Open plan kitchen/dining/living

[Kent123]

Is open plan living a good idea? We would like to knock down not one but two walls to create a 12' x 14' kitchen to be open plan with a 24' x 11' diner/ sitting room. (Also have a seperate sitting room). I think the dining/room will be too long and narrow and difficult to furnish. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

What will the dimensions of the finished room be?

We have an L shaped (one side of L is only about 1.5m so it’s not far off square) approx 8m x 8m room which is our kitchen diner plus has room for a sofa. Our kitchen is a u shape with a breakfast bar on the bottom of the u. Sofa faces the kitchen. Dining table on the other side of the room in the L bit. It works brilliantly as a social & family space (fully tested over Christmas!).

I think what helps is making sure the areas are properly zoned. We have different ceiling heights in the space which helps us with that but you can do it with lighting for example as well. Also thinking about decor & especially soft furnishings to avoid it being too echoey or clinical (I have virtually nothing on sides in kitchen, I like that as it’s very tidy & uncluttered but needed to add flowers, plants etc to soften it a bit).

We have a 7 x 7m lounge/diner/kitchen. It's just fab. Separate "reception room" (we use it as a bedroom). Think it's the perfect layout and would want the same again if we moved. Do have one friend who has kept everything separate though. (She hates the noise.)

I lived in a fully open plan ground floor rental. I hated that you couldn't close off the kitchen from living. Kitchen smells, washing machine/tumble dryer/dishwasher noise spilling into the whole floor.

We have a separate lounge now with an open plan kitchen diner - which I love.

When we eventually buy I would avoid fully open plan but would love a kitchen/diner/conservatory/family room combo. Definitely a separate lounge for me though. A separate utility room might work I suppose.

We have an open plan kitchen/diner/lounge about 7m x 7m. Love it, wouldn't change it.

Agree with previous poster about zoning. My personal view is that you need a separate reception room if you have children (we have 3, 2 now teenagers) and also a separate utility room. The noise of washing machines / dryers etc is not conducive to open plan living.

My children are a bit older and we decided against knocking through. I like to escape to the kitchen and put some music on when I'm cooking, not have to cook over the arguments while one's watching Operation Ouch, another's trying to do homework and the other is attempting a violin practice. We did open plan in the last house, which was lovely when they were little, but these days we are big fans of doors! But kitchen diners make so much sense.

Also walls are useful for putting furniture against. If you knock down 2 walls do check you have enough left for any bookshelves, sideboard, radiators etc.

A relative has open plan kitchen/dining/living room. We were at their house over Christmas. The noise from someone in the kitchen cooking/moving pans around/emptying the dishwasher etc travels into the living area and makes it difficult for holding conversations. Definitely doesn't appeal to me - I have separate rooms.

Well as the op has a separate lounge there is a “retreat” room!

I would want a separate laundry room and in our open plan ground floor - I have one! Dishwasher is in the kitchen space.

I would make the kitchen bigger. I’d incorporate the dining space into the kitchen by having a dresser type fitment extending into the dining area for extra storage.

You can then have a siting area which has soft furnishings and feels separate from cooking and eating. Consider an island to break up the space.

Thanks for all your advice - much appreciated. Yes we are lucky to have a separate utility room and also sitting room so as BubblesBuddy says, somewhere to retreat to. We may extend the kitchen even further in to the dining area and will use a peninsula or island to form a barrier between kitchen and diner. . I have been in two minds about this project as the dining area/living area will be only be 11' wide and 24' long bit I think it'll be ok with the right furniture etc. There is just the two of us now and we're not planning on having a TV in the new area so football will have to be watched in the other sitting room and I am in charge of the radio!