Open Concept Living Spaces are Trendy, But is it Right For You?

One of the most popular trends in the home design world today is that of the open concept living space. You’ve probably fallen in love with a few gorgeous open concept home floor plans yourself; after all, they make your home look wide and spacious, and allow you room to fill your living space up with trendy furniture and hip decor.

But, despite its popularity, is an open concept living space really right for you?

When designing your new home, is an open concept floor plan the best way to add your own personal style to your space? We’re here to help you find out.

What Is An Open Concept Space?

As its name suggests, an open concept living space is simply a home floor plan that combines many rooms in the home into one large room. So, for example, your living room, kitchen, and dining room may all simply be one great big area.

It is a trend that is catching on more and more in the home design world, and many people who live in open concept homes absolutely love them. They are, however, a bit of a challenge to decorate and not right for everyone.

So, is this right for you? Let’s dig further and describe how you can properly maximize the benefits.

The Benefits of an Open Concept Space

The first major benefit of open concept home floor plans is making your home feel larger. Even a large house will feel small and cramped if there are too many barriers dividing up the various parts of the home.

Those barriers take up space as well, besides the obvious aesthetic problems.

Open concept living space, on the other hand, helps you avoid that cramped feeling and can actually make even a small home feel large.

This plan will also add a lot of brightness to the home, since light billowing in through windows isn’t stopped by walls, but permeates the whole area.

There are a few other benefits as well; for example, if you’re a parent you’ll have a much easier time keeping an eye on your children, as it will be harder for them to disappear into an area where you can’t see.

And, if you’re the type of person who enjoys entertaining guests in your home, you’ll be able to make excellent use of an open concept floor plan as well. It will be naturally easier to throw a big party with a lot of guests if they don’t have to navigate down various hallways and into secluded rooms.

The Downside

While open concept living spaces are increasing in popularity, they certainly aren’t for everyone. For people who are particularly private, an open concept home may not be the best choice.

A wide, open floor plan lends itself greatly to social interaction and you may not want to have to go hide in the bedroom every time you want some quiet time to yourself to read.

Similarly, without as many walls to block sound, noise will carry throughout your home a lot more easily. Not only that, you’ll have to work harder to keep your living space impeccably clean, as when your living room and kitchen are all in one area, it will be difficult to excuse clutter and messes to guests.

If you are the type of person that enjoys hanging artwork and other decor on your walls, it will also be more of a challenge in an open concept home since there will be significantly less wall space and easier for competing pieces to clash.

Decorating An Open Concept Space

Whether you’ve decided that an open concept living space is perfect for you, or you’re still weighing the pros and the cons, you’ll probably want to consider how to go about the decorating process.

This can be a particular challenge, especially if you want your home to be trendy and hip. Some of the downsides we mentioned in the above section can be mitigated if you take care when you’re decorating.

However, our Design Center is fantastic to address these specific concerns and can overcome any obstacle to help you meet your needs, no matter which floor plan you decide to implement.

Take Care to Separate Each Area

While the idea behind an open concept floor plan is to combine everything in one large space, it shouldn’t necessarily look like it’s all one large area.

What we mean by this is your living room should still look like a living room, your kitchen should still look like a kitchen, and your dining room should still look like a dining room. Choose your furniture wisely to ensure that the designation for each space is obvious.

For example, carefully select comfortable couches and place them in the “living room” space. Then, select a dining table that’s distinct, but matches the overall aesthetic of the space. Instead of a wall, use your furniture and decor to create cohesive, yet separate regions of the home.

Privacy in an Open Concept Space

One thing that worries many people who are opting for an open concept home is privacy; obviously, privacy is important to everyone, but for some people, it’s even more critical. You can break up the open area a little with strategically placed shelving, and you can even work a little privacy into the design of your home itself by adding a loft or another little feature to allow you to get away.

Even if you like your privacy, you may still find an open concept works for you.

Getting Your Home Exactly the Way You Want

When you’re buying or inheriting an older home, you have to work with what you already have to a large extent. That’s why we adore custom designs!

If you decide to have a new home constructed to your exact specifications, as we provide at New Tradition Homes, you’ll be able to make use of an open concept area the way that fits your lifestyle.

And, if you decide that style doesn’t fit your needs, we can add in specific spaces to improve privacy and improve noise reduction.

So, is this trend right for you?