In I think your last video you mentioned that you were trying to cut back of how much you were saying. Don't do that, please. I love to hear whatever you want to say because you say it so well. You come across as real and hilarious and intelligent and I really look forward to listening to you. So please, ramble on!
🤔, Why does it look like you (Nick) have most of your living room furniture shoved against your walls, as do I? My living room is also rectangular and only about as wide as your's. Mine may be a bit longer. Still. 😉
Please keep the checkmarks (do this) and red Xs (not that) on the pictures. If I already knew which was which, my house would not look like it does and I wouldn't need your videos! I would still watch them though, because they're awesome! 😊
Open floor plans are great for smaller homes or apartments but if you live in a 4 season state, like I do, open concepts are a nightmare to heat and cool. 🥰
@@ninaevans8460 it’s kind of interesting because my 1909 house has walls and doors for every space even the small hallway. Because they compartmentalize what parts of the house they heated with their fireplaces originally. Open floorplan removes that.
@@ninaevans8460 Thanks. I’ll have to think about this now. I do love the idea, and if I don’t want an open concept I’d better change my mind soon. I’m the GC of my little home build and we just finished framing.
You can always space heater a small room when really cold. Open concept, is much harder. Been there, done that. Plus, when your main a/c goes out and you emergency a window unit, it runs 24/7 in the summer to cool such an open space. I had to have generator and emergency things like a large a/c window unit for a 90gal saltwater aquarium and 2 chinchillas, especially during summer storms that knock out electricity (the chinchillas could overheat and die). Eta: we lived in a "4 season state" (pre-summer, summer, post-summer, kind of fall/winter).
Love my open floor plan retirement home - spent most of my life cooking in the kitchen missing out on family activities in the great room - close but not opened to. I do cook every day and clean as I cook so the mess is done before we serve, just my habit but works well with an open floor plan.
We’re building our retirement home, it’s open plan too. I can’t wait to be able to have the whole family in one space. We had 20 people for a family event last year, and couldn’t get more than 5 or 6 in one room. With three grown kids, their spouses and kids, and other extended family, open plan is necessary to me.
It also works for a small kitchen! I've realized I have to keep my island completely clear because it's basically my only large prep space, and then I clean mixing bowls, cutting boards, etc. as I go because if I leave them on the counter or sink during cooking I quickly run of out space. But it is also nice when you have seating at the island so people can chat together when someone is in the kitchen too. Granted I'm in a small apartment so open concept is all I have to work with anyway :)
I’m the opposite from this, we are empty nesters and came from a larger home that was semi open… lots of room for everyone. Now we downsized to a decent size ranch all open and I don’t like it. It’s fine if it’s just my husband and I, but when you go to entertain, and it looks like a bomb has gone off in the kitchen, no thanks. I too clean as I go. I keep my counters Very clutter free, I don’t like filth. I don’t like messes. Give me a semi open floor plan Any day.
I just want to say I love you, Nick. You give your opinions unabashedly and confidently, yet you're humble in a way, and super, super funny. I always feel better after watching your videos....and I always learn something about design. Keep up the great work!
Your last comment cracked me up. I was a kid back in the days of dinosaurs and am/fm clock radios. On weekends, the 4 of us kids would take our clock radios to the attic, plug one into each corner and turn them up to 11! We loved the song Black Water. When it would come on we would grab so.ething to make a makeshift instrument, play along and sing at the top of out lungs. I have a very clear memory of my dad yelling, "CHRIST! I can hear you idiots all the way down in the basement!" "How'd we sound?" "Not bad. You'd sound better at someone elses house though!" Thanks for stiring that memory to the top. Good times.
You are absolutely right about the electrical placement! I can’t imagine not having an outlet in the floor in my living room/zone for my table lamp. It really is the attention to small details that make a huge impact in an open floor plan…or any floor plan really.
This is a for real question-do you live somewhere with a real winter? Bc I lived in Buffalo until July of this year. So first 35 years of life. I have rented full old homes and full modern homes.. tho I love the stylistic aspects of the old gems the new ones are SO MUCH cheaper to heat
@ Not really apples to apples. I live in Massachusetts. The new home was fairly expensive to heat. It had 11 foot ceilings and a large footprint. . My home now , the antique one is very affordable. First it is a much smaller home and the ceilings are much lower. Also when we bought it , it had no insulation. So we opened the walls to facilitate that , new wiring etc. Without the upgrades , yes it would have been expensive.
Yes, I told my friends to inciude a floor outlet in the living room.part of the great room of their new cottage, so the floating sofa could have working lamps on its side tables. They did it 😊
video idea: how to decorate/establish zones when your front door opens into your living room and when that living room is also your open concept kitchen/eating area.
Whatever maroon thought a front door opening right up into the living room should be drawn and quartered. What a horrid idea! Every place I've lived as an adult has been like that and I effing HATE IT. Especially when there's no coat closet, no room for a coat rack, no wall space to install hooks, no room for a bench to sit and put shoes/boots on, etc. Not to mention you're tracking dirt, mud, snow, sand, etc in. Ugh.
@@katie7748I agree! I live where the climate is bad. You are coming home, enter the door, water is pouring off you, your shoes are in the mud and you are standing... in the living room. It is horrible. And there are some crazy architects who make like that not only apartments but also houses! You are sitting in your underwear on the couch and someone opens the front door and snow is blowing into the living room. Maybe it is appropriate somewhere, but it is nonsense make it popular worldwide Hate it
We have the door opening into the living room. Our family has to use the garage to store shoes and jackets are in the tiny closet by the garage and in another tiny closet down the hall. Front door just has a besta unit for keys, wallets and office supplies and a tray for mail.
I will say, from childhood experience, having a kitchen piled with dirty cookware and dishes visible to your guests, is a great way to silently guilt your guests into helping you clean up at the end of the night.
Just had people over, asked well-meaning guest not to clear up. No, guest did not listen, because "helping". Stacked all the dinner plates and deposited them on the "clean" side of my sink. So now, every plate has food gunk on the bottom as well as the top, and besides that she threw away every lightly used scrap of paper towel that I use to wipe the plates into the trashcan so I am not sending residue into the pipes. Long story short: if you are a guest and you are asked NOT TO HELP, STAY THE FUNCK OUT OF YOUR HOST'S KITCHEN. Disgusting behaviour for a guest to "help' in the kitchen. GTFO
I like the separate spaces in older homes myself. As long as the kitchen is large enough to have folks around while you're cooking. I haven't lived in one since I was a child, but I do keep the living area formal and use q spare room for watching TV and hanging out. Fortunately there's plenty of room for barstools. I feel house proud when folks come over and my living/dinning room look special... like the one mom wouldn't let us play in😂... my guests actually talk to each other there without the distraction of a TV... love Nick's ideas❤
Nick, I have completely changed the way I think about interior design thanks to your videos. I feel so much more at peace in my home after following your tips. You are the best ever.
Once again, as I’m watching Nick, whom I have grown to love… I’m laughing out loud at his delivery, and my husband keeps asking me “what’s so funny”😂😂😂. Not only is he very funny but he absolutely knows design, firm, function, color etc. He’s the real deal in design!!
When we moved into an open floor plan house besides the heating/cooling issues, the mismatched flooring drove me mad. There was vinyl in the kitchen meeting inexplicable marble hallway tile with carpet on both sides for living and dining (!) spaces. It took many years but finally got the same flooring throughout all the open space and its so much better.
I’ve read 4 or 5 comments and you’re the 2nd one that’s mentioned heating & cooling problems. I’d never thought of that. If it’s not too long could you explain it please. I’m in the process of building and have an open floor plan, but I live alone and the house is only about 1700 square feet with 2 bedrooms
@@RobinP556 If you have open concept, it's not really possible to zone your heating and cooling, except for the bedrooms. If that open space has a high ceiling, it will be a nightmare to heat in the winter.
@ Hmm, I’ve got to ponder this. The bedrooms, pantry, laundry and bathroom all have normal ceilings but I had wanted to build with a high ceiling in the open space (kitchen, dining room and living room. It’s not super high, but it has a peak. I had planned for a 6/12, but I could drop it a bit to a 4/12.
@@olga138 Yep. Can confirm. Both this rental and our previous one...both open concept with vaulted ceilings. Ridiculous utility bills, especially in winter. Cuz, you know, heat rises. Even with the thermostat set to 66, it was still $$$.
