Your house: Let’s talk Open Plan Living: Dreams vs Nightmare

Over my past twenty years in this industry I would certainly say that there has been a shift towards this utopian dream of the perfect completely open plan living…

I can truthfully say if I had a penny for every time I was told ‘we want it open plan’, I’d be well on my way to buying myself some very very expensive shoes 👠 from all those pennies!

But here’s what experience has taught me; completely open concept doesn’t work (unless you plan on being single forever and owning no pets and only having visitors over for parties and not to stay more than one evening).

Those of us that paved the dream of the open concept over a decade ago: Architects, Designers, Interior Designers, and all others in the industry know that what started out as a great idea for for swanky restaurants, hotels, bars and other places in the commercial sector and filtered into showhomes and on the front of GoodHousekeeping Magazine (other trendy home magz are available)… we know the truth. The real secret to successful open concept living; and I’ll share a few tips with you:

1. A fully open plan concept is an awful place to live. Why? I hear you ask… well let’s put it this way you never ever have any privacy AND unless your a single person without children or pets and never wish for either, the long term effects of knocking every single wall down is a bad idea.

2. Next on my list is we all have a suitcase, or ownership of a mop/broom, need to iron or wash and hang our laundry (it’s not like we live in the sun soaked country where we can dry our 🧦 🩲 socks and pants and they will dry on the washing line outside 365 day of the year).

   With this reality check we then realise that we need a room to get rid of all the ‘stuff’. So here comes a secret weapon to the modern open plan concept: The Utility Room OR The Laundry Room as our friends across the pond call it! Where you underwear can hang freely without the need for the tropic's. And don’t scrimp in the size; if you want that designer open plan kitchen out of a magazine to stay looking amazing all the time then your ‘dirty little secret’ needs to actually be a decent size. There isn’t much point if you have not space to hang your undies and hide the hoover in this place. And if anyone who has a well organised, decent size utility room will tell you it helps the combat against doggy dramas and all manner of after school activities that those grubby little things we call ‘children’ do. ⚽️ 🏑🎾🏊‍♀️🏇🏼

3. Hidden or clever storage is king! If your to have an open plan home then you need to not scrimp on the storage: Children’s toys ✔️

   Lining/bedding/towels ✔️

   Chargers/headphones/keys/batteries/stamps/stationary (and all other nick knacks we all can’t live modern life without).✔️

   Kitchen appliances; the type that we get out a few times a year when we are making our children’s birthday cake, whisky, cake tins etc. Or airfryers, toastie makers, blenders! ✔️

I’ve only listed 3 areas that need storage or good but the point is still made: if we want that magazine worthy home then we need to accept that we need very well organised storage space, and lots of it. And for that walls….

Believe it or not we still need walls and rooms but these need to be flexible spaces:

1. Anyone who has children thinks they need a play room… the idea is fab but it needs to connect to the main open plan living space, yet at the same time have the option to be closed off when not in use; otherwise if it’s not close by it’s a glorified toy storage; and the toys that should be played with in the toy room will be removed and then these toys will be scattered all over the floor in your lovely open plan living space. Once the kids get older this space could be utilised as a room for teenage hangout with a seperate tv; close enough to the rest of the family yet they are able to feel like they have a sense of space to themselves.

2. And then their is home working now: let’s be honest since Covid the way a lot of people work is from home; and can you work in your fancy kitchen while kids run screaming around you or your better half has the TV on? It’s unlikely, so the next thing is a home office; this can be a flexible space of course, it double double as a guest bedroom with a clever Murphy-Bed that pulls down off a concealed wall, or it could be used as a man cave, or even a crafting/creative space at the same time. I suppose what I’m saying is with clever storage this space can be doubled up and can be utilised when your not working.

3. And to reinforce it a utility space is a must for the open plan dreamer.

I do often come across families that have started out opening up their whole home downstairs and then I start putting walls back up… (often this is met with resistance if the family had not lived in the open plan space) however the ones that come to me that are living in the open plan environment often come to me and are happy for us to create seperate flexible spaces with plenty of storage, most saying how it’s too noisey or too messy or too much maintenance to have the open plan magazine look.

Imagine for reference point only

What I am trying to say is yes, YES WE CAN have the open plan style but this is something we need to do cleverly, and that is only achieved using some of the above steps (of course what you will need from my above list will depend on your family dynamics).

My final point is if you take on the open plan concept then you need to think of the space as your life changes and grows; if it’s a single person penthouse apartment in downtown NYC 🗽 then no issue, knock down every wall but if not then think about how your house will function in 10 years time, and unless your rich 💰 enough to through a load of cash at it all over again then design for flexible living and your family and home growth.

With love from your Warwick Architect