open floor Plans

by bryan henson, President Allen Associates Builders

Acommon concern amongst homeowners who are embarking on a remodel or design of a new home is how to make the right design decisions. There are literally hundreds of decisions to make when contemplating any home improvement project. New design trends can be found on every magazine rack – some of which are in direct conflict of each other. every decision takes time and effort, and ultimately each design decision comes with a price tag. fortunately, there is one design trend that I believe homeowners can embrace with confidence: open floor plans.

The openness and spaciousness of a room is usually our first impression when walking into a home where this design feature is a focus. older homes are remarkably fragmented with hallways and walls, resulting in spaces with little daylight and restricted circulation. This ultimately makes a home feel smaller and less inviting. design decisions that focus on reversing this feel are often the best decisions that can be made with any project.

Whether the project is small or large, focusing on a few key elements will help you accomplish an open feel in your home. most people will respond naturally to increased daylight, brighter spaces, and areas that have longer line of sight connectivity. essentially a room or space will feel bigger and more comfortable if you can see farther. here are a few examples:

• Design decisions that increase natural light through skylights, more windows or doors with glass make a space feel brighter and increase our view or line of sight to the outdoors. on my own home I recently replaced two windows with a larger french door. This not only increased my visual connection to the outdoors but I now can open up a large portion of the exterior wall to the outdoors, thus making the indoor space feel larger.

• Good lighting also plays an important role. dark rooms feel more claustrophobic. If natural light is not an option, then adding more artificial light to a space can enhance how we perceive the space.

• Making a space feel more open doesn’t always mean that walls need to be torn down. Removing or replacing “heavy” features like older rock fireplace surrounds can have a dramatic impact. A heavy stone clad wall (think 1960’s Bank of America) replaced with newer, lighter materials will reflect more light and make the space feel larger and more open.

• Taller ceilings or vaulted ceilings increase our sight lines and make a room feel larger. Anytime you can raise the ceiling you should.

• Perhaps the most popular renovation is connecting kitchens with dining rooms and living spaces. Though this often means that walls come down, we are often accomplishing this with opening up “interior windows” in walls to allow the visual connection without tearing down the whole wall.

Increasing flow and circulation by opening up the transitions points between rooms and connecting the interior to the exterior are strategies offer dramatic changes to a space that will outlast any current design fads.

Allen Associates, www.dennisallenassociates. com, 805-884-8777.