How to Transform Your House Into an Open Concept Design

An open concept design can make a house feel brighter, airier, and much larger than it really is. It can also improve traffic patterns and workflows so you enjoy your home much more. Transforming your house into an open concept design isn’t as easy as a walk in the park, but it also doesn’t have to be difficult. A little planning and working with the right people can smooth the rough edges and take you from closed to open in what feels like no time at all.

Start your planning by thinking about your space needs

Opening up your house isn’t as simple as knocking out walls and calling it a day. You’ll be creating spaces where there once were rooms. Furniture, people, doors, and hallways are all puzzle pieces that need to fit into these new spaces. Consider the size of your existing furniture as well as any you plan to purchase. Think about how the people in your home use the space. Remember you need space between a dining room table and kitchen counter, living room sofa, or a wall to pull chairs in and out easily. You’ll need walkways. Consider all these things as you consider new wall and furniture placements.

Linear or Axial?

There are two potential open concept choices. A linear organization puts all your spaces in a straight line. An axial arrangement puts two important spaces, for example, your kitchen and your dining room, to define the space with a travel path between them that you can then use as a major design element. You’ll want to consider whether a linear organization or axial arrangement works best for your home and your family. You’ll also want to consider the layout of whichever you go with to make sure your design makes sense. For example, you don’t want the kitchen at one end of the house and the dining room at the other.

Identify the load-bearing walls & their options

When opening up a house, chances are at least one wall you’ll want to move or remove will be a load-bearing wall. These walls can’t just be changed or removed without planning. You’ll want to hire a professional to talk about wall repositioning. This professional can help you identify your load-bearing walls and what your options are. They’ll help you with determining if you can remove walls or move them from their existing location to the new one you envision.

Hire a design-build architect to refine your plan

Before you begin making major changes to your home, you’ll want to take the final step of working with a design-build architect to refine your design plan. They can help you with rerouting plumbing and electrical lines and nail down specific numbers on ideas you have like raising ceilings to make them vaulted. They can also help you come up with creative storage ideas that won’t interfere with the open concept you want.

An open-concept design is like a breath of fresh air in an older home with walled-off rooms. It gives the space a sense of newness and spaciousness that didn’t exist before. When done well, it can give your home a new life and increase its value. Take your time and plan it well so you can look around your beautiful new space with pride.