Love
IS AN OPEN DOOR
They say home is where the heart is – so it’s no wonder that we’re beginning to want to open our spaces up and share with our loved ones. By taking down walls and creating flow in our homes, we’re doing more than simply following an architectural trend. Lucy Wadelton of Sydney Home Design + Living Magazine speaks with JND Projects’ director, Joseph Nicholas D’Elia to expand on this new approach to living.
OPEN MINDED
Open-plan living has been dominating the architecture and home design market for decades, making its first mainstream impact in the 1990s. Although it is considered a contemporary concept, its true origins lie in the 1800s, when Victorian architect Henry Hobson Robinson first designed a home to incorporate a shared living and dining area. Over the centuries open floor plans have evolved, and Joseph Nicholas D’Elia attests to them becoming the “precedent within both single- and double-storey designs”. He attributes the surge in open-plan designs because of the demand for generational living and the increase in smaller homes.
Open-plan living can be wonderful, but it can come with its challenges. One of the major drawbacks, D’Elia highlights, can be budgetary. He explains that there are fewer internal walls, “the roof and the structural support need to be provided through other methods”, which can be costly. In existing home remodels, removal of internal walls or invasive extensions can be a mammoth endeavour. D’Elia explains that widening square set openings and doorways isn’t always “cohesive with the existing door and therefore creates hurdles”. Heating and cooling open-plan spaces is more expensive, alongside other challenges such as lingering smells from the kitchen or a noisy TV interrupting dinner conversation.
While there may be pitfalls to such a design, openplan living has far more benefits. The standout being, of course, facilitating more quality time with our families and loved ones. Open-concept living, dining and kitchens allow mingling and chatter during meal preparations when someone cooking dinner might otherwise be isolated and left out. Keeping an eye on kids becomes far easier, and open-plan layouts are far more accessible. D’Elia explains that it creates “a more harmonious living area” that is “the perfect hub of the home with amenities being easily accessible”. With flow and practicality infused in open-plan homes, entertaining large numbers of friends and family becomes easy instead of cumbersome. The other practical bonus to open-plan designs is that not only does it create the illusion of more space, but quite literally gains usable space by removing walls. This is ideal for small apartments or homes, creating a lighter and brighter atmosphere that actively combats any claustrophobia you may feel in older, awkward homelayouts.
Bold colour choices don’t just have to be done with paint – mosaic tiling, wallpaper, or even colourful carpet or flooring are just some examples of unexpected ways to infuse colour in your home. “Any material can make a statement”, Signoretti attests, suggesting a simple matte white tile to offset a pink pastel accent colour as a minimalist approach to creating dimension in a bathroom. Another example may be a “red carpeted and black walled theatre room” to create the ideal cinematic atmosphere. Wallpaper is an efficient way to introduce colour, texture, and pattern to your home. It’s also an easy way to evoke an aesthetic – from the earthy boho to roaring ‘20s – wallpaper is a fantastic solution. Thinking outside the box can open your eyes to endless colour opportunities, not limited to just the interior of your home either. “If the client wishes to be bold with a façade, the front door is always [a good option]” Signoretti explains, flagging that it’s important to find a balance between bold and simplistic. “You want to make a statement and a focal point of the home” with a pop of colour on the porch, front door or even window trim so as not to look too cluttered.
GO WITH THE FLOW
Beyond the popular open kitchen-living-dining layout, there are plenty of atypical configurations to consider. D’Elia names a few alternatives, such as children’s activity room, home theatre, study and even a parents’ retreat; all of which D’Elia has seen being requested more often by homeowners. Additional lounge rooms, rumpus rooms or studies can be designed to be relaxing and functional, using “a breakout space such as a room divider or bi-folding doors to create an accent within the room” without going over budget. Another fan favourite is the indoor-outdoor entertainment space, which can seamlessly transition by “providing large openings with either stacking or sliding doors” and through the continuation of the interior styling and colour palette in the alfresco area.
There’s no need to fully commit to removing walls either, you can allude to open-plan design in more costeffective ways such as half walls, archways, servery windows, or internal windows. The same can be said in reverse: for example, if you want to reclaim some privacy within an open-plan home then this can be achieved by screening, internal feature panelling, bifolds or concertina doors – ideas that are both practical and aesthetically oriented. For a versatile option, homeowners can always opt for dividers, large barn doors or pocket sliding doors to create a temporary partition of the rooms when you feel like having a bit more privacy.
D’Elia attests that “any style can work with openplan living” – you aren’t limited to a post-modern or contemporary minimalist look. Depending on council regulations, heritage or historic homes can incorporate touches of open-plan styling provided the modifications aren’t overbearing. D’Elia recommends keeping a neutral colour palette – warm tones, beiges, and creams for instance – paired with simplistic furniture peppered throughout the space with a minimalist hand. “Strategic placement of furniture and mirrors” can enhance the openness of the space. However, this isn’t a hard and fast rule – maximalism and colours can be incorporated strategically, balanced by the simplicity that open-plan living provides. JND Projects draws inspiration from current market trends, and flags that clients are embracing natural light more than ever. Its all about creating a light, bright and airy flow throughout the home.
Ultimately, an open-plan interior creates togetherness, and encourages human connection. Open-plan living is a craze that doesn’t seem to be dying out any time soon and with ample benefits from accessibility and additional space to practicality and aesthetics, it’s no wonder that homeowners are asking for ease of movement in their space.
