Open floor plan houses: Your thoughts on them?

[Brian Elfert]

What are your thoughts on open floor plan houses? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

My previous (first) house was completely open on the first floor except for the 1/2 bath and closet. All bedrooms and related bathrooms were on 2nd floor along with the laundry room. I liked it except you could see any dirty dishes in the kitchen from the eating area and great room. I suspect parents with kids might like to be able to see the kids in the great room from the kitchen while preparing meals. Others say they want rooms separated to isolate noise with young kids. I helped my parents in 1997 remove a wall separating their living room and dining room. It really opened the house up while still keeping the kitchen and informal eating area separate.

My current house has a tiny eat in kitchen and a small living room. The majority of the house is bedrooms and bathrooms. I don't know how the previous owners raised six kids in the house and were able to eat in the tiny kitchen. I've thought about removing the wall between kitchen and living room to open things up. I've even gone so far as to think about tearing the walls out on the front bedroom to make it an eating area or new living room and use the current living room for eating area. Since I'm single it works just fine as it is so it would something I would consider only if I thought I might want to sell. The lack of eating area is a killer for resale for a family.

[Matt Day]

Major thumbs up from me. I stay home with two kids under 3 and being able to get something done in the kitchen and keep an eye on them is priceless. Same goes for when we have company over - I can cook/clean while being part of the action. Sounds like you know all that already though.

3 major things most homebuyers look for are open floor plan, granite, and stainless steel. I say go for it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

While I like open floor plans, one needs to keep certain things in mind when designing them.

Open doorways leading from a living room, shouldn't be placed in front of bathroom or bedroom doors.

In our area, the loss of a bedroom will devalue a home.

[Brian Elfert]

Before I ever actually did work to convert to a open floor plan I would likely consult an actual architect. I would also look at it to determine if loss of a bedroom is a deal killer. The lack of eating space could be as big an issue for property value. I would still have three bedrooms, but one would be in the walkout basement.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian,

In my recent kitchen bump out, we didn't bump out the dining room though the additional cost would have been minimal. There is a basement bedroom escape window below the dining room window and eliminating that escape window would have reduced our home from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom home. That would have significantly reduced the value of our home in our market. There is nor reasonable way of relocating the escape window in my opinion and the opinion of two different contractors.

Also, our neighbors have a home that is a mirror image of our home. The one exception is an open doorway leading from the living room into a hallway. The open doorway is located in front of the bathroom door and there a bedroom at each end of the hallway. The open doorway also aligns with a large picture window in the living room. Thus, anyone entering or leaving the bathroom is visible through the large window in the living room. If someone is scantily dressed, they can be seen by someone approaching the house.

My point is these type of things need to be considered during the design procedure. Hiring an architect would be a smart idea, for me at least.

[Erik Loza]

Before I ever actually did work to convert to a open floor plan I would likely consult an actual architect...

This ^^^^...

It really has to be case-by-case. We hired a good architect to handle the design when we did our remodel back in 2012 and the results were terrific. In our case, "more open" but not totally open. We have neighbors in the final stages of a remodel right now. I don't think they hired architect. Or possibly, just the builder (who clearly is only a builder, not an architect) designed the layout for them. They gave us a preliminary tour the other day and while it is "open", there is essentially no dining area. Enough room for a small restaurant-sized table. Both my wife and I picked up on it immediately. They put on a second story and took a good percentage of the place down to the studs, put in a whole new kitchen and pantry, so it's not like they had to say within the confines of the original layout, but you literally won't be able to seat more than four people at once in their dining area. We were sure glad we hired an architect.

Erik

[Stan Calow]

Brian, you said this "I would consider only if I thought I might want to sell." I would never spend big money on something like this for potential increase in real estate value without asking a good local realtor for an opinion. But if you want it for yourself I would only do it if you plan to live there for at least 5-10 more years. I personally don't like open floor plans, but it works for some houses.

[Brian Elfert]

My house currently has a bay in the the kitchen that goes to floor level. Without that bay the kitchen would have zero room to maneuver with a dining table in it. The bay was either added on, or redone after the house was built in 1980 as the windows were different. The bay was badly done and literally falling off the house when I bought it. The contractor had to tear it off and start over from scratch by properly tying it into the house. I only have like a 36" kitchen table since the kitchen is so small.

I am probably years away from doing anything with the floor plan of my house. I spent $110,000 remodeling the house just a year ago. New windows, new interior and exterior doors, new siding, new interior trim, new bathroom, new kitchen (Reused counter tops with new cabinets), many new electrical upgrades, and new flooring. I thought about changing the floor plan then, but it was just too much to add on top of what was already being done. The floor plan changes would be fairly easy when i need new flooring down the road. I thought seriously about getting a range that goes in an island when I bought a new one, but those cost over $2,000 even scratch and dent.

If I use the one bedroom for a living room or eating area I would probably have to leave a portion of the hallway to screen the bathroom and bedroom doors.

[Steve Peterson]

When I was single, I preferred an open floorplan. Now that there is a wife and kids in the picture, I would not like it. Too many distracting sounds.

We had an open floorplan house once. After dinner and cleanup we would walk 10' to the living room to watch TV. All you can hear is noise from the dishwasher/refrigerator/washing-machine.

Regarding the other comment about removing a wall to open up the space. I would not do it. The primary factors that someone considers when house shopping are location, price, square footage, and the number of bedrooms. More bedrooms is almost always beneficial.

Steve

[Rich Riddle]

In our last two homes the upper floors were open floor plans and the lower levels were traditional. I find myself in the lower level at least 95% of the time because of a preference for traditional rooms. Even the wife who loves an open floor plan spends most of her time in traditional rooms of the home. Our condominium was terrible with an open floor plan in the master bedroom, master path, and powder room off the entry. They had walls that didn't go to the ceiling. I had to place a "roof" on both bathrooms before anyone would even look at the condominium for purchase.

[John Goodin]

the dirty dishes solution is to have a six or eight inch elevated bar area on the counter between the living room and kitchen. This provides enough height to hide the dishes, preserves the open concept and is functional.

[John Goodin]

I work with people buying homes and outside of external factors like schools and distance to work open concept is high on most people's list so opening the kitchen living room is a great idea. I would not eliminate a bedroom unless there are five or more.

[Brian Elfert]

Almost everybody who visits my house comments on the lack of space to eat in the kitchen. The house sold quickly last year, but that is because it was heavily discounted due to the horrendous condition it was in. Is a family of six really going to want a house with no room to sit down and eat?

[paul cottingham]

I think the only reason people like open floor plans so much is because all the pompous yuppies on the real estate buying shows were so obsessed with them.

I grew up in a house with an open floor plan before they were trendy. The house made people crazy if they spent too much time alone in the open area. We did a bunch if research, and it was called "cabin fever," a well documented syndrome. You can dismiss it if you like, but it is quite real.

people have an innate need for privacy, and open floor plans violate it.

[Shawn Pixley]

I like open plan and LOML & I live in one right now. Tremendous flexibility.

Whether it is right for you, only you can say. Whether it works with your house, I would need to see plans to assess. Fixing your kitchen seems a good project. Others have offered good advice. Best wishes on your dilemma.