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many renovations in which she opened up living spaces, Lord learned what the most common potential pitfalls are with these boundary-free floor plans. “Unless you live alone, you really have to ask yourself, ‘am I okay with sharing this space?’ ” she says. “Imagine somebody’s clanging pots and pans in the kitchen while someone else is trying to watch something on one TV and maybe a child is trying to watch something on another TV...those are big considerations to think about.”
Another consideration is that your old furniture might not work in the new  |
Many homeowners choose to open up the more “social” rooms—the kitchen, living and dining areas—rather than taking out all the walls in a home. Photo courtesy of Alyson McNutt English.
| space. When designing spaces, Lord works with clients to make sure they have the right furniture for the new look and feel of their home.
And if you have children, consider that your space will now be their space and vice-versa. Kricken Yaker, principal at Portland, Ore.-based design-build firm Vanillawood, creates open floor plan spaces for clients. A mother herself, she understands the need to come up with a space that works for the whole family. “Especially when you have younger children, you can still capture some sort of space within the house that is kind of the ‘flop room,’ ” she says, noting that half-walls, screens and sliding wall barriers can be a good middle ground for families who love to be together but who still occasionally need to have separate spaces.
Designers say solutions like these will usually work for homeowners who want to live in open space floor plans. “Most of today's existing homes have an outdated layout with wasted spaces such as narrow hallways, cramped rooms and unused guest bedrooms that don’t at all reflect today's changes in lifestyle or our society,” says Hlobil-Emmenegger. “More and more people are starting to realize this and are looking for home designs that reflect their uniqueness.”
If you think opening up your home from the inside out will work for you, here are some tips to help smooth the transition to a less-constrained house plan.
Prepare for Decorating Changes and Challenges
If you have a Italian buffet or heirloom Persian rug you love, be sure to mention it to the architect and designer with whom you’re working. “When you’re doing something fresh and new and then you move in all your old furniture, it can be quite a letdown if we haven’t designed around the furniture,” Lord, who designs around homeowners’ prized possessions to ensure they work well in the new plan, says. “But more often than not, the homeowners’ furniture doesn’t work anymore and they want to live differently in this new and different space. After all, that’s why they remodeled in the first place.”
| | | | | |  | | | | | The Challenge of Electronics in Open Floor Plans
When you’re looking for a light socket, cable outlet or phone jack, you usually go straight to the nearest wall. But in open floor plans, plugging into the nearest wall may mean running unsightly wires under rugs, around baseboards or, worst of all, across a walking area. If you’re thinking of knocking down walls, keep this advice in mind, courtesy of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA):
• Hidden installations: Electronic Systems Contractors (ESCs) can create hidden installations where home electronics blend seamlessly into the living area without all the bulky components that can be stored in one central location like a closet or cabinet.
• Wiring: In open floor plans, it’s important for architects to incorporate wiring systems into floors and ceilings so they will reach throughout the house without dragging wires and cables all over the place.
• Integrate controls: If you’re redesigning electrical and wiring systems, consider choosing an integrated control system that will allow you to activate lighting, control HVAC levels, open and close window treatments, and manage media components in central locations. “Open plan spaces are especially tough when it comes to locating the switches and control interfaces found in a modern home,” says Ray Lepper, president of Home Media Stores, L.C., a Richmond, Va.-based home systems integration company. “Lighting, temperature, security, entertainment—all of these systems require a user interface: usually a box on the wall.” If control of these systems is not planned out, you end up with what we call 'wall clutter.' But in an open plan space, it's plain unworkable—there's not enough wall space, period. The solution is an integrated control system where the 'sub-systems' are controlled by just a few single touch screen or keypads located strategically throughout the home.”
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Another potential pitfall is the new acoustics that come with very open spaces. With fewer walls and sometimes higher ceilings, homeowners may experience issues like echoing or cross-room conversations that sound garbled and less crisp. “The easiest way to address this is with the right window treatments and floor coverings,” says Kati Curtis, ASID, LEED® AP, principal of Nirmada Interior Design in New York, N.Y. “Softer materials can absorb sound yet not detract from the open, airy feel of the space.”
The smaller details may get lost when you’re considering larger issues like determining if taking out a wall will cause your roof to collapse, but if you don’t take the time to think about the little things, you won’t like your open floor plan lifestyle nearly as much. “If your kitchen is open to the rest of the house, think about investing in that really quiet dishwasher or raising an island bar a few more inches so you can’t see the kitchen when you’re sitting on the couch watching TV,” Lord says. If you don’t want to have to do dishes every night but you don’t want to look at clutter, go ahead and get that extra-deep sink where you can hide your dirty plates.”
Finally, be sure to consult with your designer about places in the home you need storage. “If your child’s play area or your home office is located in the open area, make sure everything has a place and can be put away when guests come for dinner,” Curtis says.
The Bottom Line: Choose What Works for You
“You either love it or hate it, and people should think hard before deciding for a costly remodel,” Heger says. “On the other hand, once you get the ‘bug’ of living in a loft -like space, you may never go back to a traditional house.”
Make sure an open space reflects your personality. Designers say opening up your home can be like opening up your life. If you are a very private person, you may not enjoy life without walls, even if it appeals to you aesthetically. “Open floor plan is modern, contemporary, artistic, urban and social all at the same time,” architect Heger says. “My clients usually love other people, company and friends. I’m not a psychologist, but there is something about this connection. Open floor plans have no ‘secrets.’ ”
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Text by Alyson McNutt English
© 2009 BobVila.com
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