Why is open plan living so popular?

No one can deny that open plan living is by far one of the most enduring trends to emerge in modern kitchen design in recent years. It’s especially popular here in the UK, where it shows no signs of going away any time soon! Almost all of the kitchens created by our talented designers here at Kitchen Design Centre can be classed as open plan kitchens; open, flowing spaces with few internal walls that blend the functions of cooking, dining and living. So what about these exactly has captured the UK’s imagination? Read on to find out!

It allows you to spend more quality time with family

The most obvious benefit of open plan living is that it lets you spend more time together! There’s a reason that the kitchen is known as the heart of the home. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of work and school runs, and simply crash out when we get home, with various family members ferreted away in different rooms. A large open plan space allows you to still enjoy your valuable relaxation time – but as a family, all together.

You don’t exactly need to be a social scientist to know that this kind of regular family interaction makes us happier and healthier, and it’s easily accommodated by open plan living. For example, modern designer kitchens in an open plan format he to prevent that feeling of isolation when you’re cooking meals for the whole family. Rather than spending the time closed off in a separate room, instead your family is right there with you, allowing you to chat with them as you cook! It’s also easy to see why it’s a particularly attractive setup for young parents, as it’s far easier to keep an eye on young children in a more open space.

It makes it an ideal place to entertain

Having a space with more function and flow comes in particularly handy when you’re hosting social events, even if it’s just a few guests. Around this time of year, many open plan kitchens are already proving their worth for World Cup celebrations at home! In this customer kitchen, for example – aptly described as the Kitchen That Brings It All Together – you can see how the owners, Mr and Mrs Green, are able to prepare lunches or evening meals while still able to chat with their guests, who may be watching the World Cup match on TV only feet away. This way, their seamless dining and living space allows them to cook, dine and socialise together without having to move back and forth from room to room.

Lighting up the space, and connecting with nature

Natural light is typically a central feature of almost any open plan living space, helping the area to feel lighter, airier and more spacious. A classic example of this can be seen in this Contemporary Family Kitchen we designed for a couple in Stockport. You can see how the soft glow from the LED mood lighting is offset by a wealth of natural light flooding in from the patio doors. It also seamlessly connects the indoors with adjacent outdoor space, bringing those inside the kitchen closer to the beautiful sunlight and natural greenery of the garden outside. Interesting fact for you quickly: as humans, we’re hardwired to react to sunlight with greater levels of energy, contentedness and happiness, making it an invaluable resource in kitchen design!

Making the space feel (or become) larger!

Throughout all of our designer kitchen showrooms in Manchester, Blackburn and Barrowford, a common reason we often hear for a kitchen redesign is to expand the available space. This is an especially key reason behind the increasing popularity of open plan kitchen and dining areas, as people look to update traditional homes with more contemporary, spacious living spaces. For their ultra-modern kitchen, Mr and Mrs Redmond chose to remove the dividing wall between their old kitchen and dining room to transform them both into a single, flowing space.

And once this transformation was completed, the use of a gloss grey and white contemporary colour scheme served to reflect the beautiful natural light flooding in from their kitchen windows and patio doors. As you can see, this sort of natural kitchen lighting helps to make the space feel even more open and spacious!

With all these wonderful benefits to an open plan kitchen, you might well be considering it for your own redesign! In that case, there are no better people to talk to than our very own talented in-house designers here at Kitchen Design Centre. Take a trip down to your nearest designer kitchen showroom, and we’ll be only too happy to discuss your vision of your dream kitchen, perhaps over a cup of tea and a biscuit!