV-watching area, a conversation area, a reading nook, etc. — instead of arranging all the furniture around the perimeter of the room in one big circle.
But this can be difficult for the average homeowner to achieve on their own without professional help. The logistics of arranging furniture in a way that is both livable and practical in such a space can be a bother. It can also be a pricey endeavour. Often, homeowners find that their furniture feels too small in an open layout, compelling them to buy new pieces when, perhaps, all that’s needed is a designer’s touch in furniture arranging.
Fewer load-bearing walls
When you adopt the open floor design for your house, your house will then require a serious structural design to compensate for the few load-bearing structures. This will translate to more cost and serious structural work.
So, before you take a sledgehammer to your walls, consider these disadvantages of open floor plans and ask yourself if they’re right for you, your family, and your lifestyle.
The open floor design doesn’t go without some advantages. Here are some advantages of an open floor design:
Advantages
It saves cost
Since the open floor plan entails removing walls and opening up floor slabs, it tends to technically reduce the cost of construction of your house.
Aesthetically appealing design
They give an aesthetically appealing design to your house. Aesthetically appealing design can greatly enhance the visual impact of your house, and increase its worth.
Improved Lighting
Natural lighting can be optimized in the kitchen, living room, and dining room if they belong to a shared open floor style plan. Your Architect or home builder can help you select the perfect combination of windows and fixtures to give your home optimal lighting.
Increased Real Estate Value
We did say open floor plans are trending, and the real estate market is reflecting that! If you are planning to work on your custom home, resell a new home or do a major renovation, we recommend utilizing an open floor layout to maximize your home’s real estate value.
Easy Traffic Flow
Open-concept layouts make it easy for guests and families to transition through spaces, as there are no doors or walls in the way. This means there’ll be better flow and a more spacious feel in the house. An open floor plan can allow you to entertain guests in your living spaces while cooking dinner in the kitchen. This types of layouts also allows you to keep an eye on young family members.
Consult us for your drawings and construction services.
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