Curious about whether an open floor plan is right for your home? While there are pros and cons to any layout, an open floor plan can offer a sense of freedom and flow that's hard to beat. Learn more about this home layout to see if it’s what you and your family need. 

What Is an Open Floor Plan?

The concept of an open layout took root in the 90s and has been making waves ever since. In this floor plan, the living room, kitchen, and dining space become one harmonious space.

Type of Open Floor Plan Layouts

Did you know there are actually different versions of the open floor plan concept? Let's walk through some of the home layout options for this type of floor plan.

Open Floor Plans with Loft   

Discover the magic of double-height open floor plans featuring a charming loft – a brilliant way to ignite your living space. Ideal for homes with soaring ceilings, lofts perfectly complement the open-concept layout, offering a cozy haven, perfect for reading, napping, or a funky office space. 

Open Floor Plans for Ranch Homes

In a single-story ranch home, open floor plans allow the free flow of sunlight, especially if you have large windows. Enjoy streaming sunlight through your entire first floor when you opt for an open floor plan ranch home.

Benefits of Open Floor Plans

If you want more space, flow, and visibility in your home, an open floor plan is a great option. These popular layouts offer many benefits, such as better flexibility, the ability to use the space creatively, and loads of sunlight.

Better Flow

With an open floor plan design, your home will be a breeze to navigate, which is great for any accessibility needs you, your family, or your friends might have. From hosting friends and family with ease while you whip up dinner to making the grocery trips simpler, life in this type of space makes multitasking easier. You can flow effortlessly between your living room and kitchen, rearrange furniture as needed, or just carry groceries in, for example. Open-concept floor plans can make life easier and everyday tasks just a bit more doable.

Better Flexibility

Life is full of surprises and changes, making it essential to have a living space that can keep up. Open-concept floor plans offer the flexibility you need. You can transform your space to fit your life’s ever-changing needs. Planning a play area for the little ones instead of a formal dining room? That's doable. Need a dedicated office space for work? Easy to accomplish. When your kids get older, you can turn the space into a library, artist studio, or place to host friends. You're the boss of your own floor plan, so make it work for you.

Multi-function Spaces

And, while an open floor plan provides better flexibility over time, it also gives you the ability to house multiple functions in one spot at the same time. Imagine a space that effortlessly houses both a chic office and a cozy crafting corner, all you need is some clever organization nooks to keep things tidy and distinct. With a little creativity and the right organization tools, you can create dual-purpose spaces in your open floor plan, like a craft area that doubles as a homework station. All it takes is the right tools- such as a cubby shelf that beautifully stores materials for both your creative and academic pursuits, with designated cubbies for each. With an open floor plan your space can be both functional and stylish.

Increases Sightlines

For homes with kids of any age or four-legged family members, an open floor plan home can also provide the critical visibility that you need to keep an eye on things in another room while you’re making dinner, doing the dishes, or cleaning. For parties, you can be preparing dishes in the kitchen but still chat with friends in the other room. Increased sightlines make multi-tasking even easier when you have an open-concept home.

Shared Light

And, speaking of sight, with an open floor plan, you don’t have the barrier of walls to hinder light from flowing from room to room. Without this barricade, you can illuminate your space with a sense of openness and transform rooms into bright, airy spaces to elevate your living experience.

Drawbacks of Open Floor Plans

Before you commit to an open-concept home, consider the potential downsides–only so you can make an informed decision to find the perfect home floor plan design for you and your lifestyle.  

Heating and Cooling

One potential drawback to an open floor plan is heating or cooling the space. Taming the wild temperatures of such vast open space might seem like a costly challenge, but you can be surprised. In new, modern energy efficient homes, you can often keep temperatures comfortable without major cost implications. And, if you are worried that your space will be too hard to heat or cool, invest in some fans, so you can increase airflow without running the AC as much. 

Clutter

Don't let clutter take over. Open floor plans require careful planning and organization to help make sure your enhance sightlines are something you actually want to see. Use clever dividers or cubbies to create specific spaces for activities and nicknacks and look for storage that both displays and hides your things. 

There are plenty of creative ways to create a welcoming space that’s so neat and tidy. Work with your builder to come up with a plan that works for you, including the use of entryway mudrooms or creative furniture arrangements. By embracing the power of hidden storage spaces and dedicated areas for different activities, you can keep your home looking stylish and orderly.  

Lack of Privacy

Sometimes wide open spaces can feel a little impersonal and bare, and while that can seem like a downside to an open floor plan, there are ways to make the space feel warm and inviting. For example, try incorporating the accents and layering your lighting to create a cozy atmosphere or leverage dividers to create a sense of privacy, especially if you plan on using the space in more than one way. That way you can cut out any empty spaces and provide areas for people to unwind and relax. 

Just be careful not to overdo it as you can quickly make your once-open space feel cluttered. Strive for a balance between openness and delicate dividers and accessories to create a cozy atmosphere. Consider using purposeful home accents like rugs, which can easily break up the space and be swapped out for a fresh look.

Starting with an open floor plan can sometimes be daunting, and you may be wondering if it is right for you and your lifestyle. Ultimately, the consideration of an open floor plan comes down to finding one with a great layout so that your open space will not only make your home beautiful but also functional. Collaborate with your home builders to brainstorm the best options or discover stunning open floor plans in one of Pulte's new home communities today!

For more design tips, local attraction guides, and homeowner lifestyle articles, check out the Pulte Homes blog for inspiration.

Contributed by Brittney Villalva