Yes. And also when you open the front door you open it to the whole space. the cold comes everywhere. In the house at least the hallway should be separated by another door.
Same here. I don't know how people who live in studio or efficiency apartments (depending on which coast you're from) do it. I can't imagine cooking a fragrant meal and then going to bed at night and sleeping with those same aromas in my bedding. 🤮
@katie7748 exactly, and with an open floor plan you know that grime travels throughout and gets in and on everything in your house. This is the reason some people wash their walls and deep clean their furniture and flooring at least once a year, usually in the spring after the house has been closed up tightly for the winter season.
@@nuthinbutlove Yep! Twice a year for us, or more often when I'm feeling ambitious, in both spring and fall. I'm astounded by how many people don't. My MIL has NEVER washed walls. EVER. And they both smoke. When they moved out of their last apartment, the original paint color behind where pictures, shelves, and furniture was...how can I put this...the sharp contrast in color was enough to make Ray Charles say day-um! I love my in-laws dearly but my goodness. Yuck. (They're perfectly capable, btw. They're just lazy and don't really care about that kind of stuff.)
@katie7748 I learned it from my mother, she used to do it twice a year as well... Every March and September like clockwork. We lived on the east coast so the house was usually closed up for half of the year. Like yourself I also do it once a year and only twice if I have the time and energy. It's made me aware of the true meaning of "nose blindness." Lol
I love the open floor concept for my house. Kid is watching tv, I’m cooking and watching as well. It just works so well for a small family. Especially when the space is not overwhelmingly big
Lighting Pro-tip for renters or those not doing a big remodel or new build: You can get battery powered light bulbs that work by remote. In spaces where I've needed a light and lacked an outlet or adequate outlets, I've used them & just coiled up the cord to the lamp & either neatly stored it on the base of a floor lamp or the underside of the table the lamp is sitting on. I've also used them in wall sconces meant to be hard wired but instead, just hung them on the wall. Way more attractive than a tap light. I've also had friends use them in antique lamps that need rewiring but it's not in the budget or there isn't someone they trust nearby to do it.
Thanks for this video. We in the USA are sad and are huddling in corners so need more Nick. If I had an open concept I’d see the kitchen and eat non stop. They look great but pictures always show open concept tidy and built with high end materials. My Formica, old appliances, and mess are best hidden. 😉
Just when I thnik all hope is lost your video comes on and life is good again. Clean as you go is the key to cooking in an open-plan kitchen so you don't have a lot of visual clutter. I started open plan living in my first house which was an antique styled small cape. Have lived in all sorts of spaces since then and I'm happy to have landed in an apartment with a big modern chef's kitchen a small defined dining area leading to a tiny patio garden and a very cozy eclectic living room. You'd probably faint from all the don'ts - big bookcase, fat blinds, patterns on patterned rug, theme (Paris), but I listened to you about spreading out the lighting and defining spaces. Always love the beautiful rooms you present for inspiration.
Oh Nick, you have exactly the same white ottoman that I have. Mines in boucle, yours appears to be the same material. I have mine in front of a daybed/lounge as a footrest Edit: watching your sponsor ad I now want an egg on toast! 🍳.
Ours isn't sound proof exactly but yes, a kids space with a DOOR was a huge selling point for this house we moved into a year ago We live in Australia so no basements. Last house was double storey and the kids area was the upstairs space between all the bedrooms, ugh worst. Now our bedroom is at the front, all their stuff is at the back, it's fantastic
Such good points, Nick. Our original 1993 2000 sq ft ranch has a great room with a very wide (6’) cased opening galley kitchen off the dining room portion so kind of “hybrid” open concept which is kind of ideal for us - it keeps the kitchen mess somewhat out of the living area. We built it before kids and it worked great the first few years until they started having friends over at which point we couldn’t go anywhere to get away from the noise and hear ourselves talk, so we were lucky enough to be able to build on an addition with another great room/rec room and additional bath/bedroom/laundry/storage. It was perfect through their teenage years. Now that they’re grown and only one still lives with us (and self-isolates in his room lol), it sometimes seems like a lot of space for the 2-3 of us, but if we have guests it’s awesome and I like the different function options we have (business/formal in the front, party in the back haha). Managing the noise in open concept is real.
We just bought our 1st home 3 yrs ago that is an open floor plan, I wasnt sure I liked it at 1st but it grew on me, when you separate the areas in your mind its definitely small, we host a lot of parties and have people over for dinner and it seems to really work better than our last place, people always comment on our home and say they like it, we changed some things around, new lighting fixtures, remodeling dining room and new bar stools, it made a nice and clean difference
I love my Caraway pots and pans. They are absolutely worth every penny. We love our open concept but then again, I am not one to trash up my counter tops with a bunch of stuff and I clean as I cook, so very rarely does my kitchen look cluttered or dirty.
The people who owned my very old house before me knocked out a lot of walls to go "open concept." It turned the house into an awkward mess. We're putting all the walls back in. So far, it's becoming very cozy and sweet.
I am curious how do you add walls back in? Is it crazy expensive to do? And how long does it take for a standard say 8-12' wall? I always wondered how you do that in an existing home.
It is actually very easy. You should have some basic carpentry skills to do it but it really is easy. It is just basic framing. We have saved thousands of dollars by doing the woodwork ourselves. It takes maybe a whole day to frame up a wall, moldings, trim and paint and all. The only cost is the materials. I don't like drywall and my old house doesn't have it anyway, so I cover my studs with plywood and pretty wood paneling. Drywall is a pain in the neck to work with, I think. I'm a 5'1 woman and I've built closets, walls, windows, etc. It takes some planning, math, ability to measure correctly, and the right simple tools, but nearly anyone with the will to learn can frame walls. 🩷
Actually (for us as a family) I find the dining room is where conversation occurs during meals, games night, homework time, crafting, hobbies etc... the living room is where we talk the least.. there we want to cosy up, read a book, listen to music or watch TV/films and not talk!!. So we rarely sit and have conversations in the living room! I love my living room with the sofa against the wall, no central coffee table, and a big floor space for moving around, lying down, doing sport/yoga, playing games with the kids etc. I think you should design your rooms to work for YOUR OWN NEEDS not some silly design rules generally thought out by designers who don't prioritise usability over aesthetic.
It's the same for me while living alone. I have people over once a week tops and I'd say 19 of 20 times its dining or games and we don't move afterwards so I don't even know why I have additional seating in my living space anymore.
Always enjoy your take on design. Did want to mention that now you don’t need outlets for lamps or sconces because there are bulbs that have batteries and even remote controls. You don’t have to hardwire anymore.
We moved from a traditional home to an open concept and the noise really is a problem. We found that we had to pay the extra for quiet appliances, including the garbage disposal.
A bookshelf or cabinet is a great way to separate the dining and living areas in a room...and it provides more storage. They also are movable when needed.
Nick, can you do a video on Christmas decorating do’s and donts? Every year I add more and always wonder if I’m getting too gaudy. Would love to hear your ideas!
i hateee open plan! thanks for presenting suggestions on how to make it better. (the noise circulating, the smell of the kitchen being everywhere, the visual clutter that comes even if things are all clean and at their place, errhggg open plan is not my jam)
Me too!! Hate them! I’ve been doing a LOT of looking on Zillow because we want to move, and in the newer homes, that is ALL YOU SEE. And it’s always described as a good thing…”open floor plan!” My gripe with them is the noise….if someone is wanting to watch a show or read a book in the living room and the other person is crashing around in the kitchen…so annoying.
@@DillyDahlia I feel you! it makes it so hard to enjoy the shared spaces without annoying each other. I wish you the best of luck to find a lovely place on Zillow :)
Our 2200 sf 1960’s home was very closed off with the dark paneling everywhere in the breakfast room, family/tv room and had the same dark wood cabinets in the kitchen. The kitchen/breakfast area was also small with green wall paper-grim indeed!! We have opened up the walls and gotten rid of all the cheap, dark paneling. The new space is an L shape so that the person cooking can peak into the family room to watch what’s going one in there. All the walls are Benjamin Moore Simply White. The kitchen cabinets are ‘color blocked’ (think Mondrian modern). We’re lucky to have (the old style) formal front living room which we put French doors on for a quiet area. We love how it works for us and for family gatherings-people have room to get away and have quiet conversations or stay in the tv room and hang out as a group. Also, think about a window or windows to look out - your focal point idea. It gives your eye and mind a rest to be able to see outside.
