After watching HGTV for years it was only natural to have a fondness for open floor plan homes when searching for our first home. These homes are bright and airy with high ceilings… what’s not to love!
Below are three negatives and one positive to owning an open floor plan home. I will start with the negatives since I know that is what you are really here for!
Negatives
1. Sound travels terribly throughout the house so you never have a quiet moment.
Our home was a 3 bedroom/ 2.5 bathroom townhouse with the entire downstairs level one gigantic open room housing the foyer, kitchen, living room and half bathroom. From the upstairs you could hear everything that was going on downstairs from cooking to the tv to people talking and toilets flushing, you could hear it all! This was especially problematic as we used the upstairs landing as an office- you could not work there with people downstairs as it was far too noisy.
2. When you have guests over, the open floor plan does not allow you to have any separation.
There is an argument that open floor plans are great to keep track of your small children since they are in your view at all times. When guests are over it is very awkward because they are watching you cook dinner as they sit on your couch 5 feet away then you move them to your dining room which is directly next to the couch they just sat on. Your home becomes an oversized studio apartment when guests are around.
3. Interior design has to match since it’s one big one room!
Our interior design was never as creative as we would have liked because the open floor plan doesn’t allow your rooms to have different themes since you can see every corner of your open area at the same time. If you like monotone this is great but otherwise it is far from ideal!
Positives
1. You have a beautiful kitchen that everyone raves about.
The focus of the open floor plan home is the kitchen because it can be seen by all from every angle. Builders know this and invest heavily in giving you the kitchen of your dreams.
I wish I had more positives to discuss but unfortunately, I do not. Open floor plan homes and traditional homes cost more or less the same in today’s market so the choice is yours. Leave a comment below if you own an open floor plan home and let me know if you agree with my opinions. As always, they are just my opinions so be nice!
