‘Broken plan’ living is the new ‘open plan’ living.
Open plan living has been a popular layout in many homes for quite some time, allowing for optimal light and air flow and making the most of the communal areas. However, broken plan living has taken over as the preferred home layout with many advantages suiting today’s families.
Problems faced with open plan living
If you’ve always dreamed of having an open plan living area, you may want to consider some of the downsides of this type of living and whether or not it’s for you.
Firstly there’s the heating and cooling issue. When you have a large area, it can be very difficult to heat and cool the space when there are no walls or doors. This can then turn heating and cooling into a very expensive and inefficient exercise.
If privacy and relaxation is what you’re after, then perhaps an open plan layout is not for you. Open plan means areas such as your lounge, dining and kitchen areas will be adjacent. As the most used areas in a home, this means there will be constant competing noise. This can make life quite difficult if you’re trying to work, relax, watch TV or simply gain some privacy.
If you enjoy having friends over for dinner, having an open plan living space will also mean that the chaotic kitchen will not be separate from the lovely and inviting dining room.
Just imagine for a minute, a space where the kettle is boiling, the microwave is on, a frying pan is going, the television is on and family members are busy talking. All of these sounds competing against each other in an open area can tend to get a little overwhelming!
Lastly, open plan living also doesn’t lend itself well to efficient storage and clutter free living. Everything is on display in open plan; you can’t close doors on a less tidy space. Not only that, if you have a keen eye for interior design, you’ll want everything in the open plan area to work together which means you have a larger space to coordinate instead of separate rooms.
So, what is broken plan living?
Broken plan living is all about incorporating quiet spaces around the home for those times you and your family want to escape and relax. Think dedicated areas for cooking and eating, lounging and snuggling up with a good book without the need to add heaps of walls.
For families, in particular, broken plan living is about considering each person; the person who likes watching television or playing computer games, the one that has to study or is running a business or the parent that needs a break away from it all. Everyone gets their own little piece of home, without disturbing the rest of the household.
Broken plan living is not so much about totally closing up the space but focusing on the idea of integrated living, where even though each space is connected, they each have their specific purpose.
Why broken plan living is becoming so popular
It’s the times we live in that have made broken plan living so popular. It’s likely that your family members enjoy being on their smart phones, computers or tablets more regularly and so having separate areas to provide seclusion for this is in demand.
In addition to technology, the focus on mindfulness and relaxation is a huge key to the popularity of broken plan living. People are now placing more importance on their health and wellbeing and having a home layout that supports this is essential.
How to convert a home from open plan living into broken plan living
Because broken plan living is a fairly new idea, many homes still boast an open plan layout. If you’re considering purchasing a home with open plan and converting it to a broken plan living space, it’s best to go into the purchase with a good idea of how you could do it. It helps to understand that some open plan living spaces will convert better than others. Here are some ways you can convert a space into broken plan living:
Internal windows and shutters
The best thing about open plan living is the amount of light it lets into the room, so converting the space to broken plan needs to be done in such a way that this light is retained. Consider the opportunity to install internal windows in order to separate a room but maintain the light flow. Installing floor to ceiling bi-fold plantation shutter doors is another option to separate a room but maintain light flow.
Mezzanine
Never underestimate the impact of a mezzanine level. If there is capacity for one to be installed, you can have a formal lounge room down the bottom and a comfy space to watch television or read a book up top.
Steps
It’s amazing what the addition of two or three steps between areas like the kitchen, dining and living areas can do to provide some separation. Take this into consideration when looking for homes to convert and take a few measurements to see how much work would be required.
Half wall
The current layout will determine whether this is possible, but a half wall between a room such as a kitchen and dining area is perfect to block out a little noise. Keep the chaos in the kitchen while you pop your head around the corner and chat with your dinner guests.
Wide walkway
Most open plan living spaces will have no walls or walkways, yet adding a wide walkway is great idea for separating a space without totally closing it off.
Furniture and appliances
If you’re on a tight budget, it may only take a well-placed television, fireplace, bookshelf or sofa to split up the room and create your own little escape nooks.
The best thing about broken plan living is that all it requires is a little bit of imagination and not necessarily a big budget to create your own little spaces. We all need a break every now and then and broken plan living is definitely the ideal way to achieve this ‘time out’ in your own home.