Nick's videos keep dropping!! I'm doing a reno at the moment (open living room and kitchen), a small flat but on my own. It's going well but sometimes I need motivation and your videos never fail to give me a push. Your work is very much appreciated, thank you.
Now that football and hockey season are overlapping, I'm so glad my husband and I can watch TV in separate rooms!! I'm watching hockey in the living room and he's watching football in the den. Many blessings to all 💖💖💖
You do you, and I will continue to use my great-grandmother's cast iron Dutch Oven, the 8" cast iron skillet I bought (for less than $15) when I was 18, the 3 10" cast iron skillets I copped when my mom's SRO building was sold and all the kitchen stuff was "distributed." Then there's the stainless steel, which would be the pots rather than the pans. I did buy a soup pot from IKEA (but don't use it very often because reasons). None of the pots match anything, and I celebrate that minor fact. Yes, there's a strange dent at the copper-clad bottom of the stew pot, but hey - nobody confessed to putting it there, and the stew doesn't care, so that just means it has, in fact, been used (and abused) for over 40 years (my youngest just turned 40). In case you're interested, there is absolutely nothing toxic about cast iron cookware. My great-grandmother used it all her life (86 years) and my grandmother used hers for most of her 98 years. Mom made it to 93, and while I'm only 68, I'm still kicking.
It's basically impossible to find a closed concept place around here that isn't also tiny old and awful, so working well with open plan is a must have skill in my area! One big thing I decided before we moved in our current place was NO TV in the open plan area. We have a TV for the kids in their play room (which was a Major selling point for this home, along with the office because I work full time from home and our last place my office didn't have a door) and a TV in the front sitting room. The kitchen/dining/living is for cooking, eating and talking (or reading or watching videos on my phone lol). I put a big painting where the TV would have gone, with a couch under it and two accent chairs around a coffee table, big rugs there and under the dining. It's great, spacious enough for a decent crowd but still with clear zones and cosiness. I know what you mean about not enough electricals though, I would have put in two more outlets at least in the living area but oh well.
This video gave me an idea for a future topic- would you ever consider giving tips on ways to set up and style a large patio? We just had one installed and I have no clue how to maximize the space while also making it look nice.
Someone was feeling a little ornery... I love it. "You know what is really good at reducing sound? Walls and doors but you don't have those." -- I died laughing.
Before our contractor walked away with some of our money, leaving our major home remodel 2/3 done, he made a good suggestion for how to lay out our open concept living area. It’s nicely fanned out around the foyer, spreading out into 3 separate areas. Yay! Love this video, perfect timing for me to start thinking about the issues you raised. I’m going to hang a large quilt on the wall in our living room area, and I’m glad to hear you discourage sectional sofas-because we don’t really have room for one. The kitchen will have an island, and I’m going to have to think about what focal point to have in the dining area. So much art, so little wall space!! Maybe another quilt. My flooring throughout is tile and I’m accepting that because this area is a major “ crossroad “ in this room, and I want it to be easy to maintain after muddy feet come through. I will be getting an area rug for the sitting area, per your suggestions. As for the electrical, I will use one or two of those rechargeable lamps on side tables in the seating area and my floor lamp will have to be positioned over by 1 of 2 walls. Thanks , Nick!
I just remodeled a small home into an open floor plan and I love it. Thanks for these tips and examples. The hardest part is decorating, and you are the best at it. Thanks so much, Nick!
It always gets me when he says, "Don't push your furniture up against the wall", while sitting in a room with all his furniture pushed up against the wall. 🤣🤣🤣
please make more videos on open floor plans!!! i'd love more examples on what to do with paint?? if there are no clear transition spaces do you just paint the entire space one color??? can you go a different color on each parallel wall?? i'm picturing a common layout where there are two longer walls, and two shorter for the doors and windows. and then if the common areas are just one color, how do you do color in the rooms without it being a drastic change from the huge one-color cube?? idk if i'm explaining any of this well, but PLEASE show us some paint do's and dont's!!! i haven't found anyone talking about that!!!
I agree! I have an open concept. The living area, loft, halls , stairs wells, cat walk are all part of the same room ( with 16ft ceilings) it is currently…beige.
I have an open space layout with two long walls as you described and the back wall with a large window/door to the back of the home. I had both parallel walls painted different colors and it looks great imo. Color palette is definitely important to coordinate though. Hope that makes sense. Also divided up the space into two areas -one more formal, the other more informal with the use of free-standing open shelving. There is no fourth wall as that is where the kitchen and dining is. Another option is still doing the back wall an accent color but it depends on the person’s set up and style but I thought it would put too much attention on the window treatment instead of the room’s other interesting features ie fireplace. Great topic for a video!
Our addition is a rectangle measuring 18 feet by 32 feet. The longer walls are in a darker green and the shorter ones are painted a lighter green. The fireplace chimney is in an even darker green. It looks great. You can use the same color palette in your preferred color
@@juliejohnson-hunt7134 lol i am currently living in basically a beigey-white rectangle. at least the walls have texture, but that really is it. if i add a bit of color i feel i could end up in a single-color rectangle, just a different shade lol. and if i add color to my room, i feel it would look pretty out of place 🙈 i really need @Nick Lewis to shine some guiding light in this world of monochrome 😂
I love my parent’s current home’s floor plan. It combines the best of open floor and traditional floor plans. Whoever designed it knew what they were doing. Picture like an L shaped floor plan (actually I’m simplifying for the sake of clarity here): the kitchen is in the corner of the L: to one side of the L you have an eating area and a family room (lounge area with couches, TV, books). That part is completely open concept. The other side of the L has a formal dining room next to the kitchen and then a living room area to receive or entertain guests/visitors close to the entrance. There is a threshold between the kitchen and formal dining so there could be a door if you wanted the kitchen closed off completely, but even without it, you don’t get a full view of the kitchen from the guest living room/dining room and the family room is completely private. When I go visit and stay over for Christmas, I can be watching tv in my pajamas eating cereal, while a neighbor I’ve never met comes wish my parents merry Christmas. I don’t have to see or say hello to the visitors while I’m chilling in the family room in my pjs.
I like that there's a separation between my kitchen andy living room... That way I don't see the mess of dishes from that night's dinner if I dont want to do it right away.
Great video! Other than a small bathroom and bedroom (which we use as my husband’s home office), our entire ground floor beyond a generous foyer with a doorway (no door), is open. You first walk into our tv area. We have a couple narrow support walls flanking our tv area, which provides some separation. We put a sectional against them and oriented the tv on the opposite wall, with two bookcases mirroring the support walls. Then our kitchen, sitting and dining areas are one large space behind those support walls. The sitting zone is defined with a rug, we put in an island to define the kitchen zone, and a rectangular dining table behind the sectional and support walls of the tv area. You can see the tv from every other zone. This set up is marvelous for being together as a family and for entertaining. But it’s terrible for privacy and quiet. One must retreat to a bedroom for THAT. Thankfully, mine has a seating area in it for quiet reading on my chaise, and a large table at which I can sit and write. Otherwise, I’m not sure my downstairs would work for me.
Love open plan. You had some interesting kitchens there. Yes to thinking about the electrical plan, sound and decluttering. I’ve got to have the TV on while cooking.
I live in a house built in 1984... open concept kitchen/dining/family room... absolutely love that I'm not separated/isolated in the kitchen while cooking...but it has a pocket door that separates it from the front of the house, we close it for lots of reasons including kid noise and pet separations and it heating choices
Thank you Nick for making this video! I’ve been struggling with too many choices as we update our builder grade home and the main level is very open concept. Lighting and matching hardware is my current issue haha. Appreciate all of your tips and humor that keep designing fun!
Nick, you’ve changed my life 😂. I love you. I now buy stuff for my Edinburgh 1880’s tenement flat that I like with not a jot of care for what other people think! I didn’t realise my taste was mid century modern! Goes with my flat luckily, and if you don’t agree I don’t care. See?! Just bought a gorgeous rug for my original sanded wooden floors. It will look gorgeous. Lots of love, Joanne xxx
They used to have kitchens with movable shutters so they could be opened or closed when needed...so the best of both worlds. But, that practical design was swept away in the the Open Concept mania.
lol I actually have this in my 1959 built home that separates the butlers pantry and kitchen from the dining room. The wooden shutters are great for closing the spaces off for our animals as well. 😊
My grandmother's house was open concept and built in the 1970s. I know its on trend now but she definitely ruled with an iron fist on the sound. If you couldn't be quiet in the living room/dining room area you were sent outside to play in the backyard. Many of us wanted to hang out with grandma so we learned to be quiet. Sound is definitely a problem in an open concept!
