Renovation Story: A Quirky Open-Concept Home

Compartmentalizing homes are a norm, specific rooms have specific purposes and are usually walled up and isolated from the rest. But perhps taking it a step further and hacking down some walls could make it even better.

Open concept floor plans are rising in popularity, and it's with good reason. They have some of the best benefits, and we're going to demonstrate how this 4 room HDB flat at Tampines Central has done it right.

1) A Larger Home

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Your home instantly feels more spacious when you start combining various rooms. There's more room to play around with, and it feels less stifling than a compartmentalized home too. A larger area allows you to feel a little more relaxed, as compared to being boxed up in individual rooms.

If you live in a multi storey home, eliminating ceilings separating one storey from the other makes your entire house feel even bigger too. 

2) Cozier Environment

Credit: Unity ID Pte Ltd

It may sound odd. How does your home get cozier if you're making it feel even bigger? Through personal interaction. Breaking down barriers separating common rooms such as the living area, kitchen and dining room allows everyone to feel closer even as they're going about their chores in different parts of the house.

The family can watch a show together even if there aren't all stationed in front of the television. Your brother could be eating at the dining area while your mother cleans up the kitchen, yet the rest of the family in the living room can still have a decent conversation with them about the ongoing show since everyone is in earshot.

It's great for hosting too. Guests don't necessarily have to crowd in the same room anymore, since they have a wider space for interaction. If you have to leave for the kitchen midway to check on food you're preparing for them, you won't feel like a bad host for excusing yourself because you can still communicate with them from the kitchen.

Without the unnecessary walls in common spaces very one gets to bond easier and you'll feel more warmth in the atmosphere.

3) Uninterrupted Line Of Sight

Credit: Unity ID Pte Ltd

This is great for multitasking. You get a clear view of the various rooms with an open concept, so you can pretty much do more than one thing at a time. If you need to make lunch while your favourite television show is on, you can comfortably do both.

If you're a young mother who needs to keep an eye on your kids while completing household chores, you can easily do so with an uninterrupted line of sight. In the end, an open concept makes things much more convenient around the house, and probably helps you save a lot of time too.

4) Natural Light

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More connected rooms also mean more exposed windows in a single space. That totals up to quite a few sources allowing natural light to flow in and travel through your home. This in turn brightens up the place tremendously, and no doubt makes it a whole lot prettier.

If you compare both compartmentalized homes and open concept homes, the amount of light traveling through is significantly different.

5) Subtler Benefits

Credit: Unity ID Pte Ltd

Credit: Unity ID Pte Ltd

Besides the advantages mentioned above, there are smaller ways in which open concepts can make your home both more beautiful and way more functional. You wouldn't even require a large sum of money hacking down walls for these smaller ideas.

Bedrooms may be private areas so they definitely can't be openly connected to the rest of the house. But to make a bedroom feel a little more spacious, you could work on connecting bathrooms or even doing away with a wardrobe.

Making your bathroom walls transparent allows it to look a part of the bedroom, and ends up making the entire area look bigger and airier. Opting not to have a wardrobe allows you to freely pick clothes without having to sift through the tight spaces within your cupboard, and you get to select your choices easier since you have a full view of all your clothes.