With a blank canvas, how would you lay out your open plan living area?

7 år sedan

We're about to build an extension to create an open-plan living area and whilst we know what we want to fit in, we're not sure how to lay it out.

There are four elements we want to include:

1. kitchen

2. dining table & chairs

3. relaxed seating area (sofa and coffee table)

4. children's seating area (perhaps some bench seating with storage underneath and a table that can be used for painting/drawing etc)

The room will be 6m wide x 7.5m long and the outer wall will be 6m of glass doors that looks onto the garden.

So, how best to fit these four elements in? Relaxed seating by the doors for a nice view? Kitchen area by the doors because you spend most time there? Kitchen to occupy a square area in one corner or run the full length of one wall?

I've attached my expertly drawn plan of one option, just as a starting point really but I'd really appreciate your thoughts. I feel like we absolutely have to get this bit right I just don't know where to start.

Thank you in advance

Sarah

Utvalt svar

Claire Nicholson

7 år sedan

Ändrades senast: 7 år sedan

Hi Sarah,

I would echo Jonathan's comments! Having recently been through a very similar process and visited 5 different kitchen shops (including a few quite high end) I found all of the designers focused around the actual units and practicalities but very uninventive. Their only real focus is the kitchen so they tend to care less about the rest of the space and how you're going to use it.

I would highly recommend you use an independent designer (there are a few on here). They charge a fraction of the cost of your kitchen (you'd be surprised how reasonable it is!) and renovation costs and are so much more inventive and creative with the space.

If you use a designer you will also get the advantage of 3D renders of the space (Very life like pics) and YouTube videos of walk arounds so you can look at flow of the space and how you would use it.

We used Gina from Create Perfect (on here) and she gave us plans and 3D renders of different layouts along with the advantages and disadvantages of each to help us choose.

If we'd just used a kitchen company I think we would have ended up with a very uninspiring kitchen that would have been offered to many people and not truly tailored to our needs.

You'll be surprised by how much money you'll save using their trade discounts too- Gina helped us save hundreds on appliances, flooring and worktops in the kitchen alone. She also provided all the carpentry specifications to allow us to have built in seating etc and go of and get different quotes.

I've attached a few pics of the initial space layout diagrams, then the 3D renders and finally some photos of it being fitted this week to try and help you see how much help you'd get.

Hope this helps!

To give a bit of context this is what our designer started with... three separate rooms

space planning pics to help us decide on initial layout...

High quality pics of a couple of options once we'd narrowed it down...

3D renders of final choice..

How it's looking during fitting

Sortera efter:Äldsta

Kommentarer (18)

Jonathan
7 år sedan
I think that you should get a kitchen designer to help you with the whole room.
In my opinion there is not enough room for an island, an L shaped kitchen would help the space seem more open, the dining area may be better near the door to the hall
Benn Allen-Gunn thanked Jonathan
Benn Allen-Gunn
Författare
7 år sedan
Thanks for replying jonathandb1972. We have had one kitchen designer who designed a kitchen with island pretty similar to the layout above but to be fair we had suggested that layout and she just followed it. Perhaps we'll try another.

Interesting point re the dining table nearer the door. Can I ask why you'd recommend that? Is it because there appears to be more space there or is it a design principle thing?
Benn Allen-Gunn
Författare
7 år sedan
Thanks so much for your reply Claire. I think you hit the nail on the head. It sounds like an independent planner might be the best way forward. I hadn't considered the fact they could offer trade discount too which probably offsets the cost.

Your kitchen looks like it's going to be incredible. I hadn't seen 3D renders before but they're great & would be very helpful.

I love your flooring. Can I ask what type of stone it is?

Thanks

Sarah
PRO
Create Perfect
7 år sedan
Hi Sarah, Claire went for a seasoned limestone flooring in large slab tiles which are just fabulous. They have the great texture we were looking for and a nice more colour without being orange! They work perfectly with the scheme.. and UFH keep them toasty under foot too.