You talking about kids and how they're noisy!!! I so enjoy your sense of humor, and it's honestly one of the reasons I watch your videos - the slight sarcasm is awesome!!! 🤣🤣🤣
The smellllsss!! I can't imagine an open kitchen. Oil droplets will inevitably go everywhere. One good option I have seen is large glass dividers which can give the sense openness while maintaining the confined space of kitchen, which hopefully does have good ventilation. When I was a kid, we had dedicated slippers for the kitchen to ensure oil droplets on the kitchen floor would not be dragged everywhere else, especially on the expensive handmade rugs in the living room or dining room.
About to be snarky here, but it's a pet peeve. A "concept" is not a physical thing, it's -- wait for it -- conceptual. We have open, closed, or traditional floorplans or layouts. I blame the Property Brothers for this seeping into our vernacular.
This makes me happy to get a semi open floor plan in my new house. You still see where the individual rooms used to be (small niches of the old walls are still there and visually create separate areas). The kitchen has no wall/door, but is around the corner from the living room (L-shaped floor plan) and I intend to use different wall colours for different areas. As usual, very useful tips, Nick!
Ugh, between the lack of privacy anywhere, the cooking smells and grease that normally gets on your kitchen cabinets; where does all THAT go!?? Kids, ugh. Throw them out back and tell them to come in when the street lights come on, like we had to do. My bestie had an open floor plan in her home for awhile, it was an unhappy home until they finally moved. Even my second-hand experience wasn't good.
Kids don’t play outside as much as past generations….too busy on their devices, usually (sorry) leads to weight issues from lack of exercise. I see it often.
@@LULC0759 The actual reason is because parents and grandparents are too scared to let their children and grandchildren outside. Too much stranger danger worry. Not to mention nosey neighbors who make phone calls and suddenly you have Boys in Blue or see-pee-ess at your door asking all kinds of questions because heaven forbid Timmy's outside on his bike or Sally is playing hopscotch with no adult supervision. Been there, done that. It's not fair to my children but at least there's a backyard for them. When inside, they have books, games, puzzles, etc. And I am not alone in this. A lot of us are fed up with the way things are. But what can we really do?? :-/
Sooo ... when you have an open floor plan, design it so that it isn't an open floor plan ... In my non-open plan kitchen, I had a little TV. Now if I want to, I use my laptop. I like to cook and clean as I go, but I really don't want my guests to watch me do it. Most of the time most of us don't have guests. The truth is, when you have little kids, you can keep an eye on them in open concept. They don't stay that way. In a few years, they will WANT to stay in their rooms away from you. Basements are great places to banish kids "to play" once they don't put everything in their mouths. Your comment about having zones in a family home where everyone can find something to do without falling all over each other is very, very good. It saves marriages, even in a small home.
This a great, and really needed. How about a Part 2? - more about sound & noises - plus, aromas and smells Sound can get really out of control when TV is on, and appliances are being used in a kitchen at the same time. Or, dinners over and everyone sits down to watch Only Murders in the Building, when the $&@!?#%! dishwasher is turned on. Follow-up recommendations for upholstered furniture, pillows, window treatments, rugs, etc. Cooking smells (especially the day after), outdoor clothes hung on hooks in an entry way (with *outdoor* smells lingering on them, and not in a good way), cheap candles, cheap air fresheners (
I dislike open floor plans. I think it is such a bad idea I dread moving and house shopping. I may never move. Most people do not have large enough living rooms to shove furniture into the middle.
I’m so glad I found this channel. I’m trying to get my mom to watch bc I so badly want to renovate my home and she just is stuck in the 2000’s beige trend. I just moved in I’m not selling! Best part? They did modern country. Barn doors. Badly installed barn doors. With wood cabinets that have artificial dents that look like actual cockroaches. It’s awful. It’s god awful. And she loves it.
You keep saying don't push your furniture against the wall in the living room, but like you, ours is a tiny room. If I move the couch from the wall there would be no way to walk into the room. It's not even a sectional, just a small couch. I know we have to work with what we have and a tiny space should be the exception... but every time you say it I get a wave of embarrassment and anxiety that my couch is against the wall. I know... Me problem. Just needed to vent. 😜
I have a 70's L shaped living room with a galley kitchen, my accent wall in my living room is a Blue wall with 3 large pictures over the sofa. It works for my space. Love your thoughts on design.
I can't wait to knock down the wall between my kitchen and dining room! I'm an Architectural Designer and was able to do my own drawings. I'm just waiting on my structural engineer to help me size my beam so I know if it can be tucked into the ceiling or not. I haven't decided if I want to change the floor between the two rooms or not. These ideas in this video are awesome! Thanks Nick!
I can always count on laughing out loud at least once during Uncle Nick (which is how I refer to you when I am informing the dogs that we are all moving to the den and I would like them to respect the Nick and not bug me for the duration).
I would love a video on coordinating wood cabinets and flooring colors. I am remodeling and like the natural light oak cabinets and engineered or hardwood light flooring but am not sure how to pull it off. I worry that it will be impossible to match the cabinets and flooring and will end up looking funny.
I got a 2 story but had an injury that caused me to be unable to use 2nd floor temporarily and had to sleep in the 1st floor. These are helpful so I don't stress out until I'm healed enough for stairs again.
Whaaaat, I have been seraching for a video like this. I JUST moved to an open floor plan house and it's cool and all but .... htf do you design your spaces? This video was heaven sent. ❤❤❤❤❤
Gosh, Nick, you are so lovable :) Have been watching your videos for a long time now, love them and then the way they are presented leaves me always with a smile on my face. PS My husband and I bought an old manor style house with an open kitchen . Struggled with that concept (of one space) because I love to have a really cozy living room and never liked the kitchen in view, no matter how beautiful we made it. Solution for us: we put palm trees in big copper pots between the sitting area and the kitchen. . Now it feels we are in the tropics, it looks quite exquisite and we dont see the kitchen:)
Nick, you just got in a home, why build? You have the know how to create whatever you want in your current home!!! I think we would all love to see you transform the spaces to what you like. Even an addition! What great content that would be! Nick Lewis Recreates His Home!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I hate my open floor plane we built 2 yrs ago….open to the noise, to the kitchen for drop in guest to watch you eat or see a messy kitchen. Looks very similar to 4:22, screened porch behind the great room off the dining area. Also, I called BS on using the rugs to define the space, because even though I do that you walk in the front door and you can see the living room, the kitchen and the dining space all in one glance no rug fixes that. And trust me, I have area rugs, and all those spaces. And I have no transitions all I have all the same flooring except for those area rugs. Nothing makes up for walls.
You can build long sideboards between the areas. This will make the spaces more refinded and give you more storage space. We have a 9 foot one behind the sofa and it's 3 feet high
Children are loud, but at at 16:40 I heard: "Noise is something people forget about and they shouldn't because oftentimes these are really good for families and children are allowed." I thought to myself, Nick is in a generous mood today.
Open concepts lack privacy too. This means whatever you are doing is visible to EVERYONE and if you have company over, NO GOSSIPING or PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS. Everyone can hear you! LOL!
I don't mind (too much) of open concept (if you can heat and cool properly) but the kitchen open to family room is okay to watch TV and keep an eye on everything but that is where the formal living room (behind French doors) is an awesome idea when entertaining. I don’t entertain anymore (get-togethers throughout the year I used to host) but I still wouldn't mind having a house large enough to have a formal living room for the holidays only. Not able to right now but maybe someday.
@@fj7865 Some people get stuck in miserable situations so I can imagine they’d appreciate having that little bit of extra space. But also it’s harder to plan surprises if the kitchen’s open plan!!!
I’ve never understood the appeal of an open floor plan home. In my opinion the kitchen and dining room should never be combined. Nothing says it’s time to go more than looking at someone’s kitchen after they have prepared a fabulous meal. You’re stuck debating whether to help clean it up or run out as early as possible so the ones hosting can get it done. I personally don’t want to do that to my guests. I have owned two homes, neither of which kitchen and dining were combined and my best memories are of hanging out in a separate dining room with friends and family long into the night,talking and laughing over several bottles of wine. Another advantage to separate rooms is you can manipulate the lighting in a dining room to encourage lingering, a dimly lit room with burning candles, comfortable chairs and soft background music just says, relax and stay awhile we want you here.
