We shared a quick snippet of open floor plans about a week ago on instagram, and it brought up an interesting topic: the pros and cons of an open floor plan. A few sweet people asked if we’d shared what we like, and what we don’t like.
While we’ve shared a little about the process in the past in things to consider before opening it up, we thought that here would be a great place to talk about all things design, and be as honest as we can be: what we like, and what we don’t with our main great room area of our house. So without further ado, the pros and cons of an open floor plan…
Pro: It’s a great chance to lighten and brighten.
Yes, we’ve all seen the episodes on design tv. We’ve seen the in-between-commercial magic.
But is living in an open floor plan the optimal solution?
We say it depends on your preferences, and on your actual existing house. We think that for our house, it was the best possible option. We love the obvious visual changes it brought, the space feels larger and up to date and friendly and classic all at once. We definitely recommend it to people, if it works for them.
But it comes with its sets of cons, for sure.
Con: Because you’ve gotten rid of your walls, there’s a new set of challenges.
You really have to define your living spaces. And there’s a major adjustment, we must say, in the beginning. It means that elements in the space all need to work together. Color, style, and more are important in pulling it off, and doing it well. There’s a refinement that needs to take place in the styling process, and most definitely in the functional process or else it can stress you out more if you don’t have a plan.
For instance: we knew we were adding the downstairs redo, so we took a little more liberation with this space. And then we added little things like storage under the front side of the island for extra dishes, and hiding the TV over the fireplace so that the furniture wasn’t spread out. It helped in huge ways for the open floor plan concept.
Pro: More space
Obviously. I think you can see with our photography, the difference it made for the rooms. And these photos were taken with the same camera… same lighting. This isn’t us trying to make the befores look worse. It was a real game changer for us and our family, and the space in that main room… We adore it.
Con: Less space to hide your crap
There, I said it. It just means you have to be smart with your storage. Clutter bothers me big time, so there was a real come-to-Jesus with little things. Like adjusting to cups on the island when the kids were done with dinner and things left lying around on the main floor. The little things can drive you crazy if you don’t have a system in place. This has been our biggest struggle, so again… have a plan.
It helps, now that we’ve finished our lower basement level and have more space as a family, but for a while, it was a smaller home at under 1700 square feet, and an open floor plan. I think that’s a double whammy in the world of no walls. So it takes some adjustment.
Another pro to that con:
It holds us accountable. We’ve struggled since we’ve been in the middle of additional changes in our house. It can be easy to hide your stuff by stuffing it. It’s already time for another round of purging, but it makes you really think about what you truly want in your kitchen/livingroom/dining area. It’s a big change that makes you consider the items in your life, and that can definitely be a good thing.
• Pro: Better air flow
Our HVAC guys are big fans of big open spaces. When we were gutting out the main level, they had a million reasons. They have an entire formulaic system, but in short it definitely helps with healthier air flow, and better circulation within the home.
This is something a lot of people don’t consider.
• Keeping it real: This is a view that we don’t show often. While the right side of the kitchen will eventually hold a desk, {it’s currently a shameless housing area for Emerson’s handmade dollhouse} and the left will eventually hold a walkway to our master addition, this is what it looks like now.
It is what it is, and it really doesn’t bother us. But this is just our point: you really do see everything.
We love the way it feels open and light. I guess you could say it’s another con… we have to live with what we can do, budget wise, until we’re ready to build a desk. Or a pro, if it just doesn’t bother you. But it’s another element to consider.
• Con: Less wall space.
Duh. I think we covered this above, you’re probably saying, with furniture placement and storage.
I’m also adding my biggest complaint to this: no places to hang your art. I’m an artist by trade, and I also adore photography of my kids and I like vintage finds. I guess we’ll be switching out things often, and it makes us super picky about what we do put up in our house. Because space is limited, this can be a bummer for the art lover.
Again, we’re glad we have other living areas with more opportunities for all things art.
• Con: Noise.
