We have to thank the numerous home renovation shows for exposing TV watchers to the benefits of wide open spaces. “We really want an open floorplan,” the couple says in hand-holding unison. Well, we happen to agree. We love making 100% of our spaces usable. A great example is our most recent build-out pictured here. Notice how everyone, anywhere, in this open-plan room can still be part of the same conversation.
Many of the homes we renovate have original and wonderful “bones.” They may also have an abundance of rooms, hallways, and doorways that make the space feel choppy and disconnected. In order to transform the home into a more suitable place for living we need to open up the layout while keeping the old bones intact.
Even more traditional designs are leaning toward a “modern” layout in which one or more large rooms function as a shared space. An open concept floorplan reduces the number of tiny rooms and wasted spaces. Typically the kitchen opens up to a den and dining area. The combination of these now fused “rooms” creates a more usable, sentient space. The uninterrupted lines of sight are a bonus for both family and entertaining. Dad can keep an eye on the grandkids or watch the game while chopping up veggies for dinner. Guests can gather in the main space while others flow with ease from area to area in and out of conversations. Over all the shared space provides more connectedness and fluidity.
Suddenly the home feels larger. Removing walls and halls also unblocks natural light from previously eclipsed windows and makes even smallish homes feel more gracious. Also opening up vaulted and specialty ceilings can make the space look and feel more expansive. Adding a window or two will allow even a greater flow of natural light. Using natural sunlight in design always creates a wonderful effect throughout the interior by augment interior colors and bathing the space in nature’s healthy glow. Open floor plans are a uniting force─connecting the spaces and the lives of the people living within them. Because of this-we’re confident that open floor plans are here to stay.
