Open Plan Design Unveiled: Some Unexpected Downsides to One Big Space
Just because lots of people love a certain thing, does it mean you need to love it too?
Does the thing, whatever it is, honestly work for your lifestyle and how you use your space?
Let’s take a look at one of the most popular trends in home design. More often than not, when you tune into an HGTV show, the hosts are knocking down walls and creating an open concept floor plan for the owners, with kitchen, dining and living areas in one large room. When a house really needs updating, a clean slate makes complete sense, and the open plan has been the most popular request in home renovation since the early 90’s.
I love the spacious feeling of open concept design and the togetherness it allows. It’s also a great way to make a small house feel bigger.
But this month, I’m letting my inner rebel take the lead–what if we reconsider the open floor plan?
Wait, what??
Believe it or not, there are a few downsides to open concept design that you may not have considered.
Sensory Overload
When your partner wants to watch the game in the living area, and you want to talk on the phone, one of you must concede to the other with an open floor plan. In work mode, it’s difficult to have a video meeting while someone is making noise in the kitchen. Even worse, it’s harder to sneak a handful of cookies or chips when there’s no place to hide. And who wants Saturday morning cartoon time to smell like Friday night’s fish fry? Sometimes walls are a good thing.
Photo from Unsplash
Character Void
Whenever possible, I love to save architectural details that tell the history of the building. Removing a bunch of walls means that there’s no longer a place for antique molding or built-in cupboards. No original hardware, pocket doors or wainscotting. No sense of discovery as you peek through doorways and around corners. Basically a lot of the charm is lost when you make one big room. Any sense of architectural history about the place is, well, history.
Photo from Unsplash
Traveling Clutter
I think it’s a law of physics that our stuff expands to fill our homes, and a once-spacious open concept quickly becomes a big container for all the stuff of life: shoes, bags, toys, dishes, clothing, papers, keys, and where the heck is the remote now? If you have housemates who don't clean up after themselves, you know how the layers quickly build up. I think the technical term for it is “crap-creep”. Walls allow you to build much-needed storage into a space. Walls also give you a place to hang some nice artwork, too.
Photo from Unsplash
It’s really about expanding our minds and asking questions: is the open concept trend right for me? What about not removing all the walls? How could we design an interior with a bit more private space, or a little more sense of history?
The good news is that the building industry is responding to homeowners’ changing needs. People have learned that while an open plan is great, a separate space for privacy is a handy thing too. More people are asking builders for an extra room. Over at Architectural Digest, they’ve seen “...an increase in buyers purchasing homes with one more bedroom than they might have previously thought they needed.”
And so another trend is born: the flexi-space.
It’s exciting to see design trends emerge and ride the wave of popularity. But whatever’s “in” at any given moment isn’t always the best choice for everybody. The big question is, “is this right for me and my family and how we live today?” Let your truly honest answer guide you to the design that fits you best.
Design Tip: If you live in an open concept and sometimes it feels too open, here are a few tips for defining more personal space. Even though these ideas do nothing for sound issues, they’ll add a nice design feature to your room.
Define your zones visually:
Place a folding screen to create a nook
Use a rug under your seating area
Install contrasting materials on the floor
Paint walls different colors
Place a tall see-through shelf as a divider
Use different wallpapers
And my favorite, hang a bead curtain.
If you need help with this kind of problem, reach out to me below. I’d love to help.
Until Next Time,
Nan
About Nan
I’m an interior designer who helps people turn their homes into their sanctuaries without the pain of renovating. I’ve been working as a professional designer since 1995 and one thing I love about interior design is how it can evoke a mood and create whatever feeling you want in your space. In that way, it’s kind of magical.
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