Open Plan or Two Separate Rooms?

Open plan or two separate rooms?

I’m going to come right out the gate and say it.

Open plan.

Here are my reasons.

The space here is great. A large bay window, a second smaller window to the right.

I can imagine the units for a kitchen on the right hand wall. You grab all the ingredients from the fridge, put it on the kitchen Island unit and look out the windows onto Edinburgh.

The Open plan or separate room decision

The first thing I noticed when I visited Britain was the smaller houses and how they are attached to one another. At home the average house is 3 bedrooms and probably has a back yard that another house could go on.

The second thing I saw was Inside the houses.

Doors!

A door in front of you after the front door. Take your shoes off, pick up the mail that the mailman slipped through a hole in the door. Walk through the hall and choose a door to the kitchen or the living area, as long as you go through a door!

We have houses like that at home too. There are exceptions, but in general we tend to have the kitchen flow into a living area. At home kitchens and living areas are often opened up into one and sometimes lead out onto an open deck with large sliding windows.

When I took down this wall (see the video below) and realised that the large cornices above were self supporting – it was a no brainer!

Open plan!

That is how it was when the the house was built 150 + years ago!

Of course there are other things to take into account depending on the situation. If you want to go open plan think about these.

This flat has ceilings around 4m high. That is a lot of room to heat.Where will you put radiators? heat pump? Less walls can mean less options.

We are in the middle of Edinburgh. Any nearer the centre and you are at the castle. That kind of real estate goes for big money. If I am buying this place, electricity bills wouldn’t be my gravest concern.

Sheer space can be effective as a buffer between areas of a house that are used for different things. If your house is smaller, consider the fact that a kitchen is a wet area and needs to be well ventilated. A living room is for comfort and warmth.

Another thing is appliances, A buzzing dishwasher can be a pain if your living area is too close by.

So! if this Edinburgh flat was yours, what would you do?

Feel good about open plan? About to go mad and kick your wall down? Watch this video first!