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creating separation in open floor plans

13 years ago

I'm planning a home with an open floorplan. I'm looking for some ideas to create some degree of separation from the kitchen to the great room. My kitchen will be adjacent to the great room. I would like to be able to see the fireplace and TV from the kitchen, but I don't want the feel of everything being in one big room. Any ideas on how to create this subtle separation?

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Comments (6)

TxMarti
13 years ago
A half wall between will do it, a bar, a couple of columns, a beam on the ceiling, different paint and floor coverings in each room.
User
13 years ago
Also a shelving unit which is open to both sides. I'll include a photo from an idea album on HOUZZ below.

And one thing Sarah Susanka recommends is a soffit across the space to divide it from the ceiling plane. Not on the floor, on the ceiling. She uses ceiling height variations to create separation. To great effect I might add.

I'm uploading several inspiration photos to my tinypic.com account, if you want to see more of the photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: MocLan tinypic site
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I don't get this house. Besides all that has been mentioned above...The front door (the main door to the house) dumps you (and visitors) into the dining room. If that were a formal dining room, seldom used, it would be odd and awkward, but it is the ONLY dining area in the house. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, kids studying, dropping book bags, school projects--all as the first thing everyone sees when they walk in. There's no place there that can stay a bit messy (like a breakfast nook). As I look at other spaces and see huge usability and interoperability issues, I think that this is, once again, a house that no one has given thought to how people live. The rooms exist like pieces in a Tetris game, not as a unified whole. Who puts a toilet next to a bed head? Who gives prime exterior wall space to a closet? Who puts the tub and the crapper in the same room ("Sorry, honey, I'm in the tub. Use another toilet.")? Why split that room into two that way? Who designs a media room with no closable door (and a bedroom right above, with no closet)? The only--only--thing that makes sense is the location of the powder room--away from the beaten path yet handy and discreet. But with a pointless pocket door. There are so many violations of Architecture 101, it amazes me.
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ccintx
Original Author
13 years ago
Moccasin,

Which of Sarah's books would you recommend for someone in the design stage of a new build?
User
13 years ago
Hi, well, I might mention two of them.
Her second book, the one called CREATING THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE, is fine.

But the one I really found interesting, HOME BY DESIGN, has a subtitle, "The Language of The Not So Big House." And it is homes built from scratch, not remodels. Published in 2005.
She has one where architects remodelled all kinds of houses for themselves, and she critiques the features that make the houses better.....but for your NEW DESIGN, I think HOME BY DESIGN is your best bet. It comes in paperback and hardback, same book, available from Amazon.

Or for that matter, your library will probably have some of her stuff. Easy to read and understand too. A good feature I liked about HOME BY DESIGN was she showed a room with the feature added, then what it would look like without that feature.

Hope this helps. It must be wonderful to start from scratch. She says that the site you build on has as much to do with your house feeling right as the house plan does. The house has to FIT the land it will forever be part of.
ccintx
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, I'll look for that this weekend at Barnes and Noble. Funny you should mention that she says that the site you build on has as much to do with your house feeling right. I have really struggled with that concept the last few months. My site is different from most. Most homes are in neighborhoods, and the focus is toward the back side of the home because no one wants to focus towards the street. My home will sit far off the road, with the prettiest view being at the front. So, it's been a challenge finding a floorplan with this orientation. Therefore, I am creating my own plan, that I will finally take to a designer to finish.

Thanks for your input.
lavender_lass
13 years ago
CC- The original Not So Big House has really helped me. Are you planning to have a front porch? I can't think of a better way to enjoy your front spaces :)

Also, while it's nice to have open spaces, sometimes it's nice to not have to compete with the TV. In one of her books (can't remember which one) Sarah redesigned a family/great room and took the TV out of the space (except for a small one in the kitchen for watching the news in the morning. The TV area was still nearby, but closed off with french doors...more like an away room. The kids could watch TV in there, but the rest of the space focused on conversation, crafts and fun. It was a nice change and the family loved it! They also had a living room, turned library for the parents' away room. It was a remodel, not a new build, if that helps find the right book.

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