house layout?

sud1

If you were buying a 4 bed semi house which layout would you prefer open plan kitchen diner with seating area or the rooms seperated to create a playroom leaving a smaller kitchen diner..

thanks in advance

jlm29

If it's open plan, is there any other rooms other than the living area? Is it a bungalow? If I was buying a "forever home" It would be important to me to have a room on the ground floor that could be converted into a bedroom if I were to need it if I was older (or god forbid, got sick) and got a bit shook on my feet! It's probably because I'm a health professional, but it's something I'd always keep in the back of my mind!
Sickness, age, and immobility aside, I like open plan spaces, but I'd hate to have no place to throw toys (or children) to create a peaceful adult space if I was so inclined. Also, if kids were a bit older, they'd probably want a bit of space of their own, without being banished to their rooms! So long as having the room wouldn't make the rest of the space too poky!

jlm29

Sorry, just noticed you said semi-d - so def not a bungalow!

Scortho

Depends on the house and the age of the house.
If it's a period home then open plan doesn't work so well.
If it's anything from 1939s onwards I'd prefer open plan all the way. Open plan makes a house work a lot better.
A tiny kitchen can feel really big in an open plan setting and can really become the heart of the house.

athtrasna

The downside of open plan is smells...they travel everywhere and without doors to block them, even with extractors...the ground floor will have cooking smells. Ideally you should the option of doors, probably leaving them open most of the time.

Moonbeam

with kids I am happier with the larger kitchen dining room then a separate sitting room.

The_Conductor

Moonbeam wrote: »

with kids I am happier with the larger kitchen dining room then a separate sitting room.

I'd be inclined to agree with Moonbeam.
I have separate kitchen/living room- with passages alongide the outer wall of the kitchen to the front door, the inner wall to the stairs, and similar for the living room. I've lost an staggering amount of floor space to passageways. Ideally, if I had the money, I'd get rid of all the stud partition walls, reposition the stairs so its not cutting the middle of the house in 2, and put a door on the stairs- leaving the downstairs as open plan, with a door down to the back door (there is a stairs down to the back door), and a washroom and toilet upstairs. I'd have two new rooms downstairs, additional kitchen and living room space, and better utilitisation of the limited space that I have.

Will I ever do this? God only knows. I certainly don't have the money at the moment- and won't for the foreseeable future.

Mooby

I would go for open plan as your kids will want to be near you in the kitchen anyway.

jester77

I have an open plan and find it is good, you are not isolated when in the kitchen and you can see what the kids are doing. My layout is L shaped with the kitchen semi-closed but with a double door sized opening which leads onto the dining area and then the rest is the living area. We have 4 doors downstairs, along with the windows and extractor in the kitchen, so this helps with the smell.

Ray Palmer

Open plan living to a certain extent is a fashion thing. There are numerous down sides.
1) Privacy for teenagers
2) No separate adult space
3) Smells from the kitchen
4) No closing off of a messy kitchen, play area etc...
5) Lack of study space
6) Heating is difficult and expensive. You always have to heat the whole space
7) Safety issues keeping children separate from the kitchen

While separate rooms
1) Lost space in halls and walls
2) No visibility of children when in another room.

So when you look at it tends to be negative of open space but it does feel nicer have open space if it is warm and you are organised.

Personally I think space with flexibility is the way to be. You can have spaces broken up with things like pocket doors, hatches and partial walls. There are even system of moveable walls that are now affordable and usable in homes.

DoozerT6

I would definitely want a separate living area. Not everybody wants to be sitting in a room with cooking smells AND noises (extractor fan, frying pan, clattering pots etc), from the kitchen area, along with excited kids playing in the living area, the obligatory noisy toys, plus maybe the tv on, when they're trying to read a book or maybe have a conversation with a visitor or something. That sort of noise level is to be expected in a house with smallies around.

I'd much rather have a separate living room. It doesn't have to be huge, in fact it could even be used as a playroom to banish the kids to until they're old enough to convert it to a living room. Just somewhere where you can close the door and be away from all the other distractions. Personally I don't think I would buy a house that only had one large living/kitchen space. I certainly would not design my own house that way. I think some separation is needed so that everybody isn't on top of each other in the communal space all the time.

sud1

Thanks for all the feedback..I am selling my house and I have the playroom version..obviously I hope perspective buyer like the idea of a playroom but I can see hoe open plan works very well..its just a pity that both our houses are on the market at the same time..but no way around that..hopefully enough buyers out there that can see the benifts of both types and we both sell!!

Ray Palmer

sud1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback..I am selling my house and I have the playroom version..obviously I hope perspective buyer like the idea of a playroom but I can see hoe open plan works very well..its just a pity that both our houses are on the market at the same time..but no way around that..hopefully enough buyers out there that can see the benifts of both types and we both sell!!

For very little money and a bit of effort you can get a price to change to open plan with 3d computer image. If you want to get the best price including such information is the way to go.

You can do the image yourself with freeware and then just get quotes. Then leave copies for prospective purchasers. You can even list the pros and cons.

I visited one house that did this and the price/interest shot up as a result. The EA was very impressed too and was commenting on how well it worked when I was viewing another house.