OPEN PLAN LIVING

[CrispsnDips]

Would anyone want to share their photos of how they have created one big space, ie: kitchen, diner, lounge? I would love some ideas about how you separate the areas by placing rugs/positioning furniture, etc

also, how does it work? Is it infuriating having everyone together, ie. not being able to escape to the kitchen, for instance?

I have seen a fabulous property on the market - there is a separate snug but we would have to use that as a bedroom as there are only three smallish bedrooms and we have two teenagers who have been used to bigger bedrooms

cheers 😃

Id stay if you have 2 teens, then steer clear of fully open plan unless you're happy for them to basically live in their bedrooms!
DD1s first home was fully open plan which they loved initially, but some fell out of love with it. There’s no getting away from the mess, from each other, from cooking smells. She’s now currently building a new home and theres an open plan kitchen / diner / TV space with a completely closed off sitting room.

Best place to look is YouTube and new build home tours, designed by professional designers. Most do at least dining kitchens with a sofa at one end. They usually have a separate lounge though. As I am not planning to move anywhere in the next decade this is my fix.

I do agree that having one giant open space means sound travels as do cooking smells. It would be good to have a second reception room or space for the teens so they can watch stuff together rather than living in their rooms.

Thanks ..some really good tips here which are helping me to think abit more clearly…

I’ve looked at some You Tube videos/Google Images and can see that the areas need to connect with a theme ..they all look absolutely amazing but I know it can be so different when the whole family share the space (my daughter surrounds herself with crisp packets, chocolate wrappers etc!!)

it might be something to consider in the future ..

It would drive me mad. What happens when you have the dishwasher and TV on at the same time. Or when one person wants to chat to someone else when you're trying to watch TV.

I think the only time open space really works is when you have very small children and can keep an eye on them more easily. But then they go to bed when you are ready to have your down time.

We have a big lounge , kitchen dining area and have no fold internal doors so can separate if necc ..

Everything has a zone so it's easy .

That sounds horrendous especially with teenagers. Walls and doors are good! Open plan kitchen & dining is great, everything else needs it's own room.

if you want arty photos, look on Houzz. there are lots of ideas there.

Second this, Houzz is great for ideas.

I have a big open plan space but also have a separate utility and sitting room.

The sitting room never gets used tbh. Noise isn’t a huge issue. DC watch tv in the open plan room, on their tablets with wireless headphones.

Utility is a godsend and I wouldn’t consider open plan without it tbh - or at least having the washing machine elsewhere.

Zoning - we have two sitting areas and each has a rug so that provides zoning. The room is L shaped rather than a big square so that also zones it. One sitting area has a fireplace as a focal point. And the ceiling has different levels and skylights which line up with the zones.

What about when the teens have their friends round? You'll be creeping up to your bedroom 'cos you have anywhere else to be. Open plan living doesn't work with teens!

Sliding pocket doors provide options for open or closed between interconnecting rooms.

Cooking smells everywhere, on everything including clothes. Open plan is all the rage, partly because it's prob cheaper for builders to build them .. not convinced personally

I grew up in an open plan house that was a new build when my parents bought it in the 60s. My main memory was of being able to hear everything said downstairs when I was upstairs in my room.

Thanks for the replies..

i am trying my best to imagine how it might work..there is a separate utility. There doesn’t seem to be a focal point..on the layout plans they have positioned a sofa facing bifolding doors looking out onto the garden but I would have to hang a TV on the wall (if we’re not using the snug) and use that as a focal point. Alternatively, maybe get a log burner and use that as a sort of focal point

in any case our home isn’t Rightmove Ready yet 😆 so I think it will sell soon and we’re abit late but thanks again

Check Instagram for “real” homes which are open plan. We did it last year and it works well. We don’t have issue with cooking smells, as we incorporated appropriate ventilation into it.
We repurposed what was a downstairs bedroom into a 2nd living room so if anyone wants privacy without going to their bedroom, they can have it. Interestingly it’s never used tho!

It works well for us (oh yeah, and we have a very quiet dishwasher)

Happy to share pics by email/pm

I have an open plan lounge kitchen diner, love it, but also have 2 other living rooms which means you can escape if you want to. If I could only have the open plan, without the other rooms, I would choose seperate rooms.

I'm in Aus and we LOVE open plan here 🙄

My opinion is, it only works with older DC f you have another room to go to. Our last house was only open plan kitchen/dinner/lounge and was fine with young DC.

We've just bought another house with a big open plan area BUT it also has a rumpus room and another seperate lounge.

Can you share what your doors look like?

I love our open plan,and kids are older. We do have a seperate front room though, but this is mostly used as an office for WFH. Washing machine is in a utility cupboard so no noise. Dishwasher is brand new and practically silent. Definite zones for kitchen, dining, snug and utility. Kitchen is brand new so decent cooker hood for extraction and can also open velux window above or kitchen window. We entertain as a family quite a lot and it is perfect.

Kind of like this but there are loads of variations now

Glass and black ones etc

https://www.vufold.co.uk/inspire-2400mm-white?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzJmlBhBBEiwAEJyLuxl-UC8xQJ0nYGgMPXdLB6fT0lt0kyoZZxTrOm4yZjzDcdahfIqbBoCnD4QAvDD_BwE

I don't really think your children's' ages make a difference assuming they can open doors anyway! We have a huge open plan space and I think it makes life so much easier as well as looking better. Anyone wanting privacy can go to their room!

Of course it does. Young DC want to be near you, and you them. Older DC not so much.

What about when the teens have their friends round? You'll be creeping up to your bedroom 'cos you have anywhere else to be.

Surely the teens disappear to their own room with friend in tow? This was always then norm when I was a teen.

These are clever.

We have a garden room that has a second TV. I wouldn't want them to have tvs in their own rooms but having a second tv space with a games console has been a big hit. Teens want their own space and what with housing costs being what they are, many of us may have grown up children living with us for some time.