Can I have your thoughts on open plan living please?

[Awakeforhours]

We are looking to move to a bungalow as I have a degenerative disease. We are looking to move to wales to be closer to family and have chanced upon this bungalow that has been recently refurbished.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144376916#/?channel=RES_BUY

It looks a bit bleak at the moment but with a planted garden and a bit of colour it would probably improve.
My concern is that the kitchen and living area are all in one. I’d be concerned about noise from the kitchen whilst cooking and smells.

We have two children age 8 and 10 so bedrooms wise it ticks the boxes but I’m unsure of the kitchen and living room being all in one.

I haven’t had a viewing yet, we’d need to travel to do so and I don’t want to waste my time if it won’t work for us

Personally I would never opt for open plan unless there was another separate living room. You would all be on top of one another, cooking smells and noises you can’t get away from. Plus bedroom 1 is very narrow. I don’t know the area or the pricing value, but I would look for something else.

I think it might be easy to put up a wall between the kitchen and living space if it bothers you ?

It looks wheelchair-friendly but isn't.
I'm trying to see beyond the plastic 'grass' and the grey, and that the open plan kitchen/lounge looks like a garage.

I'd put a wall back up, open plan living doesn't appeal to me, it's a total pain when you have people over and there's no where for the kids to hang out, or the adults to escape and chat. Maybe with sliding doors in so you can open it back up if you want.

I think I'd be more concerned about the strong choice made in the bathroom, but that's just a taste thing.

If I'm honest, my 1st thought was that it looks like a garage/shed. Some planters would brighten it up though and make it look less boxy.
I've always lived in open plan houses. Having a good kitchen exhaust helps, along with windows to open if needed. Could the garage be converted to an office/kids play room so there is separate space? Could you extend off the lounge to make another room?

Ask the vendor/real estate if they could video a walk through of the property. It might give you more of an idea before having to travel there.

Noise from washing machine too.

Personally I don’t like open plan living. (Smells and heating).
But from your op, would you be needing a wheelchair/hoist etc in the future? If so then it might be perfect. I am assuming that this may well be a forever move. The outside just needs some imaginative baskets/pots and colourful plants Imo. Looks easy to maintain as well.

Personally I love open plan living, but looks like it would be quite easy to put a wall up?

I think this is in the utility?

Confused as to why the lounge bifolds open onto what is essentially the drive/front garden, rather than the rear, which seems more private.

I agree with PP who said this isn't as wheelchair/walker/crutches etc friendly as it looks, especially the kitchen and bathroom.

Open plan is ok for me, I like it with teenagers as they are around without being forced to spend time with us. I don't find any problem with the cooking smells or noise.

the key to open plan living is having a separate utility room to keep noisy laundry out of the way. and this house does have that.

there is also potential to put a wall back up if you wanted to.

the garden could be massively improved if you planted stuff,

I think this looks fine as a bungalow if it is in your budget and the right area.

I had open plan when my children were young. It meant nobody could watch TV unless everyone watched TV, because you couldn't hear the set if the kids were playing at the other end of the room, and if they were watching then you couldn't get away from Teletubbies (or Postman Pat or whatever). It's nice to be able to shut a door.

Also the mess. They'd have toys spread from end to end of the room - the more room, the more space to spread the toys. If I had unexpected visitors there was nowhere tidy to usher them into.

It looks like the rear of the bungalow is north-facing, which will mean the rooms will be dark. Gardens look dark too. No view.
It looks like a flip.

Having a garage is good.

Similarly, someone in the kitchen using a food mixer or something will mean the TV will be drowned out.

It's a nightmare, only suited to quite grown ups.

I grew up in a family house where the downstairs was all open plan. My mum did it because she was depressed at how dark and small our house felt separated into rooms, but she put the walls back in years later.

It's just relentless noise. Cooking noise from the kitchen. TV noise from whoever is watching TV.

I don't mind open plan. I am forever in my kitchen away from my family, so think it would be nice to be together more. There is a utility, so you can close the door on the washing machine noise, although it is annoying me that they didn't bother to nicely box the boiler from view.

If you have a degenerative condition, it does look like it might not be the best option as it is. Could you easily get around that big kitchen island, the corridor section on the floor plan looks quite higgledy and narrow. Probably you would need to view it to decide if it works for you later on too. Things have clearly just been installed, so would uou be better paying for somewhere that is disability friendly from the start, or in need of some improvements, so you can change to suit your needs?

Personally I love open plan, the space, light, multifunction. People always state the smell from cooking but I've never seen that as an issue. We just open the patio door if necessary.

I don't like that the bifold doors from the living room look out to car area and the garden is open to the street (and is tiny). Cooking smells don't bother me but with two kids you'd want another room - like a family room or more formal room for adults. That hall is wasted space.
I don't quite understand it - it says it's 1500sq foot, which is almost 300 sq ft bigger than mine, but I have a separate living room, kitchen diner which also has room for a piano and sofa, downstairs loo. Middle floor two bedrooms, bathroom and tiny office, and large bedroom with en suite top floor.
You could put a wall up as people have suggested but I don't think that would help overall.

I'm a fan of fairly open plan and I love our open kitchen/ dining room. BUT, whilst we do have a separate living room, it's open to the stair and front door and is the way to the kitchen so it can't be shut off.

It ok, we live with it, but I frequently wish we could just have somewhere the kids crap doesn't spill into and could close the door on.

You don't even have that in this house; I'd be worried you'd get fed up of being on top of each other.

Plus the third bedroom is quite small and the second not much bigger, so not sure how much the kids would want to escape there?

Property sale historyListing:£325,000Guide Price

Year sold Sold price
2021 £150,000

It's a flip.