Open floor designs are becoming increasingly fashionable and, for many people, a prerequisite when purchasing a new house. An open floor plan combines two or more traditional sections, such as the living room and dining room, to create a much bigger, grander environment. These rooms are typically split by a barrier such as a wall or a door, making them feel small and walled off. The major goal of an open floor plan is to connect your home’s three common area rooms — the living room, dining room, and kitchen — to create the ultimate social living environment. Aesthetically open floor designs produce a clear, fluid flow from room to room, which homeowners like because of the extra space in each area. All of these advantages, in addition to the ten listed below, are reasons why homeowners prefer open floor layouts.
Makes Entertaining Enjoyable
Open floor plans are interconnected rooms that create a continuous flow from your living room, dining room and kitchen. This arrangement has grown in popularity over the years since it makes entertaining family and friends fun and uncomplicated. Hosting a dinner party or having relatives around for the holidays may be stressful, and as the host, everyone is pulling you in a million ways, which is why an open floor plan is essential. With the kitchen so close, it’s simple to prepare and serve snacks or obtain extra supplies. Groups of individuals can quickly discover one other, talk over longer distances and move around to their preferred locations. Because there are no borders between these locations, you may be in three places at once, making hosting a snap.
Feels Bigger
One disadvantage of open floor layouts with several walls is that the areas might seem boxed in, claustrophobic and usually smaller. Your communal rooms will appear larger with open floor plans. Barriers such as walls and doors separate areas of your home, making you feel confined. Removing these boundaries will open up the space and make your entire home feel larger and more spacious. This is also why taller, vaulted ceilings complement open floor layouts so well and may provide depth to the space. It is essential to open up common rooms in your house, such as the living room and kitchen, to feel calm and pleased. Because you spend the bulk of your time in these rooms, they must remain open so that you and your visitors always feel comfortable and spacious.
Improves Energy Efficiency
It is simpler to regulate and maximize the efficiency of energy when rooms flow into one another. Open floor layouts assist homeowners to save money on their energy bills by allowing for easy heating and cooling and an abundance of natural light. Because the illumination flows from room to room, an open floor plan allows for more windows and less lighting equipment. While some people have conflicting feelings about the energy efficiency of open floor layouts, we believe that these areas are more efficient. Because this is an open environment, there are no impediments to air passage, such as walls, making these spaces easy to heat and cool. As opposed to closed-off places where air cannot travel freely, these central, open regions are easier for HVAC systems to heat and cool. That means your heating and cooling devices won’t have to work as hard or as long to attain the temperature you want. Because heating and cooling consume the majority of your monthly energy expenditures, this can result in savings when compared to a more enclosed home.
Adds Value
An open floor plan is more than just a better way to enjoy your house; it is also an investment. When selecting to create your ideal house, make sure it has an open floor plan. This will boost the value of your property in the long run since it increases usable square footage, which is desirable to many homebuyers. Incorporating this approach helps to increase the resale value and charm of your house. Also, open floor plans are regarded to be an element of modern house design, so investing in a home without one would not benefit you in the long run if you decide to sell. Open floor designs have developed to be one of the best ROI renovation projects based on the value they offer to a house.
Easier to Keep an Eye on Kids
Parents frequently choose floor layouts with an open kitchen and living area because it allows them to monitor child-related activity while they are preparing dinner or conversing with other adults. As a result, an open floor plan is ideal for having playdates or allowing children to play in the living area. Indeed, this is one of the frequently claimed reasons why open floor layouts became popular in the mid-twentieth century.
Improves the Flow
Every area in a typical home design is separated by walls, giving the impression that you are departing one room to enter another. It’s different with open floor designs. The rooms appear to flow into one other here, with no walls or doors functioning as boundaries. This provides more space, less turmoil or thoughts of disorder and less everyday stress. While having an open floor plan is advantageous while entertaining guests, having an open floor plan daily is more significant. Life may be crazy at times, especially when you have little children running about. Building a house with fewer boundaries in common spaces may alleviate some of the chaos you may be experiencing and help you to keep an eye on your children. Living with fewer barriers between rooms not only improves the flow of your house but also relieves some of the stress of day-to-day existence.
Improves the Lighting
Lighting stretches from room to room since there is more open space and fewer obstructions. The shared light from numerous light sources adds to the mood and warms up the areas. Not only will the shared light fixtures convey light from room to room, but the open area will allow for more windows, which will allow for natural light to enter throughout the day. When planning the layout of your home, it’s critical to consider how many windows you can fit in each room. Because of the natural light, they will offer, the more windows you can place in your home, the better. Natural light has been shown to boost productivity, sleep and happiness. So, while designing an open floor plan, remember to incorporate plenty of windows and consider the lighting fixtures in those shared areas. Choosing the appropriate light fixture is critical because it determines how light travels from room to room.
Becomes More Multifunctional
An open design does not have to be used to define places. Typical open concept ranch floor plans, for example, have areas that may be utilized as entertainment “rooms,” corners that can be used as home offices, areas dedicated to gaming or sports, and so on. Because of this inherent flexibility, owners may change the function of areas on the fly, such as shifting the dining area for a party.
Creates Modern Homes
The openness of the common spaces plays a role in modernizing a home. A contemporary house is typically preferred by bigger, expanding families due to the amount of room it gives in the areas where families spend the majority of their time. Many open floor designs, for example, link the kitchen and living area, which is ideal for busy working parents who are always multitasking. They can make supper while watching their children play; it’s a win-win situation. Another contemporary element is the various huge windows and doors that connect the internal and outdoor rooms, seamlessly blending diverse regions of the residence. Connecting indoor and outdoor areas is becoming increasingly popular and is a feature that people seek when purchasing a property.
Creates a Connection to the Outdoor Space
Do you want a house with decks or patios for hosting parties, playing games or simply relaxing on a beautiful afternoon? Open floor plans work especially effectively with often utilized outside spaces. It makes it much easier to travel from inside to outdoors, such as from the kitchen to an outdoor area to serve dinner or collect dishes, or from the living room to the kitchen after playing. Opening these doors, especially during the cooler months, adds to the larger common area you have all year. This is also a great feature if you prefer eating summer dinners on the patio; the ability to simply go from the kitchen through the living room onto the terrace is invaluable. This is one of the most frequent reasons homeowners like open floor designs; it goes hand in hand with homeowners who enjoy entertaining family and friends.
We hope you enjoyed our list of the top 10 reasons why open floor plans are so popular and why so many homeowners choose them. You will need the best in the business to start your open floor plans renovation job. Of course, that’s Valor Home Services! Contact us right away for questions, consultations, and to get started right away.
