Unless you’ve been living under a rock when it comes to architecture and interior design – you will have surely heard of open plan concept homes! Clearly a growing home trend and a buzz word for estate agents, you may be tempted to consider renovating your home to create an open living space. As professional certified builders, we understand that it may be tempting to ask a builder what they think will make more sense for your home. However, you as the homeowner have to be the one to make the final decision, based on your lifestyle and personal preferences. So, we’ve weighed up some of the advantages and disadvantages of open plan concept homes as opposed to closed plan, or traditional layout homes. Let’s dive in!
Open plan homes
Open plan homes offer a range of benefits, but these may be more specific to particular demographics and tastes in interior design. So what do they offer?
1) Space
Open plan homes can blend rooms together, creating a larger area of space for you to enjoy. This can make your home feel lighter, airier and brighter, letting all of that gorgeous sunshine in from your windows. Having more space can give you a greater sense of peace of mind and an altogether more wholesome living environment.
2) Versatility
Have you ever dreamt about being able to cook from a kitchen island whilst your family are sitting at the dinner table nearby? You can still create the element of divided spaces whilst having a larger area for your kids to play. The larger amount of room means not only can this serve as a living room, kitchen and dining room, but an excellent place to host guests. You can also more easily switch up the layout of your open plan home without the need to get furniture through doorways! Always a bonus!
3) Safety
Particularly if you have younger children, being able to see them, and them see you, no matter what you are doing in your open plan home gives you a lot more freedom to pursue those everyday household chores, or to work whilst they are playing. No more children under your feet as you’re cooking!
4) Accessibility
If yourself or one of your loved ones needs greater mobility requirements, converting to an open plan household will absolutely provide you with the space for this.
5) Current market trends
As the absolute rage and buzz word for estate agents, having an open plan concept home can really increase the value of your home if you are looking to sell, or develop to sell in the long run. A recent study found that converting your home to open plan living can increase the overall value by as much as 6%!
Closed plan homes
Conversely there are also many benefits to keeping your home closed plan, that can appeal to a variety of demographics too.
1) Privacy
Whilst open plan living certainly increases the amount of space for general living and in case of further pandemics, closed plan living can give you privacy and a sense of detachment. It is also easier to create that ‘cosy’ living environment, made up of smaller snug like rooms where you can escape to read a book for example.
2) Sound control
As the layout of different rooms is closed off, if you equally have a young family and they need to take a nap, they or you can do so in quiet – which isn’t possible particularly in some open plan situations. You can close yourself off and listen to some relaxing music too.
3) Energy efficiency
Where large open spaces are harder to heat quicker, closed off rooms can be quickly and efficiently heated, meaning it can potentially help reduce your energy bills. Also, if you are a fan of cosying up with the heating on under the duvet, the room will naturally feel warmer due to the enclosed space.
4) Tidiness
If you have a cleaning agenda, and personally prefer cleaning room by room – this can be much easier in a closed home concept. As larger spaces naturally creates a vacuum for more mess, it can be easier to tick off in your mind that you’ve cleaned that room, or do not need to do it as often. On the other hand, open concept homes have less rooms to clean, and you could do this all in one go without the need to keep moving your hoover! A good tip is for open plan homes is to have a storage unit in one corner or area of the room so you can neatly tidy away toys or games etc.
5) Unique design
If you have a number of different interior design tastes, or like certain colours, carpets, wallpaper or brickwork for each room, a closed plan concept gives you the opportunity to have a variety of interior design styles.
So to summarise, the benefits of open plan homes versus closed plan homes could be seen as:
Open Plan
| Pros | Cons |
| Greater amount of space | Less privacy |
| You are more able to easily switch up the layout of your home | Smells and noise can travel easier |
| Greater safety for watching your kids. Typically better for larger families | Potentially harder to heat your home efficiently |
| Easier for accessibility issues | Potentially harder to keep tidy |
| Large amounts of natural light | Less opportunity for different interior design styles |
| A great space for entertaining your guests | |
| A potentially increased resale value |
Closed plan
| Pros | Cons |
| Greater sense of privacy in divided spaces | Less natural light to spread through your home |
| More control over sound and smells | Smaller sense of space |
| Potentially easier to keep tidy, or not needing to clean as often | Reduced accessibility |
| Can have a variety of interior design styles | No line of sight of what your kids are doing in other rooms |
Contact Us
We hope this helps you make a more informed decision about whether or not you want to convert your home to an open plan concept home. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any potential construction, extension or home renovation works please do not hesitate to contact us today by either calling us on 01535 653 530 or filling out our online contact form.