The Open Floor Plan: Overview, Pros and Cons

Open floor plan homes are rapidly making their way into the modern architecture of homes. Owing to their convenience, these layouts are especially useful for smaller spaces. This trending shift in home designs is a much-needed occurrence to moderate shared spaces between the kitchen, living room and dining area of your home. 

The architectural trend of open floor house plans has remained a dominant feature of residential construction since the 90s. Recently, this real estate design trend has come around as a popular remodelling project for most houses ever since the prices of real estate started skyrocketing.

Graana.com, Pakistan’s smartest property portal brings you a detailed overview of the pros and cons of open floor plans, and how they serve their usefulness in modern housing. 

 

What is an Open Floor Plan?

 

 

Open style floor plans can be described as the combination of two or more common spaces that are joined together, thus forming a larger area and space. This is especially useful for smaller spaces and houses where there is a very confined space. 

This maximising of area is carried out via the elimination of partition walls which are present in between the living room, kitchen and dining areas. 

 

Pros of Open Floor Plans for Homes

 

 

Modern open floor plans add several advantages to your homes while offering a convenient and comfortable living space. Following are a few significant pros of these layouts that are an excellent architectural feature for people who are looking for a comfortable space.

 

The Grandeur Effect:

No home can be regarded as ‘grand’ until and unless they have an entrance that leaves a lasting impact. 

Open concept floor plans serve their purpose best when the architects try to work out their creative side on the open floor plan blueprints. This is done by creating a visually aesthetic space that not only covers a large area but also encloses all necessary spaces required. 

Large and spacious open floors give off a luxurious impression that adds to the aesthetic appeal of a house.

 

Efficiency in Space Usage:

Open concept floor plans for small homes have made their mark as some of the most useful architectural features. These features have shifted the trends of housing in this century.

Besides custom homes built on this plan, the open concept homes are an excellent aspect in creating a visually appealing layout of your home.

 

Spacious and Comfortable:

 

 

Creating a comfortable and large space in small homes might be challenging. However, with modern open floor plan layouts, it becomes particularly easier to cater to guests when they come over so they can be accommodated easily. 

This type of layout is particularly useful to entertain a large number of friends and family and host dinners easily. The connection between outdoor and indoor space creates a wide area for you to set up and accommodate everyone easily. 

 

Multifunctionality

Having an open floor plan allows you to be creative with your space. If you ever want to redecorate or alter your space, you can! It’s very easy to reconfigure furniture and decor to create different layouts.

 

High Real Estate Value

Open floor plans for loft, single-story houses and offices are excellent real estate investment opportunities that you should not miss. These are an essential selling point of luxury homes; hiking up their prices day by day. 

So whether you’re looking to buy a property, or renovate your own home, considering this layout for a modern touch to your home is a great idea to improve its real estate value. 

 

Increased Natural Lighting in Home

 

 

Natural lighting can be optimised in the kitchen, living room, and dining room if they belong to a shared open floor style plan. Thanks to such layouts, natural lighting comes in much more than in other contemporary house designs. 

 

Cons of Open Floor Plans

 

 

With multiple advantages of open floor architecture in houses, there are a fair share of cons to this layout as well that should be addressed. These disadvantages of open floor plans have been mentioned below.

 

Bearing Walls

Bearing walls are the walls that hold the foundational weight of your house. If you are looking to renovate your home into an open floor layout, bearing walls might come around as a major issue in your renovation project. 

This is because the cost of breaking down such walls and replacing them with beams can be very costly. Besides, it might not also run with the blueprint of your existing home as per its architecture. 

 

Containing Messy Spaces

If you’re a highly organized person who loves a clean space at all times, open floor plans might not be suitable for your taste. This is because if the kitchen is messy,  it will be visible at all times from your seating space or upon entering your home. 

You cannot cover up the mess by closing the door either. Even more so, it can be a real headache in case you have a few guests coming over shortly.

 

Lesser Privacy

 

 

An open floor plan kitchen, living room, and dining room will allow noise to travel between spaces. As a result, it will distract individuals from tasks that require concentration such as reading or studying. 

At other times, your privacy may suffer when you want to just relax and take time off from your kids. Such a plan is not ideal in these situations; given that you are always visible to everyone while doing your tasks.

 

Heating and Cooling in Open Floor Plans

Semi-open floor plans experience a hit when it comes to utility bills because of the extra power they take to cool or heat the large space.  Because the area is over a lot of square feet, cooling it down in summers and heating it in winters can cost you a hefty bill.

Innovation and adaptation to new technologies and construction materials have added a lot of practicality to open-concept layouts. Now with new materials and methods such as steel structural beams, central heating and cooling systems, drywalls etc., it has become much easier to go with this kind of layout.

 

If you’re looking for more information regarding modern floor plans and architecture;  visit Graana.com— Pakistan’s 1st Online Real Estate Marketplace.