We Are Anti-Open-Concept. Here’s Why:

Open concept is overrated.

I heard you *GASP*, but hear me out.

For the longest time, the trends (and the HGTV shows) were telling us we need to take out every wall. Open concept open concept open concept. Walls, bad. No walls, good. But from a design perspective and for practical considerations, is that really true? We say NO. Here are our top 3 reasons open concept is overrated:

Exhibit 1: Furniture
Walls give us intuitive places for furniture and much-needed storage.

Creating layouts and floating furniture without walls as an anchor is trickier than having natural places to back things up against. (Have walls but your room is odd-shaped? Check out our furniture layout guide here. Need general tips for laying out your living room? We’ve got you.)

While we sometimes have to float furniture in larger rooms with walls– it’s important to think about which walls you are removing and which are staying. HOW will those choices impact furniture layout? Will the only wall remaining be the best place for the tv, fireplace, or other focal points? Will removing walls require a funky furniture layout?

Exhibit 2: Functionality
If you’re going to miss walls anywhere in your home, the first place will be the kitchen. Taking out all your walls in the kitchen means your appliances will end up jammed on one wall. In terms of functionality and use of space, we want to have a nice distance between appliances (not too much, not too little, right in that Goldilocks zone) to allow multiple people to be using the space at once. There is no point in a large open kitchen if two people are on top of each other in one area trying to use the sink or stove or get into the fridge.

Exhibit 3: Finishes
Open concept means limited use for intentional finishes. Large spaces with few walls tend to be one color because there is no intuitive stopping or starting place for an accent feature like tile or wallpaper or bold color. Having walls, partitions and smaller enclosed spaces like dens allows you to create a more cohesive and diverse finish scheme. Bringing out fun pops of color in enclosed spaces lets you take more risk without it having to spill onto every open concept wall in your house.

If you’re ready to take down (or…put back up) some walls in your space, take time to walk and talk through the way you use those walls now, what will be missing if they are gone, or what you can add to the functionality, feel and look of your space to keeping some enclosed spaces in your home. Want some help with that?  Let’s chat!