Is A Home With An Open Floor Plan Right For You?
Posted on: 13 February 2018
The home design trend these days is open floor plans where there are no walls separating the family room, kitchen, and breakfast area. While this type of floor plan allows for more socializing with friends and family members and provides more flexibility in how the space is used and decorated, there are two drawbacks you should consider to ensure an open floor plan is really the best option for you.
More Noise, Less Privacy
If you like to escape to the kitchen to have a few moments of quiet to yourself, you won't be able to do that with an open floor plan. While that may be a good thing if you want to keep an eye on small children while you cook, it can also quickly become a source of aggravation because you'll always be exposed to whatever is going on in other rooms.
For instance, you may want to cook a soufflé in peace, but you're having a hard time hearing yourself think because your spouse is watching the football game at max volume in the family room.
There are ways to get around this, depending on your family dynamics. For instance, you could purchase a home with a basement and set up an entertainment area down there where people can go to watch television, play video games, or simply hang out without bothering anyone else.
Just because there aren't any walls doesn't mean you can't create some. Thus, an alternative option is to purchase room separators that can be erected between the kitchen and living room that may create a sense of seclusion in each area of the open space.
Think creatively about ways you can create the effect you want, and use sites like Pinterest to get ideas that may work for you.
Nothing Blocks the Heat and Smells
Another issue you will encounter with an open floor plan is that what happens in the kitchen won't stay there and vice versa. Specifically, cooking smells will waft throughout the entire open area, which can lead to your furniture and other items smelling like your favorite foods. Heat produced in the kitchen will also travel through the area, which can make your air conditioner work a little harder on hot days.
Getting a kitchen with a heavy-duty hood can help contain some cooking smells. Opening the windows and doors to air out the space can prevent those smells from lingering and embedding themselves in your furniture. However, you should budget for buying air freshener and getting your furniture professionally cleaned on a regular basis if you want to keep this issue from becoming a major problem.
To learn more about open floor plans or help picking the right home for you, contact a real estate agent.
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