What's it like living in an open plan home

[CorpusCallosum]

We are about to embark on a big extension. Keeping our existing modest living room, turning the kitchen into a utility and putting the staircase there then knocking down a conservatory and going 6m out the back for a kitchen/diner/ family space. Bifold doors on the back into the garden. Very zeitgeisty.

My question is, what's it actually like living in this type of space? In my head it's amazing but are there pitfalls we haven't thought of that make family life harder? We have 1 18mo DD and are planning another.

Following as we are planning something very similar!

We are partly open plan; we knocked down a partition wall to turn the poky sitting room, hallway and dining room into one big living space. I need the kitchen to be separate though - when we entertain, it's nice to shut the door on the mess and leave it for the next day!!

It’s not fully open plan op as you’re keeping your living room. It’s really just a big kitchen diner.

We had an open plan kitchen and living room in our old flat and I HATED it! You're cooking in your living room, with all the associated noise and smells. Maddening when one of you is cooking and the other is trying to watch TV or just relax. It felt so claustrophobic. Might be a bit less oppressive in a house where you have more space and maybe more options for ventilation, but I would never do it again

I really dislike fully open plan. Friends of ours have it and love it - they see it as sociable, I see it as chaotic. Probably depends on your personality type though.

Cant escape the kids. They have the telly on loud reverberates around the whole house. Same for cello and violin lessons if they have friends over etc....

Do you have pets?

I have nowhere to escape mine whilst WFH. Many Teams calls have featured them barking at the postman in the background.

Also, whilst I think open plan is a good layout when you have small children and want to keep an eye on them all the time, it works less well for teenagers who really need an independent reception room to hang out in or (like mine) they end up in their bedrooms all the time.

open plan is on the way out, style wise.

We viewed an open plan bungalow when purchasing our new home. We both immediately hated it. There was no cosiness to it, felt really cold and no atmosphere.

Thank you for all the responses, keep them coming! Sounds like we might do ok as keeping a separate living room but we'll have to live with a messy kitchen on display when entertaining!

Very glad I didn't have to go through lockdown in an open plan layout. Having seen pictures on rightmove of open plan spaces with several tv screens how does that work if you all want to watch different things?

Big kitchen diners with a sofa area are brilliant, but you need a second living room with doors on it to shut the kids in

What you've suggested sounds great, go did it!

Big kitchen diners with a sofa area are brilliant, but you need a second living room with doors on it to shut the kids in

This. Completely open-plan would make me lose my mind. People knock down all the walls in their house when they have toddlers, apparently forgetting that kids grow up and need to escape / be escaped from.

Old house we had an open plan living room which otherwise would have been 2 small rooms and entrance hall. The kitchen diner was seperate though we put those two rooms together to make a bigger room which much preferred as well.

We really liked that arrangement and the children loved the big space and both much preferred it to the smaller rooms we had at previous house. It was good as you could see the kids easily and more space. It is a bit personal preference though.

Our current house we have small rooms as its grade II listed and our cat still manages to appear in DH's zoom calls - she would just howl at the top of her lungs if shut out but thankfully DH's work love her and ask for her if she's not there.

we lived in proper open plan before (kitchen, lounge, diner all one space and no utility or other spaces. I was very pleased to get separate rooms when we moved.

The issue for me was noise. Things like watching TV but the extractor fan needed to be on. Or wanting to sit quietly but two other people playing a noisy game together loudly and the washing machine buzzing. The bliss of moving and having a door to shut between me and others. Also there was no hiding the mess. Not just kitchen mess, but the kids played toys under your feet which is where you wanted to cook, and your partner wanted to work.

But your set up will avoid a lot of this as you have a lounge and a utility room - so maybe it will be lovely.

The only bit that might be relevant to you is that as it was a largish space, with hard flooring and hard surfaces like tables and worktops I found it got very echoey, particularly with groups. I would look at lots of soft cushions, big rugs / things hung on the walls to absorb noise, soft dining chairs, table cloths.

It did have some advantages - big meant we could have a massive table for big family gatherings by shoving sofas to one side, which we just cant fit in anywhere now. Also when the children are little you can watch them easily - but that stage passes fairly quickly.

You need to be very very tidy or things disappear rapidly. You can’t hide from any mess by just shutting a door, or keep the kids away from some thing you are doing.
However - no excuse for people to say they didn’t hear you ask for help/come and sit down for meals etc

Open plan isn’t for me. My old flat was one huge room with kitchen at one end, sotting room at the other and dining table in the middle. Bedrooms all off the hallway.

I felt like I was missing loads of my house! Plus if you have small children/pets you can’t hem them in anywhere to stop them causing havoc, nowhere to go hide when you’re sick of your family, someone always there.

Current house has sitting room, dining room and kitchen all separate, but I did have huge 7.5ft glass doors put in in the dining room to brighten it up a bit.

My downstairs is open plan. I actually really like it. Big living area, leading into the kitchen/diner. It's actually been great in lockdown. It's light, big and airy. There are four of us. We have one TV, can't say that causes any issues. The kids go in the garden or their room if they want to play on their own. I go to my bedroom if I want to be alone. I've been able to work from home during lockdown.

My only complaint is having to think about when the washing machine goes on, I can't hear the telly over it. But I usually put it on first thing in the morning or when we go out for a bit.

Noisy

We have open plan lounge, diner kitchen on top floor of our house which has amazing seaviews. But we also have a big studio elsewhere in the house

Most People love the idea of open plan until they are trying to watch TV and the washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher are all going at once 😬

ONLY do open plan

1- if you have a separate utility with a door on it

2- if you have a separate lounge/family room so either you or the kids can get away from each other

3- don't have a kitchen island that just becomes a dumping ground for family crap - never looks tidy

DONT do bifold if it's your only door to the garden - constantly having to open the bloody things just to hang the washing out/ let pets in or out/ nipping to the shed

We built a new house and purposely designed it be open plan,having always lived in houses with separate rooms before. I love it and it works really well for us,but we do have a separate study downstairs and an upstairs sitting room so are able to get away from each other. We have 3 cats,a dog and 2 teenagers,and for the first time ever,having people over is relaxing,because there is enough space and those not feeling sociable have other rooms to escape to. No cooking smells because it has a whole house ventilation system,no noisy appliances because we chose quiet ones and the washing machine is in the plant room. I wouldn't change a thing.

Think about all the doors you have closed and why in the last say fortnight.
EG spin cycle on washing machine too loud so shut kitchen door. Solution - put door on new utility room.

And so in. Work out how you will get round these things prior! Sorted.

We've just done this! Have kept the front room as a smaller lounge but now have a huge kitchen/dining/living space. We also have bifolds. It's great. The kids can play whilst I cook etc. I'm a SAHM and we spend all day in it. It's nice to have a separate living room for my DH to work from in the evening, or to watch different tv programs!! Plus it has a sofa bed so can be a spare room when needed.
We've got most of the toys in the extension, (good old Ikea kallax) loads of room for them to play. I live being able to watch and talk to them when I'm in the kitchen. Before, I was shut away in the kitchen and couldn't see what they were doing in the front room.
I'd recommend it. It's also great for entertaining at Christmas etc, lots of room for family and friends.