Beautiful Open Plan Living Tips

One in five homeowners have demolished a downstairs wall in their house in the past decade to make their home seem more spacious. It’s no wonder open plan living is all the rage. Whether you live in a home brimming with history or a fancy new-build, open plan living certainly has its advantages.

Advantages of open plan living

Open plan living is far more social than conventional layouts. Imagine having dinner parties where you can still hold a conversation at a decent volume while preparing food in the kitchen. Guests will never feel abandoned again! Open plan living can actually increase a home’s value by £1000s – that can only be a good thing.

Open plan living is very beneficial for families. It allows you to share time together while getting on with chores, cooking or anything else that needs doing. Clearly, there’s the physical advantages to open plan living – light and airy spaces. With open plan living your home won’t feel as cramped and stuffy and it gives you the chance to experiment with different storage solutions.

Could you benefit from open plan living?

Well, this really does depend on if you like the look and feel of open plan living. If you do then it’s time to consider a number of important factors:

Is it possible to combine the rooms in question?
What is my budget? Can I afford it?
How much time can I allocate towards the project? (Converting to open plan living means you won’t be able to use parts of your home for a while).
What kind of lifestyle do I lead? If you’re very sociable then you’d really get a lot out of open plan living.
Also, if you’re family orientated and need to keep watch of the little ones then open plan living is also a fantastic solution.
What is my decor style? Open plan living is known to many as a minimalistic, modern way to decorate the home due to the light and airy nature of the layout. However, it’s still possible to combine any style with open plan living – be it country cottage chic or traditional Victorian style.

General open plan living tips

Use hanging ceiling lights to subtly define the furniture in the room.
If you live in a farmhouse or converted barn then open plan living is highly recommended. You’ll have the opportunity to place the front door so it opens directly into the living space. This encourages a natural traffic flow and improves the whole mood and atmosphere of your home.
If you’re lucky enough to live in an end apartment or a detached property then you can take advantage of wraparound windows. They make your space seem massive and obviously let lots of light in.
Multilevel spaces aren’t just easy on the eye, they’re very functional too. Air circulation is improved, giving you a cool space in the summer and a well-heated place in the winter.
Create distinctive barriers to distinguish between ‘rooms’ in the space. For example, face the sofa with it’s back to the dining room or kitchen area so you get the feeling of separate rooms but the benefit of lots of light.
Stick to mainly big pieces of furniture rather than lots of little pieces. Otherwise, the room will look a little too busy and might give you a bit of a migraine!
Play around with additional concepts such as beams, pillars and ceiling decorations. This can help to differentiate between rooms and introduce more personality.
Choose one style for your open-plan space – be it ‘bachelor pad suave’ or ‘kitsch country cottage.’ Stick to a maximum of two colours so the design looks fresh.

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