CREATING AN OPEN PLAN LIVING SPACE

While the price of real estate has continued to rise over the years, the need to feel like you live in a space that is open and free has been a defining factor in determining many people’s quality of life. Feeling like you live in an open space, even if you don’t, can make a huge difference in terms of a person’s overall health and happiness, so for the sake of everyone who lives at your space and anyone who visits, embrace an open plan living style. You’ll find you are all far happier being there. The following looks at some of the ways you can create an open plan living style at your place.

Open up your kitchen

Considering how much time you spend in your kitchen in an average week, it seems a shame for you to have to spend all that time cut off from everyone else in the house. If you have been thinking about opening up your living space a little, the first thing you should do is knock a hole in at least one of your kitchen walls and connect it with the rest of the house.

Inside/outside mix

Connecting your inside areas with your backyard areas can be a fantastic way of expanding your entertaining space as well as living area. Whether you use slate tiles, bricks or paving stones, find a way to create that all-important inside/outside mix. The earthy colours of natural stone and slate help to create a seamless transition from inside to out. Using plants can be the perfect way to create the transition area between the inside and outside areas, and if you do it well you will feel like you are outside even when you are still in.

Hide your storage better

It is hard to create an open living plan if you have stuff cluttering up the space, so before you do anything else, you need to find ways to store your stuff further out of sight. There are all kinds of fantastic storage solutions, ranging from drawers under beds to filing cabinet foot stools, so find some better ways to keep your belongings close yet out of sight if you hope to be able to create any sense of an open living plan.

Increase the natural light

Whether you have a skylight, sliding door or extra windows put in, nothing will make a space feel more open than bringing in a lot more light. Being able to see the sky or the backyard will significantly enhance the feeling of space and have you well on the way to a more open-plan style of living.

With a more open plan at your home, you will feel less like you are trapped in a small space and more like you are able to flourish in your own little pocket of freedom. Whether you use slate tiles, plants or glass sliding doors, make sure you embrace open-plan living as much as you can at your place, so that you and any of your guests are able to make the most of any time you get to hang out and relax there.