Open Plan Living - the only option?

hanfrangipane

I personally really like an element of open plan living and it's something I'm looking for in my next house.


I really dislike fully open plan living in houses and flats, where the entire kitchen and living area is one space but I really like a kitchen/diner/informal living space separate from a lounge area.


I currently live in an edwardian terrace with separate living room, dining room and medium sized galley kitchen. I really enjoy cooking and tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen either cooking or pottering around whereas my partner would tend to gravitate towards the living room and I'd say the dining room is unused around 80-90% of the time (it's where I keep my piano and sewing maching, in reference to the OP's questions) but also has dining table etc in there.


In my next property I would love a larger multi use space that had kitchen, seating area, dining area as I think my partner would be more likely to then sit in there whilst I tinker with stuff and then we would both use the lounge. Currently when we have friends round we all congregate in the cramped kitchen rather than the more formal living spaces! We have friends who have a large kitchen with doors out to the garden with a sofa and dining table in and it's absolutely the hub of the house and suits the way we like to live and entertain but keeps a separate lounge space too.


It's personal preference of course and I see varying styles come to the market, some which are workable and some that would not suit my lifestyle now I've tried it out a bit in my current house. As other posters have said it comes down to budget. Sometimes open plan is used to make smaller houses look and feel bigger but often it also comes at a premium if it has been laid out and renovated particularly well.


This layout, for example, would work well for my lifestyle:


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46607043.html

lincroft1710

hanfrangipane wrote: »

This layout, for example, would work well for my lifestyle:


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46607043.html

That's pricey for a 3 bed semi! Strange that the photographer hasn't learnt how to photograph the whole of the front of a house.

hanfrangipane

lincroft1710 wrote: »

That's pricey for a 3 bed semi! Strange that the photographer hasn't learnt how to photograph the whole of the front of a house.

About average for the area, maybe slightly above - it's unfortunately an expensive town! But yes, no idea why they didnt photograph the front. Either way, was just an example of how space is used in what will have originally been a dining room and small kitchen layout

Slinky

lincroft1710 wrote: »

That's pricey for a 3 bed semi! Strange that the photographer hasn't learnt how to photograph the whole of the front of a house.

Are they hoping you won't notice that strange lumpy rendering if you can't see it all?

spendinglikemad

I think its just a fashion to be honest - we have a 4 bed house with a separate kitchen dining room and lounge which would lend itself to being changed into a big dining kitchen and separate lounge which some of the neighbours have done however we have a piano and therefore it needed a big room to go in - plus we do like to dine in the dining room.

Any activities like model making sewing, craft stuff gets done on dining table and kids may go to their rooms or office if they want to listen to something different (or they use headphones)

We are trying to sell ours and most of the comments are that people want an open living kitchen /open living space which it isn't at the moment but could easily be done so I guess its just a fashion!!

We are moving to a much larger place that is an edwardian house with a lounge that has been opened up and we will make it back into 2 rooms - with a dining kitchen and dining room and orangery just because it gives us more options when extended family come to stay but I think most people with young families want open living

SLM

rosyw

Where I am the new houses mainly have TINY kitchens and lounge/diners! When I was looking to move I quickly discovered that even for me on my own this just wouldn't work!
I ended up buying something open plan for one reason - space! it was the only option if I was to fit everything in that I wanted to without feeling really cramped. I was unsure initially, thinking about cooking smells etc. but haven't found it a problem, possibly due to the L shape layout, kitchen at one end, then dining area and round the corner to the living space, it works very well.
I also think as someone else has mentioned, it also comes down to how much you have to spend

beedeedee

lincroft1710 wrote: »

That's pricey for a 3 bed semi! Strange that the photographer hasn't learnt how to photograph the whole of the front of a house.

Changing the subject slightly...I like the pelmet in pic 7. Does anyone know where I could get one? It doesn't look like a box pelmet (which most pelmets are)......

zagubov

I suppose kitchens are small because people didn't see us having more white goods and machines for laundry all fighting for space. Merging them with dining rooms makes the best of a bad job.

But merging them with a living room is bonkers. You can stand things against and hang things on a wall, and they make places much more practical, as anybody with kids will tell you.

ANGLICANPAT

Friends were interested in this one , but even for them, die hard open plan fans, it was just too open . ( Cost more not to have all those extra walls and doors too lol) Apart from obvious cooking problems, a really open space must be quite difficult to make homely looking - plus getting heating just right for different areas/activities must be more awkward.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63608585.html

glasgowdan

Lounge areas in open plans are always cold feeling places. I'd always plump for a kitchen with dining (open dining is a great way to be sociable and let the smells work up the guests' appetite) but a cosy soft furnished lounge is the place to spend the evenings. We've put down some really thick underlay and a nice carpet and it's wonderful.