Some people in open floor plans report that their noise level is a lot. We haven’t really noticed that, in our personal experience. There just isn’t a big difference in noise levels for us.
The only time we do notice the noise, is when the kids are on the piano, or taking their guitar lessons. But I guess it doesn’t really bother us. We rather enjoy our instructor jamming out in the middle of our great room because the acoustics are kind of awesome.
A drum set on the other hand…
I would think a big difference for noise level would be the tile vs hardwoods vs carpet option, and if it’s on a crawlspace or not, as the biggest noise influencer. We also have spray foam insulation, so we think that affected it as well. Rather than one big open space being the sole issue.
• Pro: Family togetherness.
I guess I could argue the opposite of the noise issue, to say that it’s nice to have everyone in the same space. We’ve talked to so many people who have larger houses, {we know, perspective – this house is considered large to some} and they say that their kids are always under their feet anyway, so now they’re sizing down.
We love that in this one big, multifunctional space, it’s easy to spend family time, and enjoy the evening together. Even if we’re all doing something different. Cheesy, but true.
• Con: The house smells like whatever you’re cooking.
• Pro: The house smells like whatever you’re cooking.
My favorite combo in the fall is bacon, cinnamon rolls and coffee. While I pad around in my pajamas and enjoy the morning light. Call me a sentimentalist. This doesn’t bother us. I feel like it makes things cozy. It’s not often that we cook something that stinks to high heaven.
• Con: Your house can feel like a fishbowl.
You really have to think about your window coverings because you house can feel like a fishbowl. This depends on where you live, of course. But this isn’t something we considered. You can see right in, when there are no walls.
Bless them, but we have a few rubberneckers in our neighborhood, if we forget to close the curtains at night. {Otherwise, it’s a non-issue.}
We’re also adding an addition to the back wall {not our master, but this} so it’s about to be a non-issue, with another wall in its place.
• Pro: The Ambience.
I think that our before and afters speak for themselves, and that we’re truly smitten with our floor plan.
That being said, you really have to choose for yourself and what works best for your home and family. We also think that a plan is important, before you dive right in. We’re big fans, and think that it’s worth considering, which is why we mentioned this point again. The things that we’ve listed here are things that were an adjustment for us, and some points are bigger than others.
We think that it can be different for everyone. But these are the things we think are good to consider.
With our house, they’re definitely doable, and we couldn’t be happier with the results.
So do you live in an open floor plan?
What are your likes and dislikes, or something you wish you’d considered?
We would love to hear your take on it all! Especially for those of us thinking about knocking down some walls.
Have an inspired day!
Amanda says
We went with an open floor plan for our new build – I love the family togetherness/being able to see the kids, but the noise/echo is still a bit much. We have hardwood floors with a variety of area rugs/runners, and a (small) two-story foyer. The smells can be a bit much, especially when you don’t want to smell last night’s dinner when you get up the next morning.
However – we put in a playroom/office/guest space in the front of the house on the first floor and it saves my sanity! I can always do a quick sweep of the downstairs after the kids go to bed and chuck their toys in there, and hten deal with it so much later.
My parents collect antiques, and they agree with you about the lack of wall space. My dad’s exact comment was “where are you going to put the grandfather clocks and the corner cabinets???”
Have a great day!!
ashley @ the handmade home says
YES! Hurray for additional spaces for all the kids things! That is so true! ;}
Kerri says
Our last and final (we hope) home purchase is an open concept lake house. I love the feel of it. Our master is on one side and guest suite and son’s room are on the other so there’s privacy when needed. The best part of losing wall space was being forced to choose what I really loved to put on our walls. I appreciate rotation of wall hangings, but the lack of storage doesn’t make it possible for us. So family pieces were passed to nieces earlier, which was the perfect solution and it felt great to let them go! The open space also allows a larger dining room table for entertaining. A contractor was able to close off part of the office space for a coat closet off the entry and storage closet for my “treasures.” With the added closet, we went from a 3 BR plus office space to a 4 BR = smart for storage and property value.