Open floor plan is not my favorite, but it’s what we have always had and it’s what our new forever home is going to be, so I’ve made peace with it. Thanks for bringing these things to through with cautions and solutions in you special hilarious“Nick” way. I especially like what you said about loading rooms too full. I believe rooms can be comfortably furnished but also have room to “breathe”. When I go into rooms that are stuffed too full I feel claustrophobic, but I’m far from minimalist…echo-y, cavernous and sparse doesn’t feel good either. “Breathing” is the balance and function I aim for in my home. 🏡
Electrical in the floor works so well with all the new furniture having push button recline, usb ports, etc! We did that and do not regret it. No cords to trip on.
In my second open concept house, there is a separate room for the TV and the kitchen is around a corner, so I don’t see it from the living room, but I can easily move from one to another
![Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1F3OGIFnW1k/mqdefault.jpg)
In I think your last video you mentioned that you were trying to cut back of how much you were saying. Don't do that, please. I love to hear whatever you want to say because you say it so well. You come across as real and hilarious and intelligent and I really look forward to listening to you. So please, ramble on!
Yesss!!! I love your ramblings! That’s the best part.😂
Amen, same here, love all the details and Nick's opinions, he is funny and does not back down on them.
🤔, Why does it look like you (Nick) have most of your living room furniture shoved against your walls, as do I? My living room is also rectangular and only about as wide as your's. Mine may be a bit longer. Still. 😉
In a room that size if you didn't have them against the wall you wouldn't even have space to walk behind them
@@GoogleUser-wx8mw I have a small room, too, so I'd _love_ to know where else you'd suggest placing furniture in a small room.
Please keep the checkmarks (do this) and red Xs (not that) on the pictures. If I already knew which was which, my house would not look like it does and I wouldn't need your videos! I would still watch them though, because they're awesome! 😊
not a chicken in sight in the living room 😂
Very good request we are dumb lol
Exactly!
Open floor plans are great for smaller homes or apartments but if you live in a 4 season state, like I do, open concepts are a nightmare to heat and cool. 🥰
I never would have thought of that.
It's like trying to heat and cool a barn.
@@ninaevans8460 it’s kind of interesting because my 1909 house has walls and doors for every space even the small hallway. Because they compartmentalize what parts of the house they heated with their fireplaces originally. Open floorplan removes that.
@@ninaevans8460 Thanks. I’ll have to think about this now. I do love the idea, and if I don’t want an open concept I’d better change my mind soon. I’m the GC of my little home build and we just finished framing.
You can always space heater a small room when really cold. Open concept, is much harder. Been there, done that. Plus, when your main a/c goes out and you emergency a window unit, it runs 24/7 in the summer to cool such an open space. I had to have generator and emergency things like a large a/c window unit for a 90gal saltwater aquarium and 2 chinchillas, especially during summer storms that knock out electricity (the chinchillas could overheat and die). Eta: we lived in a "4 season state" (pre-summer, summer, post-summer, kind of fall/winter).
I live in an old house with separate rooms but here I am, still watching.
I don’t even have a house to live in but I’m watching also😁
Love my open floor plan retirement home - spent most of my life cooking in the kitchen missing out on family activities in the great room - close but not opened to. I do cook every day and clean as I cook so the mess is done before we serve, just my habit but works well with an open floor plan.
We’re building our retirement home, it’s open plan too. I can’t wait to be able to have the whole family in one space. We had 20 people for a family event last year, and couldn’t get more than 5 or 6 in one room. With three grown kids, their spouses and kids, and other extended family, open plan is necessary to me.
It also works for a small kitchen! I've realized I have to keep my island completely clear because it's basically my only large prep space, and then I clean mixing bowls, cutting boards, etc. as I go because if I leave them on the counter or sink during cooking I quickly run of out space. But it is also nice when you have seating at the island so people can chat together when someone is in the kitchen too. Granted I'm in a small apartment so open concept is all I have to work with anyway :)
When you live alone or with a pleasant partner, it can work very well.
@@karenk2409yes ☺️
I’m the opposite from this, we are empty nesters and came from a larger home that was semi open… lots of room for everyone. Now we downsized to a decent size ranch all open and I don’t like it. It’s fine if it’s just my husband and I, but when you go to entertain, and it looks like a bomb has gone off in the kitchen, no thanks. I too clean as I go. I keep my counters Very clutter free, I don’t like filth. I don’t like messes. Give me a semi open floor plan Any day.
I just want to say I love you, Nick. You give your opinions unabashedly and confidently, yet you're humble in a way, and super, super funny. I always feel better after watching your videos....and I always learn something about design. Keep up the great work!
Aww thanks Cheryl!
Your last comment cracked me up. I was a kid back in the days of dinosaurs and am/fm clock radios.
On weekends, the 4 of us kids would take our clock radios to the attic, plug one into each corner and turn them up to 11!
We loved the song Black Water. When it would come on we would grab so.ething to make a makeshift instrument, play along and sing at the top of out lungs. I have a very clear memory of my dad yelling, "CHRIST! I can hear you idiots all the way down in the basement!"
"How'd we sound?"
"Not bad. You'd sound better at someone elses house though!"
Thanks for stiring that memory to the top.
Good times.
So good!
Your Dad‼️😂😂👍🏻
Sweet memory!
You are absolutely right about the electrical placement! I can’t imagine not having an outlet in the floor in my living room/zone for my table lamp. It really is the attention to small details that make a huge impact in an open floor plan…or any floor plan really.
I bought a brand new home with an open plan. I lasted 2 years before I sold and bought a 180 yr old home with small cozy rooms.
I hate open floor plans
@@jane-cn6nd I agree with both of you. 👍🏻👍🏻
❤❤I love a beautiful old home. Treat her well with all her glory. Enjoy😊
This is a for real question-do you live somewhere with a real winter? Bc I lived in Buffalo until July of this year. So first 35 years of life. I have rented full old homes and full modern homes.. tho I love the stylistic aspects of the old gems the new ones are SO MUCH cheaper to heat
@ Not really apples to apples. I live in Massachusetts. The new home was fairly expensive to heat. It had 11 foot ceilings and a large footprint. . My home now , the antique one is very affordable. First it is a much smaller home and the ceilings are much lower. Also when we bought it , it had no insulation. So we opened the walls to facilitate that , new wiring etc. Without the upgrades , yes it would have been expensive.
Yes, I told my friends to inciude a floor outlet in the living room.part of the great room of their new cottage, so the floating sofa could have working lamps on its side tables. They did it 😊
video idea: how to decorate/establish zones when your front door opens into your living room and when that living room is also your open concept kitchen/eating area.
That’s a great idea!
That’s a great idea!
Whatever maroon thought a front door opening right up into the living room should be drawn and quartered. What a horrid idea! Every place I've lived as an adult has been like that and I effing HATE IT. Especially when there's no coat closet, no room for a coat rack, no wall space to install hooks, no room for a bench to sit and put shoes/boots on, etc. Not to mention you're tracking dirt, mud, snow, sand, etc in. Ugh.
@@katie7748I agree! I live where the climate is bad. You are coming home, enter the door, water is pouring off you, your shoes are in the mud and you are standing... in the living room. It is horrible. And there are some crazy architects who make like that not only apartments but also houses! You are sitting in your underwear on the couch and someone opens the front door and snow is blowing into the living room. Maybe it is appropriate somewhere, but it is nonsense make it popular worldwide
Hate it
We have the door opening into the living room. Our family has to use the garage to store shoes and jackets are in the tiny closet by the garage and in another tiny closet down the hall. Front door just has a besta unit for keys, wallets and office supplies and a tray for mail.
I will say, from childhood experience, having a kitchen piled with dirty cookware and dishes visible to your guests, is a great way to silently guilt your guests into helping you clean up at the end of the night.
