Open Plan Living Or Integrated Living? Whatever Your Choice, Its Living At Its Best!

In the good old days out houses were very different

. We used to divide everything up into little boxes. One box for the living room. One for the dining room. One for the formal sitting room often a front room that was kept for special visitors. Many people will remember a great aunt or grandma keeping everything covered in sheets and the curtains drawn so sunlight wouldnt fade the best furniture! Woe betide any kid who sneaked into the front room for a look!

Things couldnt be more different now. Open plan living, a concept begun in the 1970s with loft conversions and modern architecture, is now de rigour. People now want free flowing spaces without the interruption of unnecessary internal walls and doors. Spaces that meld and merges seamlessly, encouraging friends and family to interact and share precious time together.

The trend, which is unlikely to change anytime soon, reflects our modern lifestyle.

Time poor, we value time spent together more than ever before. Where Dad used to prop himself at the kitchen table and read the newspaper alone, while Mum curled up in a comfy chair with a womens magazine, families now tend to share media, whether it is delivered via cable TV or the computer.

We play games together more than at any time since the 1940s and 50s, before the widespread advent of TV. It would be common now, to see the whole family having a Wii tennis tournament for their evening entertainment even a few years ago it would have been unlikely.

And whereas a formal dinner party was a major event in our parents generation, with hours of preparation and huge upheaval for everyone, nowadays we are much more likely to have people around for informal grazing and eating maybe many times a week, especially with the advent of well-fitted outdoor rooms that make a barbecue dinner on a sunny summers evening so easy.

The design imperative that flows from this is that we must be able to move ourselves easily around our homes in order to share our lives.

How, then, do we all get some private time to ourselves? Well, we sub-divide our open plan space with retractable doors that can be produced when privacy or quiet is needed, and left open when it is not. Closing off a home theatre with sliding doors is a classic example.

And the home theatre itself is now seen as almost a requirement in most homes perhaps better called a media centre as the hub of computer game playing, games consoles, TV, hi-fi music, MP3 delivery and now digital radio offering hundreds of stations.

And people often now enjoy having both a rumpus room and a media centre room, so people can indulge themselves with different leisure activities without treading on each others toes. The addition of a formal sitting room or a study means theres somewhere for quiet time as well.

Open hearts and minds and lifestyles leading to open rooms and spaces. What a lovely future for all of us!

by: Jeremy Brown

POST COMMENT

If I Go I Stand Or Take The Floor Walk In Bath Tubs And Their Usefulness Working From Home Is Booming On The Net How to choose modern and retro kitchen accessories? Using Mirrors And Light Fixtures To Spruce Up Home Decor Home Kitchen Appliances Save Hundreds On Your Electricity Bill Hemorrhoids Home Remedy Help to End Hemorrhoid Pain Naturally Train At Home With A Personal Trainer Planning A Successful Kitchen Remodel The Advantages Of Renting Or Buying A Home Know How And Where To Buy Authentic Antique Furniture Kitchen Cabinets To Envy