Open Plan: Fan or Foe?

The generation before mine wouldn’t have dreamt of having their homes ‘open plan’. There was a living room and a kitchen, with either a table in it or a separate dining room depending on how fancy you were/how big your house was! Only in the last few decades, has open plan living become popular.

So, is it a good idea? I think, “yes, but…”. My ‘but’ is this; I love living in an open space, with the proviso that you need space that can be closed off to provide separate spaces when needed. When everyone is always in the one room all the time, as much as you love your family, it can get a little crazy!

I love having people mill about when I’m cooking – maybe they’re chatting to me, or watching TV, the kids are doing homework etc. I like when I have a friend over that they can sit, relax and chat with me when I’m making a cuppa, rather than wait in a different room or stand awkwardly in the kitchen while I’m making it. I have heard people say that they don’t like to be able to see their washing up waiting for them when they’re eating. I can understand that but I find that can be avoided through stacking the dishwasher as I go and often, the design of the kitchen and surrounding space can also help create natural barriers so you don’t see the dirty crockery when you’re sitting at the table. I have heard others say they don’t like to have cooking smells in the living room. I guess I don’t mind smelling the food! :D Usually when dinner’s cooking or nearly ready all I hear is, “Mmm that smells goooood!”. Maybe they’re just being nice but it’s never an issue for me.

I love the company and my family do too. However, sometimes you don’t want company. Sometimes, you want to be able to have friends over and have a more private space, sometimes you want to watch something different on the TV, sometimes you just want to be A-L-O-N-E! That is where this proviso comes into play. We enjoy our time together more because we’re not always together.

The potential of this of course depends on your space. Often with apartments and small houses, having separate rooms is simply not possible. In that situation, is it possible to carve out a retreat space in a bedroom maybe? Or position the furniture or use portable room divider furniture (Ikea Kallax shelves on wheels are amazing for this for example) to provide some segregation in your open plan space, when you want it? 

Whilst I am personally an Open Plan Fan, in harmonious households, space is also important. You might be an Open Plan Foe - fair enough! We all have different preferences and it would be weird if all our homes were the same after all! Finding the best solution for you and your home and for those who live in it, is my number one priority in Spacemaker. So whether you are a fan or foe of the open plan style, get in touch if you’d like some help thinking through how to plan the space in your home.