More homeowners creating space for open-plan living

By TIM CORNWELL
Published on Friday 6 January 2012 00:34

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.

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.

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.

Paula Llewellyn, head of marketing services at Lloyds TSB Home Insurance, said: “Rather than moving, people are adjusting their own property to create their dream home and the living space they need and it’s clear to see that open-plan living is what modern families want.”

Edinburgh architect David Blaikie has carried out about 20 open-plan conversions in the city.

He said: “Virtually any of our work for the post-war building sector is doing exactly that.

“It’s a lifestyle thing; it’s about creating space; it’s also about generally young families, mothers cooking, children watching television, doing their homework, playing, whatever they are doing, and eating all within the same sort of space. It’s more inclusive for everyone.”

In a recent project in Blackhall, Mr Blaikie worked on a bungalow where he “scooped the insides out and almost doubled the size”, he said.

Another project involved demolishing an existing extension on a late Georgian town house, and creating a new structure with five rooms – kitchen, sitting area, family eating area, formal dining room and family television space – all linked together through the back wall of the house.

Andy Whyte, of Lucid Architecture in Glasgow, said: “A lot of people have Victorian terraced houses or tenements in Edinburgh or Glasgow with small kitchens.

“They were designed with a kitchen that wasn’t intended to be seen, it was just small and functional, or not even very functional. What you have got now is a lot of people who are opening up to make kitchen, dining, and living spaces, maybe all three functions in one spaces, and it’s a move away from formal living as well.

“We’ve got a huge existing housing stock which to some extent might not have been changed for 100 years or more.

“Separate dining rooms are so pointless, they maybe get used a few times a year if you are lucky. That’s what I see, I agree with the statistics.”

He added that British estate agents still tend to focus on the number of rooms in a property, so there can be a risk of reducing value. In most other countries, properties are valued by total floor area and quality of construction, as well as location.

He said: “We tend to count rooms. But you can add value by making a really nice kitchen space, it’s the first thing people look for.”

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14

Russell M

Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 09:55 AM

The mice are coming out of their wee nests. The end of Scottish life as we know it. Open spaces will create open minds. Minds open to the idea that we do not need to live under the jackboot of authority. The oligarchy would do well to take care.

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Graeme M

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 09:49 PM

Well, open plan is all the rage here in OZ, has been for the 45 years I have been here!...Suits some people, not others, depends on one's preferences. The young folks prefer the open plan, the older ones quite content to have separate rooms.My wife and I are 'couch potatoes' being elderly after 7.30... I could not foresee me sitting in a 'fish and chip' atmosphere watching the goggle-box. But then, I am old fashioned...One doesn't save room, one only makes more doors...But these doors are precious to us...Ciamar a that thu!...

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12

lorraine in canada

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 03:45 PM

This is a very popular concept here in Canada, I personally like being in the kitchen cooking and I can still see and speak to my dinner guests at the same time,

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11

Beelzebub's amanuensis

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 12:12 PM

Anybody living in Scotland and doing this must have more money than sense. I'd rather heat just the area I'm using than the whole house. The AGW brigade should be up in arms at the very idea.

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10

wayneb

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 11:56 AM

The union of kitchenliving room is a regrettable move. The mere thought of all the odours and sounds (and mess!) of cooking happening while family or guests are seated just feet away certainly does not conjure up an appealing picture and it is likely that a change back will happen in a number of cases. I once viewed a top-floor flat that had no interior walls save for one or two partial dividers that held up the roof. Yes, no walls for the bathroom, either. The look and sink were just there...adjacent to and in full view of the bed 'room' and living 'room'. Could it be that too many people doing this - like drunk drivers - simply do not consider the ramifications of their actions? Too bad.

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9

Marty-man

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 11:40 AM

#7 Sinagporean - I don't think anyone is suggesting communal sleeping areas and such, so many peopel can still activities you state can still take place in bedrooms. However, do we really need separate sitting rooms, dining rooms and kitchens?

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8

Still Douglas

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 11:03 AM

This is all the fault of Bigass Kirsty and her lisping sycophant. They're rooms not spaces you underemployed mouth on a stick.

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7

SINGAPOREAN

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 08:09 AM

Our family's disparate indoor leisure requirements demand separate spaces for TV, Radio, Computer games. And some of us - it's an age-related thing - need warmer spaces than others.

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6

Russell M

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 07:09 AM

The mice are coming out of their wee nests. The end of Scottish life as we know it. Open spaces will create open minds. Minds open to the idea that we do not need to live under the jackboot of authority. The oligarchy would do well to take care.

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5

Hector the Lessor

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 05:40 AM

Very popular in Australia and when you match it with warmer climes and outdoor areas it can be quite exotic. Personally living in Tasmania which tends to be slightly cooler in summer and a darn sight cooler in winter, you tend to concentrate on refuges to combat the summer heat and the winter cold. A kitchen dining room with an open fire (well over here logs, over in Scotland gas). A living room extended to a covered outdoor pation with barbecue, (it will save you from holding a barbecue party in your garage) would appear to be the way to go. What is important is the minimalist approach, do you really want the cost of heating or cooling areas of the house you are not using. Oh and triple glazing between your outside patio and living room. I mean you do live in Scotland after all.

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4

Tom M.

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 05:28 AM

This is one of the "Top Stories" in Scotland today? Really?

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3

Marty-man

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 02:36 AM

Considering that we in the UK have the smallest living space in Europe, this isn't very surprising. My flat has an open plan living roomkitchen and I couldn't believe the difference when I looked at my neighbors living room (exact same flat size, but each room separate). Extra rooms mean more doors, which means less space for furniture http:news.bbc.co.uk1hi8201900.stm

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2

Tartancult

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 01:44 AM

Charles, why do insist on confirming people's opinion of you? That was a wholly inane comment and I can only put it down to one of two things - 1. you are sober, 2. this is a bogus Charles.....

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1

Charles Linskaill

Friday, January 6, 2012 at 12:48 AM

More Fool Them, If they want to live in a zoo!

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