😂😂😂
I want your childhood 😂
Just had people over, asked well-meaning guest not to clear up. No, guest did not listen, because "helping". Stacked all the dinner plates and deposited them on the "clean" side of my sink. So now, every plate has food gunk on the bottom as well as the top, and besides that she threw away every lightly used scrap of paper towel that I use to wipe the plates into the trashcan so I am not sending residue into the pipes. Long story short: if you are a guest and you are asked NOT TO HELP, STAY THE FUNCK OUT OF YOUR HOST'S KITCHEN. Disgusting behaviour for a guest to "help' in the kitchen. GTFO
mom why are you on RUclips
@@allisonangier1631 dude, you need to chill
I like the separate spaces in older homes myself. As long as the kitchen is large enough to have folks around while you're cooking. I haven't lived in one since I was a child, but I do keep the living area formal and use q spare room for watching TV and hanging out. Fortunately there's plenty of room for barstools. I feel house proud when folks come over and my living/dinning room look special... like the one mom wouldn't let us play in😂... my guests actually talk to each other there without the distraction of a TV... love Nick's ideas❤
Nick, I have completely changed the way I think about interior design thanks to your videos. I feel so much more at peace in my home after following your tips. You are the best ever.
Once again, as I’m watching Nick, whom I have grown to love… I’m laughing out loud at his delivery, and my husband keeps asking me “what’s so funny”😂😂😂. Not only is he very funny but he absolutely knows design, firm, function, color etc. He’s the real deal in design!!
When we moved into an open floor plan house besides the heating/cooling issues, the mismatched flooring drove me mad. There was vinyl in the kitchen meeting inexplicable marble hallway tile with carpet on both sides for living and dining (!) spaces. It took many years but finally got the same flooring throughout all the open space and its so much better.
I’ve read 4 or 5 comments and you’re the 2nd one that’s mentioned heating & cooling problems. I’d never thought of that. If it’s not too long could you explain it please. I’m in the process of building and have an open floor plan, but I live alone and the house is only about 1700 square feet with 2 bedrooms
@@RobinP556 If you have open concept, it's not really possible to zone your heating and cooling, except for the bedrooms. If that open space has a high ceiling, it will be a nightmare to heat in the winter.
@ Hmm, I’ve got to ponder this. The bedrooms, pantry, laundry and bathroom all have normal ceilings but I had wanted to build with a high ceiling in the open space (kitchen, dining room and living room. It’s not super high, but it has a peak. I had planned for a 6/12, but I could drop it a bit to a 4/12.
@@olga138 Yep. Can confirm. Both this rental and our previous one...both open concept with vaulted ceilings. Ridiculous utility bills, especially in winter. Cuz, you know, heat rises. Even with the thermostat set to 66, it was still $$$.
Yes. And also when you open the front door you open it to the whole space. the cold comes everywhere. In the house at least the hallway should be separated by another door.
I love a closed kitchen, mainly because I dislike cooking aromas wafting through the house and settling into the furniture - yuk!
Same here. I don't know how people who live in studio or efficiency apartments (depending on which coast you're from) do it. I can't imagine cooking a fragrant meal and then going to bed at night and sleeping with those same aromas in my bedding. 🤮
Plus, kitchen's grimy dust. Idc who you are or what you cook, kitchen dust is not the same as regular dust.
@katie7748 exactly, and with an open floor plan you know that grime travels throughout and gets in and on everything in your house.
This is the reason some people wash their walls and deep clean their furniture and flooring at least once a year, usually in the spring after the house has been closed up tightly for the winter season.
@@nuthinbutlove Yep! Twice a year for us, or more often when I'm feeling ambitious, in both spring and fall.
I'm astounded by how many people don't. My MIL has NEVER washed walls. EVER. And they both smoke. When they moved out of their last apartment, the original paint color behind where pictures, shelves, and furniture was...how can I put this...the sharp contrast in color was enough to make Ray Charles say day-um! I love my in-laws dearly but my goodness. Yuck. (They're perfectly capable, btw. They're just lazy and don't really care about that kind of stuff.)
@katie7748 I learned it from my mother, she used to do it twice a year as well... Every March and September like clockwork. We lived on the east coast so the house was usually closed up for half of the year. Like yourself I also do it once a year and only twice if I have the time and energy.
It's made me aware of the true meaning of "nose blindness." Lol
I had a hard month… and your video is just what I needed to make my day brighter ❤😊thank you! I love your humor and comments
Hope it gets better!
Take care of your heart and mind. All the best. ❤
@@Nick_LewisHi. why your comment section said 34 in this moment, but you have way more ! have to be fixed 😮
@@migdalialopez5512 just update with F5
I love the open floor concept for my house. Kid is watching tv, I’m cooking and watching as well. It just works so well for a small family. Especially when the space is not overwhelmingly big
That sweater Nick wears really brings out his eyes. I just love it.💙
Lighting Pro-tip for renters or those not doing a big remodel or new build: You can get battery powered light bulbs that work by remote. In spaces where I've needed a light and lacked an outlet or adequate outlets, I've used them & just coiled up the cord to the lamp & either neatly stored it on the base of a floor lamp or the underside of the table the lamp is sitting on. I've also used them in wall sconces meant to be hard wired but instead, just hung them on the wall. Way more attractive than a tap light. I've also had friends use them in antique lamps that need rewiring but it's not in the budget or there isn't someone they trust nearby to do it.
Thanks for sharing your positive experience! I've been researching these!
I would do it simply because I hate hate hate wires!!!
Thanks for this video. We in the USA are sad and are huddling in corners so need more Nick. If I had an open concept I’d see the kitchen and eat non stop. They look great but pictures always show open concept tidy and built with high end materials. My Formica, old appliances, and mess are best hidden. 😉
It’s nice to see your living room come a little more together each video. Also your sweater game has been great lately!
Just when I thnik all hope is lost your video comes on and life is good again. Clean as you go is the key to cooking in an open-plan kitchen so you don't have a lot of visual clutter. I started open plan living in my first house which was an antique styled small cape. Have lived in all sorts of spaces since then and I'm happy to have landed in an apartment with a big modern chef's kitchen a small defined dining area leading to a tiny patio garden and a very cozy eclectic living room. You'd probably faint from all the don'ts - big bookcase, fat blinds, patterns on patterned rug, theme (Paris), but I listened to you about spreading out the lighting and defining spaces. Always love the beautiful rooms you present for inspiration.
Yes! That's what i need!! A sound proof media/family/game room to shut the kids in!!
Make sure you can lock it 😂😂😂
Oh Nick, you have exactly the same white ottoman that I have. Mines in boucle, yours appears to be the same material. I have mine in front of a daybed/lounge as a footrest
Edit: watching your sponsor ad I now want an egg on toast! 🍳.
Basements were invented for that, I think.
Ours isn't sound proof exactly but yes, a kids space with a DOOR was a huge selling point for this house we moved into a year ago
We live in Australia so no basements. Last house was double storey and the kids area was the upstairs space between all the bedrooms, ugh worst. Now our bedroom is at the front, all their stuff is at the back, it's fantastic
Such good points, Nick. Our original 1993 2000 sq ft ranch has a great room with a very wide (6’) cased opening galley kitchen off the dining room portion so kind of “hybrid” open concept which is kind of ideal for us - it keeps the kitchen mess somewhat out of the living area. We built it before kids and it worked great the first few years until they started having friends over at which point we couldn’t go anywhere to get away from the noise and hear ourselves talk, so we were lucky enough to be able to build on an addition with another great room/rec room and additional bath/bedroom/laundry/storage. It was perfect through their teenage years. Now that they’re grown and only one still lives with us (and self-isolates in his room lol), it sometimes seems like a lot of space for the 2-3 of us, but if we have guests it’s awesome and I like the different function options we have (business/formal in the front, party in the back haha). Managing the noise in open concept is real.
We just bought our 1st home 3 yrs ago that is an open floor plan, I wasnt sure I liked it at 1st but it grew on me, when you separate the areas in your mind its definitely small, we host a lot of parties and have people over for dinner and it seems to really work better than our last place, people always comment on our home and say they like it, we changed some things around, new lighting fixtures, remodeling dining room and new bar stools, it made a nice and clean difference
I love my Caraway pots and pans. They are absolutely worth every penny. We love our open concept but then again, I am not one to trash up my counter tops with a bunch of stuff and I clean as I cook, so very rarely does my kitchen look cluttered or dirty.
The people who owned my very old house before me knocked out a lot of walls to go "open concept." It turned the house into an awkward mess.
We're putting all the walls back in. So far, it's becoming very cozy and sweet.
I am curious how do you add walls back in? Is it crazy expensive to do? And how long does it take for a standard say 8-12' wall? I always wondered how you do that in an existing home.
