OpenPlanned
London Home – Open Plan Kitchen & Lounge
With the ever-growing popularity of open plan layouts in contemporary homes, it’s important to consider both planning and design to achieve a practical, functional and exciting upgrade to your property.
Begin by organising the smaller areas of space within the larger open plan layout, so you can designate exactly where each ‘room’ will fit.
The deciding factors on design and planning will all depend on your lifestyle, whether or not you have pets, children, work from home, enjoy entertaining and dinner parties or prefer a quiet area to relax when you get home.
Every aspect of the alterations will need to be thoroughly planned. You’ll need to consider carefully which space will sit harmoniously alongside the next, you’ll want to allow enough room between areas, and ensure there’s enough room to manoeuvre once the furniture’s in.
It’s also important to think about how the spaces will interact with each other, and how well they will merge as you pass through each. More private zones might require a partition, or to be walled off. A children’s play area may have safety requirements or need hidden storage so you can tidy up after a day’s play.
It’s essential to plan where electrical sockets, windows, doors, any chosen partitions or split-level flooring will be positioned. You’ll also need to consider where the existing plumbing and sewerage lines are within the property, as it will be necessary to work around these to avoid additional costs.
With open plan layouts, light will shine through the property, so this needs to be considered carefully. The need for bright overhead lighting is not always necessary and you can delineate the different spaces with up lighting, down lighting, feature lights, as well as floor and wall lighting designs.
As with any project, it’s worth investing the time to plan as well as creating a budget to cover all costs. With the right design team and architect to help guide you through, your dream open plan home is easily achievable.
Explore some examples of UK compliant open plan homes.