3D images really help you imagine your space and see your design before any implementation starts. I know with Claire, and many of my other clients, it can save on very costly mistakes.

I would be happy to discuss it further and send some more examples across if you wanted to email me at gina.everett@createperfect.co.uk.
Benn Allen-Gunn thanked Create Perfect
PRO
Create Perfect
7 år sedan
*nice warm colour!
Claire Nicholson
7 år sedan
Hi Sarah,

Yes absolutely they can help offset costs- we literally saved hundreds with Gina on worktops, Underfloor Heating and appliance and thats just in the kitchen!

The flooring is seasoned limestone; we went with the2cm thick and 60cm x random lengths which were 60cm, 70cm, 80cm and 90cm. Here's the link to the website although definitely ask for a discount as we only paid about £64 a square meter and it's stunning; it seems like a huge amount at the time but it really makes the room

http://www.capietra.com/shop/stone-walls-floors/neranjo-limestone-seasoned/

Here's a few more up close pics of it helps (the paler units are in our pantry just off the kitchen and the others are from before the units started to go in)

Clearly it's a really personal decision but we spent no more than 5% of our budget on an independent designer and would have spent twice that now I've gone through the process!

i think when you're doing such major renovations and there are so many decisions to make it can be very stressful! Having someone literally available 24 / 7 to run all your ideas past and use as a sounding board was a god send to me! It's made the whole process enjoyable not stressful! I would have said our old house was beautiful and I did that all myself but seeing what Gina's created with us makes me realise just how much a professional adds to the process and what a superior look and finish you get if you invest just a little bit upfront.

Loads of luck whatever you decide and if I can help with anything else please just ask
Benn Allen-Gunn thanked Claire Nicholson
Jonathan
7 år sedan
Regarding the island- the plan appears to have been drawn to scale. You will need a walkway of about 1m between cabinets but you have shown about 600mm.
If you have a peninsula you will visually cut the room in half- if you need additional units and storage perhaps the side walls will be better.
The reason I suggested the table be by the door is because this area has to be a walkway and there is naturally room around a dining table.
emma_donohoe
7 år sedan
Do you mind me asking where the kitchen is from? Thanks
Claire Nicholson
7 år sedan
Hi Emma,

It's from an independent company called Unfitted based in the North Cotswolds. The quality is really beautiful and they were a LOT more reasonable than deVOL which was the kitchen I really loved!
David
7 år sedan
I had a similar design quandary - hunt for OnePlan on Houzz. She has a sliding scale of design charges, and we paid for a couple of hours design work. She came up with several designs for us, and we were able to make some changes which she incorporated into the final sketch. We're currently getting quotes for the actual build.
Benn Allen-Gunn thanked David
PRO
OnePlan
7 år sedan
Thanks for the mention David !
If you want to see some of our work and read some reviews from past clients just click on my icon to be taken to my pro page !
( although I'm late to the party ! Sorry ! It's been a very busy week !)
PRO
ROOM4STYLE - Inspired Interiors
7 år sedan
Before I come up with a suggestion I have a question. Where does the entrance door come from? Is it a hall or another room, and could it be moved?
Benn Allen-Gunn
Författare
7 år sedan
Hi ROOM4STYLE I have attached some plans showing the proposed and existing layouts. We have currently left the entrance into the room as existing to accommodate a small entrance and utility cupboard. However that could be changed. Be great to get your thoughts.
Jonathan
7 år sedan
I think you should check if putting your front door on the side would make the house less saleable than a front door on the front
PRO
OnePlan
7 år sedan
There's a few similar size layouts on our pro page if you want to have a look through. ( we are independent designers - we don't sell product - just design - then you shop around with one plan and compare like for like )
https://www.houzz.co.uk/pro/oneplan/oneplan
J
4 år sedan
Unless you're a childminder etc I wouldn't bother with the kid's area and instead build in extra storage for arts, crafts, toys, homework and just use the dining table for arts and crafts
Carolina
4 år sedan
old post