Creating Open Space for Home Entertaining

Have you ever had a party and been annoyed by the fact that you are unable to talk to your guests as you prepare a meal in the kitchen? If you have a large family or like holding large gatherings of friends at your home an open floor plan can help all of your guests feel included and welcomed, while rooms that are separated can prevent everyone from participating in the all the fun, making some feel alienated. The most popular open floor plan usually includes access to the kitchen and the living area and even the dining room. Putting an open floor plan in an already existing home can be difficult but there can be some small changes that you can make to create the feeling of an open floor plan for entertaining.

Talk with a contractor and discuss your options

A contractor can help you see what are the options for opening up the space in your home. First, you must determine which walls are necessary supporting walls which are holding the weight of the ceiling or roof. Once you differentiate the supporting walls from the disposable separating walls, you can start making decisions. After you know which walls you have the options to move, find a floor plan with your contractor that will work for you.

Removing Separating Wall

You can contact a contractor or a remodel to take out the separating walls or even expand rooms to make more space for entertaining your guests. Keep in mind that if you are planning to expand rooms, depending on your city’s regulations and your property, you may not be legally allowed to expand the size of your rooms. Another thing to consider before you hire a contractor to expand your rooms is that they charge per square foot that can add up rather quickly.

Opening up Supporting Walls

While supporting walls may be hard to remove you do still have options to open them up. For example you can see if you can substitute your supporting walls with pillars in the room that can also be used as shelving units or as a built in entertainment center so you can take advantage of the space. You can also open up a window that open up to one of the rooms, allowing you to see and converse with your guests. If the window is option is not available you expand the doorway to the different rooms and take out the doors or if you would still like the option for privacy you can use glass doors that can be used to shut out distractions when needed.

If you are left with no other options to open up your home, see if you can attach a large enclosed porch or sun room that is attached to your living or dining area to allow for large parties of people and free flowing conversation. If you are having difficulty coming up with open rooms for your home talk to a interior designer to see what vision is possible for your home. Make your home the place that everyone wants to be on the weekend.