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Open Concept Floor Plan vs. Traditional Closed Concept
Which is Best for Your New Home?
An open concept floor plan typically involves a large shared space that functions as multiple rooms.
One of the first major decisions to make before building your new home, is selecting the floorplan that fits your lifestyle. It’s important to weigh your options seriously, because your floor plan truly dictates the entire look, feel and flow of your home. Floor plans are generally split into two categories, Open Concept or Closed Concept. There is no right or wrong answer to which one you choose, because both options have several advantages. Here, we will describe the ins and outs of each concept so you can determine which style suits you better (or if blending the two is best for you!)
What is a “Closed Concept” Floor Plan?
A closed concept floor plan includes a distinct separation between rooms.
A closed concept floor plan, otherwise known as a “traditional floor plan”, is typically seen in older homes. With this plan, you see a distinct separation between rooms that provides a dedicated living space, dining area and kitchen. Although this is more often seen in older homes, we know that more and more people are choosing to spend more time at home, requiring more separation and privacy.
Closed Concept or Traditional Floor Plan: Pros and Cons
PROS:
- A traditional floor plan creates more privacy throughout your home. With more walls and separation, you may find that you have more quiet space for working, reading and relaxing.
- With more wall space and separation of rooms, there are more options for decorating and more space to hang your favorite pictures and artwork.
- Each space in your home has a dedicated use, such as a kitchen or living room. Even more, any messes can be hidden from sight with a closed concept floor plan.
- Wall colors and room design can vary from room to room, since each space is separated by walls.
CONS:
- A traditional concept floor plan has more walls, leaving you with less floor space overall.
- More doors will lead to more compact rooms.
- Even though the closed concept has recently grown in popularity, the open concept still remains supreme. Therefore, a home with a closed concept plan has a lower resale value and is less appealing to buyers.
- Communicating with family or guests seated in another room becomes a challenge.
What is an “Open Concept” Floor Plan?
An open concept floor plan features large, shared spaces with multiple uses such as kitchen, dining and living areas.
The open concept floor plan has been the most preferred floor plan for quite some time. Most often, an open concept floor plan includes a large, open space that functions as your kitchen, dining room and living area. This modern design allows you and your guests to move more freely around the home, but also may pose some interior design challenges (that can certainly be overcome).
Open Concept Floor Plan: Pros and Cons
PROS:
- Building an open concept home provides you with multifunctional spaces and a more modern lifestyle.
- If you enjoy entertaining guests, an open concept leaves you with more room to move and increases the ease of communication between spaces.
- Fewer walls allows more natural light to flow throughout your home.
- Moving throughout your home is unhindered by extra doors and walls.
CONS:
- With minimal separation between rooms, it may be difficult to conceal a mess in your kitchen or living area.
- By sharing spaces between kitchen, living dining and office; there is less privacy and sound control.
- Due to engineered lumber costs, an open concept may cost a little but more than a traditional floor plan.
- With an open floor plan, your kitchen and living area likely share a large space. When decorating and selecting wall colors, this poses an interior design challenge that can easily be alleviated with a little expert advice.
Bonus: With Smart Engineering, You Can Have the Best of Both Worlds
With either concept, you really can’t go wrong. The best floor plan for your home is determined by how you want to live, what you want to do inside your home and what everyday tasks you have to accomplish at home. At Modern Structure, we build custom homes that provide you with the privacy of a traditional home, without sacrificing beauty and function. We expertly design homes to have dedicated spaces for specific purposes that are blended into a spacious open concept floor plan.
Intelligent Home Design With You in Mind
No one lives quite the way you do. And a home designed specifically for you is completely within your reach. When you book a building consultation with us, we take the time to get to know you so we can design a floor plan that ebbs and flows with you. We don’t stop at “open” or “closed” concepts. In fact, we pride ourselves in building “non standard” homes that don’t fall into one category or another.
Are you ready to talk about building a new, custom home? Your initial building consultation is free! Simply fill out this form to get started.