Open Plan...or not

vansboy

Hi All

In the process of buying a new flat, which needs total refurb, not been cconfirmed if I'll be allowed to remove the wall between kitchen and living area, but that was my intention.

Talking to people, several say they'd rather have separate areas totally and not take wall down, what would your choice be?

Current size kitchen 3.25 x 2.5m, living room 5.3 x 4.7m

Thanks in advance

VB

phill99

Open plan isn't to everyones taste. Infact some people are really put off by it.

If the rooms were small, it will increase the sense of space. Your kitchen is average size amd your lounge is a pretty good size, so you wont necessarily be increasing the sense of space.

The big downside on open planning is that with the kitchen, you loose a wall to put cupboards and units on, so the useable kitchen actually decreases in size.

It wont add any value.

bouicca21

I have no idea why people like open plan. Cooking smells (and grease) get everywhere, as the last poster points out your usable kitchen space may actually decrease. You have to be super tidy all the time. You can't just close the door on mess and relax.

Open plan living is for interior decor magazines. It's for looking at, not for living in.

ClareTeaches

To be fair, I can understand when an original kitchen's small and has no seating, it's quite isolating, so it's nice to still feel part of things or to have some company while you're cooking, which open plan can help with.

But, having said that, I'm with the above posters - if the kitchen is open with your main/only lounge, grease and food smells get everywhere, it's noisy (food processor or electric whisk on while you're watching TV or just chilling on the sofa, anyone?). Also, our current (rented) flat has a HUGE open plan living space, which we have set up as kitchen, dining area, lounge area, entrance way and sewing space, but because it's open, the useable kitchen space is rubbish, with little storage and hardly any worktop.

Personally, I like an open kitchen diner, but a separate living room. Also, friends/family can stay on a sofa bed in a separate living room without too much hassle, if need be, but it's a lot more awkward if they're essentially sleeping in your kitchen, so just getting a glass of water at night or a morning coffee wakes them up! (We tend to let our parents use our room, while we sleep on a sofa bed, partially for this reaaon.)

A separate formal dining room as well as a kitchen diner feel pretty luxurious, though! And could be used as a study or *cough*sewing space*cough* or similar, if the dining room wasn't needed, which is harder when you don't have separate rooms.

A.Penny.Saved

I dislike open plan.

My terrace home has a porch with an internal door and inside that is a small 1.25m x 2.5m hall which originally had a doored cloakroom/storage space directly in line with the internal door.

My home has a long lounge which a previous owner decided to remove an area of wall and stuck an archway in and so had to remove the door on the storage space making it all visible as soon as anyone enters.

The cloakroom is now all open and totally visible, any smells from footwear enter the lounge and it just does not do anything well.

I want to put it all back to how it was originally and get rid of this open plan crap!

It makes keeping the lounge warm harder as well.

I agree with most of what has been previously said. Think very carefully before deciding to do it.

Snakey

To my mind, open-plan is what you (or the house-builder) goes for to hide the fact that one of the rooms isn't big enough (like the typical "dining kitchen" - you could never have a separate dining room in that space) or doesn't have its own window (like half the kitchens in central London flats).

I don't have people round often enough - or do enough cooking - for it to be a big problem that if you're in the kitchen you might miss a few minutes of the conversation taking place in the living room. This is far outweighed by the ability to shut the door on the washing machine when it's doing its thing. And from what I remember from when I did have that level of social life, it was often handy to have an excuse to split off from the main group for a little while.

mandm65

[FONT=&quot]In my view open plan is a personal choice as it offers a particular lifestyle and its quite possible that in future if you do plan to sell that potential buyers may prefer a more conventional layout. While I see the advantages, modern look, appears fashionable and no internal walls create a larger living space and more importantly if done well, might add value to your home. I appreciate that you are not adding any space, but open-plan homes often feel more spacious and light-filled than those with individual rooms.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That’s my two pence worth.[/FONT]

clayton16749

Keep your walls and your separate rooms. I really can't stand open plan. Your choice of course, just my opinion.