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Open-plan
living is the perfect way to bind a kitchen, typically at the back of the
house, with other rooms and the garden to create one large multi-functional and
light-filled space. In the recent years, open-plan living has become a very
popular option when redesigning and configuring a new kitchen design. It boasts
a great number of advantages, including adding value to your home. More and
more people are buying then knocking down walls for that big open space. It
seems very dated to have kitchen, lounge and diner in all separate rooms now.
Research
was conducted by the National Association of Estate Agents revealed that
opening up space, and kitchen makeovers are within the top four home
improvements that will add value to a property. I certain prefer the open space
over individual rooms and it makes it easier when you are entertaining guests.
In last year’s UK Houzz Report, which is based on survey results from the Houzz
community, 54% of homeowners were making their kitchens more open to other
rooms, with 35% knocking down walls and opening up space completely. Moreover,
in a recent Houzz poll, which asked, “Yay
or Nay to Open-plan Kitchens?”, the result was overwhelmingly in favour of
the idea, with 840 voting “yay” to 230 voting “nay”. My guess is the older generation preferring the
traditional separate rooms.
The
popularity of open-plan living has boomed thanks to the opportunities it
creates for a more sociable space to make family memories, host parties and
make dinner. But what happens when the party ends? Is open-plan living all it’s
cracked up to be? Harvey Jones, contemporary
kitchens specialists, investigate.
A social space?
Open-plan
living provides homeowners with a social space, this is an area that can be
used for more than just preparing and cooking daily meals. Knocking down walls
to combine kitchen and dining spaces helps inject more light into your home
which creates a spacious feel. This open plan space quickly becomes the focal
point in the home, creating a fluid space that binds rooms together. If you are
a host, or an entertainer, an open-plan kitchen is the dream – providing a
space that you can use to socialise with guests whilst cooking as opposed to
feeling isolated when cooking in one room whilst trying to juggle hosting
skills and whipping up dishes.
With
an open-space, whilst it obviously looks visually bigger, there are design
methods that allow you to identify different zones, whilst remaining open. From
zone lighting to kitchen islands, breakfast bars and dining booths, just
because you design an open-space, doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t identify
sections of the room to maintain a structure. Bi-folding doors (these are my
favourite) helps to enhance the natural light even more, whilst bringing the
nature of the garden into the room.
There
are practical advantages too – open-plan spaces provide plenty of space for the
whole family to enjoy meaning parents can keep an eye on children playing
whilst they stay busy in the kitchen. Open-plan takes away the need for parents
to be in ‘two places at once’.
A chaotic space?
Does
having everything in one place, with the whole family together, and several
tasks going on at once sound like chaos? You wouldn’t be necessarily wrong.
Whilst open-plan living has many advantages including a social space for
hosting, cooking, partying and eating some owners find the cons outweigh the
pros. Roaming smells and odours from cooking circulating around more than just
your kitchen space can be a direct result of open-plan kitchen spaces. If your
kitchen is merged with your living space, do you want to be sat on the sofa
watching TV with the lingering smell of the fish cakes you had for tea? I have
open kitchen and my sofa needs to be steam cleaned yearly to get rid of that
layer of cooking grease you cannot see with your own eyes.
And,
it is easy for these spaces to become chaotic and untidy especially with
children. For a successful open-plan space, you’ll need to find appropriate
storage solutions to store all your kitchen utensils, children’s toys,
magazines and books and more. Do you want to spend the evening being reminded
of the dishes that you didn’t wash after your evening meal? A separate utility
space, however, eliminates this problem, and provides a space to hide all your
washing, dirty dishes, and provides a door between you and any noisy appliances
that could disturb you when eating, relaxing or watching TV.
Open-plan
living is a personal preference for many modern homeowners, but not everyone.
Whilst it is proven to be one of the most popular kitchen refurb projects, it’s
a style of living not suited to every homeowner. What would you be choosing if
given the choice?
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