05 Nov The Pros and Cons of Open Floor Plans

Is an open floor plan right for you? Check out the pros and cons of open floor plans.

In the 1980’s the open floor plan began gaining popularity and for good reason. No floor plan comes with out cons and it’s important to look at your lifestyle before committing to any type of home. Here are some pros and cons of open floor plans.

Entertaining

Pro- Open floor plans are great for entertaining. Wide open spaces allow for mingling and large groups to gather without invading each others personal space. An added feature is that even when the host is attending to tasks in the kitchen or in one corner of the room they never truly leave the party.

Con- As mentioned before there is no leaving the party unless you retreat to a bedroom or bathroom. In addition, your guests are able to see into your kitchen and any dirty dishes or messes.

Privacy

Pro- Open spaces promote togetherness and family time. For families with young children open floor plans make it easy to keep an eye on children while cooking, cleaning, or attending to other tasks. There are less nooks and crannies for kids to sneak off to and cause mayhem. Parents feel closer to their kids and ‘there’ for them. After all kids just need to look over their shoulder to see a parent.

Con- While that feeling of closeness is great with young children as your darling kids grow into their teenage years both they and you will want more private space and time. The same floor plan that promoted togetherness before will now promote teenagers locking themselves in their rooms to get some privacy. Don’t let that alone persuade you not to buy a house with an open floor plan, chances are your teenager will lock themselves in their room no matter what type of house you have. The difference is, if you want some privacy you will have to retreat to your room as well.

Utilization of Available Space

Pro- With open floor plans it is completely up to you to decide how to organize your rooms and furniture. You get access to more of the square footage you are buying and the illusion of more space is created which is helpful when reselling. It is also easier to redecorate and move furniture with less doorways.

Check out the massive   difference between how this home looks after it was remodeled to have an open floor plan. Of course taking down that wallpaper helped a lot as well.

Con- If can be difficult to decorate rooms in different styles and with different colors when they are all conjoined. It’s also difficult to decide where one room ends and the next begins. On top of that there will be less wall space for art and photos.

Open Borders

Pro- Even while working in the kitchen or at the table you can be part of conversations happening in the family room. The chef of the family is no longer quarantined to the kitchen. Imagine it, you can settle an argument between kids in the living room with out even pausing your dinner preparations!

Con- Without clear borders between rooms both smells and noise will travel. This may be pleasant if your baking cookies but if your frying fish you may not want the whole house smelling that way. Noise will also travel creating a lack of quiet space, and in some cases you may encounter dueling TVs. Cartoons and teen dramas are all well and good but not when you can’t hear the news over them!

Cleaning!!!

With open floor plans every one can see every mess. Some floor plans make the entire main floor visible from the moment you walk through the door. This means you will need to keep your entire main floor clean instead of being able to stash and hide messes in unused rooms. On the plus side this could be the motivation you need to keep your home clean and in order!

Open floor plans are functional, help maximize square footage, promote togetherness, and are great for parties but it is important to think about yours and your families personal preferences and lifestyle before committing to an open floor plan. For example if your kids have friends over constantly maybe you don’t want to be able to hear exactly what going on in their lives…maybe you do!

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As always the Selling South of the River team is here to answer any questions you may have. Call Sheryl Petrashek at 612-889-6496 or email at [email protected]