design

The New House: End of Open-Plan Living?

The New House: End of Open-Plan Living?

After watching a lot of HGTV lately, it seems that nearly every buyer or anyone looking to remodel a home on nearly every show starts with a similar request: “I want something open concept with a big kitchen for entertaining.” Every remodel starts with smashing down walls to create lines of eyesight from every part of the house to every other part. Buyers want kids to have nowhere to hide. After weeks of lockdown, however, “open concept” living is surely going to undergo an adjustment. The same four walls look more repetitive than ever if they are always the same four walls with no way to escape to another room. Having everyone always in sight sounds considerably less appealing when everyone in the house is in sight and earshot 24/7. Consumers will likely be asking for a lot more walls and more doors in a post-COVID period. Another new “must have” item: a dedicated home office with a door. This space will no longer be shared with the kids playroom or the guest bedroom. It will now need to have an adequately sized desk, a comfortable chair for extended periods of work, decent lighting and sufficient power plugs to run a much wider range of equipment. Office storage will probably surge as well, as people need to have more files at home, particularly for employees working from home for indefinite periods. Desks will also make a return to children’s bedrooms.