It is actually very easy. You should have some basic carpentry skills to do it but it really is easy. It is just basic framing. We have saved thousands of dollars by doing the woodwork ourselves. It takes maybe a whole day to frame up a wall, moldings, trim and paint and all. The only cost is the materials. I don't like drywall and my old house doesn't have it anyway, so I cover my studs with plywood and pretty wood paneling. Drywall is a pain in the neck to work with, I think. I'm a 5'1 woman and I've built closets, walls, windows, etc. It takes some planning, math, ability to measure correctly, and the right simple tools, but nearly anyone with the will to learn can frame walls. 🩷
Actually (for us as a family) I find the dining room is where conversation occurs during meals, games night, homework time, crafting, hobbies etc... the living room is where we talk the least.. there we want to cosy up, read a book, listen to music or watch TV/films and not talk!!. So we rarely sit and have conversations in the living room!
I love my living room with the sofa against the wall, no central coffee table, and a big floor space for moving around, lying down, doing sport/yoga, playing games with the kids etc.
I think you should design your rooms to work for YOUR OWN NEEDS not some silly design rules generally thought out by designers who don't prioritise usability over aesthetic.
It's the same for me while living alone. I have people over once a week tops and I'd say 19 of 20 times its dining or games and we don't move afterwards so I don't even know why I have additional seating in my living space anymore.
Always enjoy your take on design. Did want to mention that now you don’t need outlets for lamps or sconces because there are bulbs that have batteries and even remote controls. You don’t have to hardwire anymore.
We moved from a traditional home to an open concept and the noise really is a problem. We found that we had to pay the extra for quiet appliances, including the garbage disposal.
A bookshelf or cabinet is a great way to separate the dining and living areas in a room...and it provides more storage. They also are movable when needed.
But that fish smell lingering in the books forever 🥴
My builder forgot the floor outlets so they had to cut the concrete to install them. So glad I caught this before the floor went in!
Great catch! Sheesh!
Nick, can you do a video on Christmas decorating do’s and donts? Every year I add more and always wonder if I’m getting too gaudy. Would love to hear your ideas!
I would love to see you find home listings and redesign them, showing ur creative process. 🥰🥰
i hateee open plan! thanks for presenting suggestions on how to make it better. (the noise circulating, the smell of the kitchen being everywhere, the visual clutter that comes even if things are all clean and at their place, errhggg open plan is not my jam)
I despise it, too. Always have, always will. For many reasons, some of which you mentioned.
Me too!! Hate them! I’ve been doing a LOT of looking on Zillow because we want to move, and in the newer homes, that is ALL YOU SEE. And it’s always described as a good thing…”open floor plan!” My gripe with them is the noise….if someone is wanting to watch a show or read a book in the living room and the other person is crashing around in the kitchen…so annoying.
@@DillyDahlia I feel you! it makes it so hard to enjoy the shared spaces without annoying each other. I wish you the best of luck to find a lovely place on Zillow :)
@@katie7748 Thanks for your comment :) feels nice to know we are not alone on the open space hater club :P
Our 2200 sf 1960’s home was very closed off with the dark paneling everywhere in the breakfast room, family/tv room and had the same dark wood cabinets in the kitchen. The kitchen/breakfast area was also small with green wall paper-grim indeed!!
We have opened up the walls and gotten rid of all the cheap, dark paneling. The new space is an L shape so that the person cooking can peak into the family room to watch what’s going one in there. All the walls are Benjamin Moore Simply White. The kitchen cabinets are ‘color blocked’ (think Mondrian modern).
We’re lucky to have (the old style) formal front living room which we put French doors on for a quiet area.
We love how it works for us and for family gatherings-people have room to get away and have quiet conversations or stay in the tv room and hang out as a group.
Also, think about a window or windows to look out - your focal point idea. It gives your eye and mind a rest to be able to see outside.
Nick's videos keep dropping!!
I'm doing a reno at the moment (open living room and kitchen), a small flat but on my own. It's going well but sometimes I need motivation and your videos never fail to give me a push. Your work is very much appreciated, thank you.
All the best with reno and this chapter of your life.
Now that football and hockey season are overlapping, I'm so glad my husband and I can watch TV in separate rooms!! I'm watching hockey in the living room and he's watching football in the den.
Many blessings to all 💖💖💖
The perfect solution to a happier marriage!
Thank you so much for this. My house is in chaos, as is my head these days. You give me hope that structure and calm are possible.
You do you, and I will continue to use my great-grandmother's cast iron Dutch Oven, the 8" cast iron skillet I bought (for less than $15) when I was 18, the 3 10" cast iron skillets I copped when my mom's SRO building was sold and all the kitchen stuff was "distributed." Then there's the stainless steel, which would be the pots rather than the pans. I did buy a soup pot from IKEA (but don't use it very often because reasons). None of the pots match anything, and I celebrate that minor fact. Yes, there's a strange dent at the copper-clad bottom of the stew pot, but hey - nobody confessed to putting it there, and the stew doesn't care, so that just means it has, in fact, been used (and abused) for over 40 years (my youngest just turned 40).
In case you're interested, there is absolutely nothing toxic about cast iron cookware. My great-grandmother used it all her life (86 years) and my grandmother used hers for most of her 98 years. Mom made it to 93, and while I'm only 68, I'm still kicking.
It's basically impossible to find a closed concept place around here that isn't also tiny old and awful, so working well with open plan is a must have skill in my area!
One big thing I decided before we moved in our current place was NO TV in the open plan area. We have a TV for the kids in their play room (which was a Major selling point for this home, along with the office because I work full time from home and our last place my office didn't have a door) and a TV in the front sitting room. The kitchen/dining/living is for cooking, eating and talking (or reading or watching videos on my phone lol). I put a big painting where the TV would have gone, with a couch under it and two accent chairs around a coffee table, big rugs there and under the dining. It's great, spacious enough for a decent crowd but still with clear zones and cosiness.
I know what you mean about not enough electricals though, I would have put in two more outlets at least in the living area but oh well.
This video gave me an idea for a future topic- would you ever consider giving tips on ways to set up and style a large patio? We just had one installed and I have no clue how to maximize the space while also making it look nice.
Someone was feeling a little ornery... I love it. "You know what is really good at reducing sound? Walls and doors but you don't have those." -- I died laughing.
Before our contractor walked away with some of our money, leaving our major home remodel 2/3 done, he made a good suggestion for how to lay out our open concept living area. It’s nicely fanned out around the foyer, spreading out into 3 separate areas. Yay! Love this video, perfect timing for me to start thinking about the issues you raised. I’m going to hang a large quilt on the wall in our living room area, and I’m glad to hear you discourage sectional sofas-because we don’t really have room for one. The kitchen will have an island, and I’m going to have to think about what focal point to have in the dining area. So much art, so little wall space!! Maybe another quilt. My flooring throughout is tile and I’m accepting that because this area is a major “ crossroad “ in this room, and I want it to be easy to maintain after muddy feet come through. I will be getting an area rug for the sitting area, per your suggestions. As for the electrical, I will use one or two of those rechargeable lamps on side tables in the seating area and my floor lamp will have to be positioned over by 1 of 2 walls. Thanks , Nick!
I just remodeled a small home into an open floor plan and I love it. Thanks for these tips and examples. The hardest part is decorating, and you are the best at it. Thanks so much, Nick!
It always gets me when he says, "Don't push your furniture up against the wall", while sitting in a room with all his furniture pushed up against the wall. 🤣🤣🤣
please make more videos on open floor plans!!!
i'd love more examples on what to do with paint?? if there are no clear transition spaces do you just paint the entire space one color??? can you go a different color on each parallel wall?? i'm picturing a common layout where there are two longer walls, and two shorter for the doors and windows.
and then if the common areas are just one color, how do you do color in the rooms without it being a drastic change from the huge one-color cube?? idk if i'm explaining any of this well, but PLEASE show us some paint do's and dont's!!! i haven't found anyone talking about that!!!
I agree! I have an open concept. The living area, loft, halls , stairs wells, cat walk are all part of the same room ( with 16ft ceilings) it is currently…beige.
