Even though the size of your home seemed sufficient once upon a time, which may no longer be the case because of your growing family. That could serve as motivation for you to push through with that open concept kitchen you have always wanted. You may even decide that the time is right to open up your home completely.
Does moving forward with a more open concept make sense for your property? That is one of the questions we will be answering in this article. Furthermore, we will also provide some tips for creating the ultimate open concept home.
From creating continuity with ceiling accents to sticking with a cohesive color palette, we’re sharing exactly how to design a functional, beautiful open concept kitchen and living room! Keep reading and find out how to bring an open floor plan to life, inside your home.
What Is an Open Floor Plan?
In a traditional home, you will see that the rooms are all kept separate. Even the dining room is often separated from the kitchen using a door. That traditional layout is something many homeowners like, but it is not for everyone. You may not like that traditional layout simply because you feel that it is too cluttered.
Moving away from that conventional layout may also appeal to you because you need as much space as possible. If you do not want to feature a traditional floor plan inside your home, you could always go for something more spacious. To be more specific, you may find that an open concept kitchen, living room, and floor plan works better for your home.
Creating an open floor involves removing partition walls and connecting common spaces. More often than not, homeowners will link an open concept kitchen and a living room together. You can still try creating an open floor plan using other rooms if you prefer.
How Did Open Floor Plans Become Popular?
There was a time when the concept of an open floor plan seemed pretty radical. The kitchen was seen only as a place for working. It is not supposed to be a part of your home that you show off to guests whenever they are over for a visit.
That mindset started to change following the Second World War. The need to keep the kitchen separate from the rest of the home was de-emphasized. On top of that, architects wanted to bring homes to the market that could be reconfigured to meet the needs of a growing family.
During the 1950s, homes that followed open floor plans became even more popular for different reasons. According to HomeLight, open concept homes became more popular during that time because they were affordable and easy to build.
The desire to own a modern home also fueled interest in open concept floor plans. People fell in love with the minimalist and uncluttered appearance of an open concept home. By the time the 1990s rolled around, open concept homes were everywhere. If you searched the real estate market for a new home during that time, chances are that the open concept made up the bulk of the selection available.
Open concept homes are not as prevalent today as they were more than thirty years ago, but they are still plentiful. You should have no trouble finding an open concept home if you are looking to purchase one.
Benefits of an Open Concept Home
Should you follow an open concept design for your home? There is no right or wrong answer to that question. It all depends on how you weigh the benefits and drawbacks of that particular design. We will focus first on the benefits of creating an open concept home. Check out those benefits below.
Create a More Comfortable Home Interior
A house may shrink even without losing any square footage. That tends to happen if you are living with children. As they grow up, you may feel that your home is getting smaller. It is tough to get comfortable inside a cramped home. Instead of settling for that uncomfortable living space, you can open it up to create more room for yourself and your children.
Use the additional space to accommodate pieces of furniture or other items you kept in storage. After moving those items out, you can turn your storage into a new room for one of your kids. Your kitchen will become more comfortable if you decide to open it up but is less likely to warm up the way a conventional kitchen would.
Enjoy a More Versatile Space
Having more space means you can get more creative when it comes to how you design your home. You can bring back ideas you had to shelve previously due to spacing concerns now that you are opening things up. You also have more flexibility when it comes to your home design. Try out a design concept and see how it looks on your home.
If you do not like it, swapping it for something different is easy enough. The versatility also extends to utility. Feel free to use the newly available space whichever way you prefer. Take full advantage of the space you have to improve your home.
Use Natural Lighting Throughout Your Home Interior
Linking your open concept kitchen to your living room and the rest of the floor could allow you to cut down on your electric bills. You can reduce those bills by relying on more natural lighting. Now that your home is more open, it is easier to feature natural lighting in different rooms. The partition walls that block the natural light will no longer be there to serve as impediments.
Because of the natural lighting available inside your home, you may not need to turn your lights on until it is dark outside. Your savings on lighting may not seem that much, but it can add up. Also, homes bathed in natural light tend to look better. Show off your renovated home in the best way possible by relying on natural lighting.
Entertain Better by Opening Up Your Home
When you host a party, you want your guests to mingle and get to know each other. That may not come naturally to them when they end up getting separated into different parts of your home. Instead of your guests getting to know one another, they may separate into groups, and the party could end up feeling disjointed.
