More homeowners creating space for open-plan living

By Tim Cornwell
The Scotsman, Friday 6 January 2011

HOMEOWNERS are shunning traditional house layouts in favour of open plan living, pouring money into creating “social areas” and ditching designated dining rooms, hallways and kitchens, according to research.

Once the preserve of the urban trendsetter, open-plan living is now being replicated nationwide as householders shun 20th Century traditions of rooms with specific single functions.

Open-plane living is gaining popularity. Picture by David Blaikie Architects

More than a fifth of homeowners (21 per cent) have taken a sledgehammer to their home’s walls in the past ten years, while an equal proportion are currently planning to do the same, according to an analysis of Britain’s housing stock by Lloyds TSB Home Insurance.

The survey, of 2,000 people, also revealed that one in four of today’s homes have a utility room compared to just one in ten of the houses homeowners grew up in, while one in 50 homes has a gym.

To create social spaces more conducive to modern lifestyles, a third of people have sacrificed a separate dining room, 18 per cent have converted a garage and 12 per cent have ditched a single-purpose kitchen.

Social Hub

However, while certain rooms are being lost, new ones are creeping onto household particulars.

Kitchen-dining rooms—the hallmark of open plan—have grown in popularity by 50 per cent in a generation and three in ten of today’s homes now have one, with many people using it as the social hub of their house.

An analysis of planning applications in eight district councils—Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich and Southampton—found that of the 210 applications submitted, 35 per cent were to create an open-plan space.

Simon Hamilton, international director at the British Institute of Interior Design, said: “Property particulars are starting to look very different.

“Houses, especially older properties, were designed with people’s lives in mind, with set rooms for set activities. But as times change so does what we want from our homes.

“With our increasingly hectic lifestyles convenience and sociability have become key, which is why kitchen-diners and games rooms have grown in popularity. In the next ten years, the majority of houses will be designed in this style.”

Recognising that open spaces will make their property more saleable, 10 per cent of homeowners have spent more than £35,000 adapting their properties, with 5 per cent investing more than £50,000. However, the works have not always gone smoothly, with one in five (19 per cent) reporting that damage was caused during the building work, with an average cost of £8,000.

To read the rest of this article—from The Scotsman Property Watch—go to:

More homeowners creating space for open-plan living