Is it worth creating an open plan kitchen or living room?
The idea of open living space (free planning) was invented by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1930s and was first presented by him in 1927 in Germany at the International Housing Exhibition in Stuttgart. Then the architect moved to the USA and refined his concept.
Before you start replanning...
It is good if you bought an apartment during the construction stage, and the layout of the room was made according to your wishes. Or you have your own house. In this case, the placement of the rooms was also thought out in advance, even at the design stage.
If this is not about you, and you want to make your apartment a studio or simply combine the kitchen and living room, you will have to demolish the walls.
When planning the renovation, imagine what the room will be like after the renovation. Think in advance about the zoning of the space, the placement of lightning and furniture, and the places for connecting electrical appliances.
Separate the living room area from the kitchen area by using different finishing materials, different floor coverings (for example, laminate in the living room and ceramic tiles in the kitchen), pieces of furniture (dining table, sofa) or live plants. It is very convenient to use a kitchen island for zoning space, which, in addition, expands the functionality of the kitchen.
Advantages of open plan kitchen
The absence of extra walls makes the room spacious, bright and full of air, because there will be at least two windows in the combined space, and there will be no dark corridor at all. In such a room it is easy to move around, it is easy to clean.
In addition, you will get a lively and informal space. A person who is in the kitchen, cleaning or preparing food, will now not be isolated from others, can participate in the conversation and observe what is happening in the living room. By the way, there is also a positive psychological point in this - in a joint kitchen, family members and guests come to each other's aid more often.
Apartments with a combined space are very functional, they use every square meter. And there will be less costs for repairs: fewer walls - fewer materials - less work for builders.
What to pay attention to ...
There are many advantages in combining the kitchen and the living room, but there are also disadvantages, or rather, not disadvantages, but nuances that must be taken into account if you want to get a good result.
The combined space should be decorated in the same style. The room should look indivisible, complete and harmonious.
It is better to choose a kitchen set with a minimum number of glass facades or without them at all, otherwise not only you will know about the contents of your cabinets.
So that the entire room does not look like one big kitchen, the cooking area can be made "invisible" by choosing the color and texture of the fronts of the kitchen furniture to match the walls.
When choosing a color scheme for the design of the kitchen-living room, remember that dark colors visually reduce and narrow, and light colors expand the space. Small-sized functional furniture, glass and glossy surfaces, a properly selected lighting system will also visually enlarge the room.
Choose built-in household appliances, carefully consider the ventilation system. A powerful hood will help prevent the smell of cooking food from spreading throughout the apartment.
Consider a functional storage system. Keep in mind that items that are used often should be "close at hand", and things that you rarely use can be hidden away. The main principle of an open kitchen is to hide everything you can. If you place too many household appliances and dishes on the work surface, such a kitchen will look sloppy.
If the kitchen is large and there is enough storage space, the upper hanging cabinets can be replaced with open shelves. It is more convenient to equip the lower sections with drawers - it's easier to get out of them, and you don't have to search for a long time on the shelves for what's on.
The entire room should be well lit, especially the cooking area.
In fact, a kitchen-living room is a very cool idea, if you approach its implementation wisely and with full responsibility, taking into account all the nuances. After all, as a result, the room must perform all the functions that are laid in it.