By opening up your home, you greatly reduce the possibility of something like that happening. The open design of your floor plan promotes movement. It encourages your guests to move around and socialize with the other people at the party.
The open floor plan also benefits the host. You will not need to stay in the kitchen constantly putting out food for your guests. Instead of following that way of hosting, you can open up your kitchen, so your guests can get their food. If you have a home bar, your guests can also go there to get their drinks and remain immersed in the party atmosphere.
Drawbacks of Open Concept Homes
We are done highlighting the benefits of opening up your home. For this next section, let’s turn to the drawbacks of moving in that direction.
Creating an Open Concept Home Can Be Expensive
Arguably, the number one drawback to building an open concept home is the cost. Simply put, you will spend a lot of money to make this happen.
You may pay as much as $3,000 to remove a partition wall if it is also a load-bearing wall. On top of that, you will also need to install new supports to replace the partition wall. The expenses do not end there as you still need to account for potential floor and ceiling repairs.
Spending thousands of dollars will be necessary if you want an open concept home. Ideally, building an open concept home from the start can cut down on costs. Renovating your home to open it up will likely be more expensive.
Open Concept Homes Lack Privacy
Open concept homes have been popular for decades, but some people may be viewing them differently due to the events of the past few years. Since remote working is becoming more prevalent, people are noticing that open concept homes are lacking in terms of privacy.
Speaking to Zillow back in 2020, Katie Detwiler of Berks Homes noted that more people want to see more doors inside their homes. They want the privacy and noise control that only partition walls can provide. Detwiler also mentioned that more people want separate spaces so that their kids can stay busy while they are working.
Not too long ago, open concept homes were trendy and in demand. These days, you may have a harder time selling your home precisely because of how open its floor plan is. Keep that in mind as you decide what layout you want for your home.
You Must Be Diligent With Cleaning
Before you decide on building an open concept home, be aware of how difficult it can be to clean. People can see even the smallest mess if you have an open concept home. If you have plenty of windows, those messes will be nearly impossible to hide. Cleaning every day will be a necessity, and in some cases, cleaning multiple times per day may even become a requirement.
How to Create an Open Concept Kitchen and Living Room
After reading up on the benefits and drawbacks of an open concept home, you may still decide that you want it. So, how can you create an open concept kitchen and living room? Obviously, you need workers to remove the partition walls and install the needed supports.
However, the process does not end there. There are things you can do with your home design to push the open concept further. We have detailed these things in this section.
Unify the Design Themes of Your Home
Previously, your kitchen and living room may have featured distinctly different design schemes. There is nothing wrong with that if your home has a traditional layout but maintaining that in an open floor plan does not make sense. Your goal now should be to unify the design themes of your home.
Use the same paint for your kitchen and living room. Arrange wooden furniture in both areas if that is what you prefer. Consider adding greenery to your kitchen and living room to have common design elements. By combining the design themes of your kitchen and living room, you can create something more cohesive and attractive.
Arrange Your Furniture Carefully
The way you arrange your furniture also matters if you are trying to make the open floor plan work. Consider placing your pieces of furniture next to the walls in both your kitchen and your living room. You are doing that so you can open up the area further.
With the pieces of furniture located near the sides of those rooms, you have more space to work with. Those pieces of furniture can also help you define the two rooms. Use the furniture you have to change up the décor of your living room and kitchen.
Change Your Light Fixtures
It is easy to overlook your light fixtures while you are forging that connection with your kitchen and living room. You may not realize how your light fixtures mess up the cohesiveness of your design scheme until they finish the renovations. Remember to change the fixtures so they do not interfere with your revamped design.
Install a Sliding Door
Do you want the option of keeping your kitchen and living room separate from time to time? If you do, you should look into installing a sliding door. Sliding doors can instantly provide you with privacy and noise control. They give you more control over your open concept home, so carefully consider their addition.
Design an Open Concept Kitchen and Living Room of Your Dreams
An open concept kitchen, living room, and floor plan could be the ideal solution to the spacing-related issues that your household is currently dealing with. We at Eco Minded Solutions can help you build that open concept home. Get in touch with us today so we can figure out if that is the right choice for you and your family.
