Do you remember a time before open plan living? It seems like it’s been here forever. Home after home has removed every wall possible to create the most coveted space in any early 2000s renovation wish list - a large open plan room so the whole family can be together. Whilst this absolutely has its benefits, and we are in love with the idea, it doesn't always work as well as you hope. Rather controversially we don't often recommend a full open plan to our clients.

I don't want to be a complete kill joy. There are huge benefits to open plan, the feeling of space, the ability to entertain, the gravitational pull of a beautiful island unit…

I am certainly not saying lets get back to the kitchen being cut off and shoved in the basement, but is there a middle ground we are missing?

GREAT FOR SOCIALISING, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE WEEK?

Whilst being together when you are all doing the same thing, having dinner together, cooking a family meal or watching the same movie is great, this isn't the reality for most people all of the time. Whilst these times are the things we like to think of when we consider how we will use the space, you need to consider the whole picture, the hum drum of your life.

If you really dig down into how you live in a home, and not what you like to do at the weekend, you will be far better equipped to create a floorplan that actually works every day.

If you are:

- a growing family with teenagers studying and parents working, then you need to have spaces where you can retreat to study or work and then return to the social spaces.

- a couple heading into retirement, you may think that you need open plan, but once your beloved is in the house 8 - 10 hours per day and you are together 24/7 you may find you want to read a book alone and not where they're trying out a new recipe or singing along to Dire Straits!

- a young family with toddlers underfoot, you need a space to close off the chaos and hide the brightly coloured plastic at the end of the day and retreat to a calming and relaxing space.

We hear more and more about some of the open plan frustrations and I think the tide is beginning to turn. We work hard to make homes truly work for people, and sometimes closing off spaces is the right decision.

OPEN PLAN CAN BE A BUDGET BUSTER.

To open up a space entirely requires something close to magic from a structural engineer and the cost of the structure and build work can really add up. The construction world had come a long way to meet the demands of open plan living. Steels now have longer spans than ever before and we can create huge open spaces. This is wonderful and if budget is limitless, by all means, get the longest steel booked up.

Realistically, budget is a factor for everyone. We see lots of projects where a compromise of a pillar or two has perhaps saved £10,000s but has cost dearly in the use of the room and the overall aesthetic. The desire here for open plan has blinded people to the actual function they need. An oddly placed pillar rather than a partial wall or maybe even a central feature fireplace zoning the spaces is a lack of foresight into the actual use of the room.

We like to make our clients budgets work hard, but we also like to make homes truly liveable. We prefer to create zones and dedicated functions for each of the spaces rather than one large room with a pillar in the middle. For us, spatial planning at its best combines the needs of the house and the family to create the best home possible.

TIDYING IS A FULL TIME JOB!

How tidy is your family? Do you ever dump your shoes at the door? Leave dishes in the sink? Shove un-opened post on the counter? No real home I have ever encountered looks 'magazine ready' every second of the day. We, as human beings create mess. As I write this there are two cold cups of tea next to me, which I will deal with later. This side of daily life is entirely normal, but when you are all in one open plan space, the mess magnifies itself.

Your home should be enjoyable, relaxing and a space where you can truly be yourself, away from the rest of the world. If, every time you walk into your spaces, you are met by clutter this isn't possible. Nor is it possible to keep a large multi-functioning family space clutter free all of the time without going crazy, and continually tidying - that's not sustainable or enjoyable.

Dedicated spaces are far easier to control, a cinema room will not contain oven dishes you need to scrub. A library won't be filled with dumped shoes. A large functional lobby with a dedicated post-dumping station keeps the kitchen island paperwork free. These are the everyday life things we consider when we spatially plan our clients’ homes. Our planning is about making your home truly liveable, for you.

Have I convinced you that there is another way? Perhaps when guests arrive and the kitchen is in chaos it would be great to have a snug to serve them coffee in? I do hope so.

We love making homes work, for all parts of life with our signature Studio Dean style of “quiet luxury”. For the movie watching togetherness of a drizzly Sunday afternoon in the snug, for the summer barbecue days around a huge table in your entertaining space and for the mammoth pile of laundry when the toddler had a tummy bug. The homes we create are real homes, they have real people with quirks, non stop toddlers, grumpy teenagers, elderly relatives……and we consider each and every one of them in our spatial plans.

Homes really can have it all, you just sometimes need a wall or two to make it happen. If you would like some support designing your perfect home floor plan, we would love to help. Get in touch and let's get to know each other.

Until next time,