I have an open space layout with two long walls as you described and the back wall with a large window/door to the back of the home. I had both parallel walls painted different colors and it looks great imo. Color palette is definitely important to coordinate though. Hope that makes sense. Also divided up the space into two areas -one more formal, the other more informal with the use of free-standing open shelving. There is no fourth wall as that is where the kitchen and dining is. Another option is still doing the back wall an accent color but it depends on the person’s set up and style but I thought it would put too much attention on the window treatment instead of the room’s other interesting features ie fireplace. Great topic for a video!
Our addition is a rectangle measuring 18 feet by 32 feet. The longer walls are in a darker green and the shorter ones are painted a lighter green. The fireplace chimney is in an even darker green. It looks great.
You can use the same color palette in your preferred color
@@juliejohnson-hunt7134 lol i am currently living in basically a beigey-white rectangle. at least the walls have texture, but that really is it. if i add a bit of color i feel i could end up in a single-color rectangle, just a different shade lol.
and if i add color to my room, i feel it would look pretty out of place 🙈
i really need @Nick Lewis to shine some guiding light in this world of monochrome 😂
Yes, this!
I love my parent’s current home’s floor plan. It combines the best of open floor and traditional floor plans. Whoever designed it knew what they were doing. Picture like an L shaped floor plan (actually I’m simplifying for the sake of clarity here): the kitchen is in the corner of the L: to one side of the L you have an eating area and a family room (lounge area with couches, TV, books). That part is completely open concept. The other side of the L has a formal dining room next to the kitchen and then a living room area to receive or entertain guests/visitors close to the entrance. There is a threshold between the kitchen and formal dining so there could be a door if you wanted the kitchen closed off completely, but even without it, you don’t get a full view of the kitchen from the guest living room/dining room and the family room is completely private. When I go visit and stay over for Christmas, I can be watching tv in my pajamas eating cereal, while a neighbor I’ve never met comes wish my parents merry Christmas. I don’t have to see or say hello to the visitors while I’m chilling in the family room in my pjs.
Spot on, Nick! I’ve lived in an open concept home for 20 years. Love it but there are definite issues to consider!
I like that there's a separation between my kitchen andy living room... That way I don't see the mess of dishes from that night's dinner if I dont want to do it right away.
Great video! Other than a small bathroom and bedroom (which we use as my husband’s home office), our entire ground floor beyond a generous foyer with a doorway (no door), is open. You first walk into our tv area. We have a couple narrow support walls flanking our tv area, which provides some separation. We put a sectional against them and oriented the tv on the opposite wall, with two bookcases mirroring the support walls. Then our kitchen, sitting and dining areas are one large space behind those support walls. The sitting zone is defined with a rug, we put in an island to define the kitchen zone, and a rectangular dining table behind the sectional and support walls of the tv area. You can see the tv from every other zone. This set up is marvelous for being together as a family and for entertaining. But it’s terrible for privacy and quiet. One must retreat to a bedroom for THAT. Thankfully, mine has a seating area in it for quiet reading on my chaise, and a large table at which I can sit and write. Otherwise, I’m not sure my downstairs would work for me.
Love open plan. You had some interesting kitchens there. Yes to thinking about the electrical plan, sound and decluttering. I’ve got to have the TV on while cooking.
At 3:18 your clock was 12:30😮 back in the day of working batteries! Thanks for the ideas and humor in this video.
I live in a house built in 1984... open concept kitchen/dining/family room... absolutely love that I'm not separated/isolated in the kitchen while cooking...but it has a pocket door that separates it from the front of the house, we close it for lots of reasons including kid noise and pet separations and it heating choices
There’s always the classic hole in the wall with shutters. Best of both worlds as needed.
I loved my open floor plan more when my son was little. Easy to watch him. Now that he is a tweener, I wish we all had more of our own space.
Nick, you’re the best. Never change ❤
Thank you Nick for making this video! I’ve been struggling with too many choices as we update our builder grade home and the main level is very open concept. Lighting and matching hardware is my current issue haha. Appreciate all of your tips and humor that keep designing fun!
You are gifted with decor videos with humor and flow and helpful realities to make our homes our havens ❤
Nick, you’ve changed my life 😂. I love you. I now buy stuff for my Edinburgh 1880’s tenement flat that I like with not a jot of care for what other people think! I didn’t realise my taste was mid century modern! Goes with my flat luckily, and if you don’t agree I don’t care. See?! Just bought a gorgeous rug for my original sanded wooden floors. It will look gorgeous. Lots of love, Joanne xxx
How have I never heard of Only Murders in the Building?? Bonus tip! 😄
They used to have kitchens with movable shutters so they could be opened or closed when needed...so the best of both worlds. But, that practical design was swept away in the the Open Concept mania.
lol I actually have this in my 1959 built home that separates the butlers pantry and kitchen from the dining room. The wooden shutters are great for closing the spaces off for our animals as well. 😊
My grandmother's house was open concept and built in the 1970s. I know its on trend now but she definitely ruled with an iron fist on the sound. If you couldn't be quiet in the living room/dining room area you were sent outside to play in the backyard. Many of us wanted to hang out with grandma so we learned to be quiet. Sound is definitely a problem in an open concept!
Im so on board with Nicks ‘love’ of kids…i feel the exact same way 🖤
You talking about kids and how they're noisy!!! I so enjoy your sense of humor, and it's honestly one of the reasons I watch your videos - the slight sarcasm is awesome!!! 🤣🤣🤣
The smellllsss!! I can't imagine an open kitchen. Oil droplets will inevitably go everywhere. One good option I have seen is large glass dividers which can give the sense openness while maintaining the confined space of kitchen, which hopefully does have good ventilation.
When I was a kid, we had dedicated slippers for the kitchen to ensure oil droplets on the kitchen floor would not be dragged everywhere else, especially on the expensive handmade rugs in the living room or dining room.
Nick, you brighten my mornings!
About to be snarky here, but it's a pet peeve. A "concept" is not a physical thing, it's -- wait for it -- conceptual. We have open, closed, or traditional floorplans or layouts. I blame the Property Brothers for this seeping into our vernacular.
Who is using it as a non-abstract noun?
Maybe it’s a Canadian thing? For me, a plan is a plan, not a concept of a plan.
This makes me happy to get a semi open floor plan in my new house. You still see where the individual rooms used to be (small niches of the old walls are still there and visually create separate areas). The kitchen has no wall/door, but is around the corner from the living room (L-shaped floor plan) and I intend to use different wall colours for different areas. As usual, very useful tips, Nick!
Ugh, between the lack of privacy anywhere, the cooking smells and grease that normally gets on your kitchen cabinets; where does all THAT go!??
Kids, ugh. Throw them out back and tell them to come in when the street lights come on, like we had to do.
My bestie had an open floor plan in her home for awhile, it was an unhappy home until they finally moved. Even my second-hand experience wasn't good.
Especially the cooking smell
Ugh. Yes. Kitchen dust is not like regular dust. Idc who you are or what you cook. It's not the same.
Kids don’t play outside as much as past generations….too busy on their devices, usually (sorry) leads to weight issues from lack of exercise. I see it often.
@@LULC0759
The actual reason is because parents and grandparents are too scared to let their children and grandchildren outside. Too much stranger danger worry. Not to mention nosey neighbors who make phone calls and suddenly you have Boys in Blue or see-pee-ess at your door asking all kinds of questions because heaven forbid Timmy's outside on his bike or Sally is playing hopscotch with no adult supervision.
Been there, done that. It's not fair to my children but at least there's a backyard for them. When inside, they have books, games, puzzles, etc. And I am not alone in this. A lot of us are fed up with the way things are. But what can we really do?? :-/
@@LULC0759 Oh jeez, just throw them outside! You're the parent and the one in charge 🙄
Sooo ... when you have an open floor plan, design it so that it isn't an open floor plan ...
In my non-open plan kitchen, I had a little TV. Now if I want to, I use my laptop.
I like to cook and clean as I go, but I really don't want my guests to watch me do it. Most of the time most of us don't have guests.
The truth is, when you have little kids, you can keep an eye on them in open concept. They don't stay that way. In a few years, they will WANT to stay in their rooms away from you. Basements are great places to banish kids "to play" once they don't put everything in their mouths.
Your comment about having zones in a family home where everyone can find something to do without falling all over each other is very, very good. It saves marriages, even in a small home.
13:28 Love how the Os of "TOO MUCH" line up perfectly over your eyes like spectacles. lol🕶
This a great, and really needed. How about a Part 2?
- more about sound & noises
- plus, aromas and smells
Sound can get really out of control when TV is on, and appliances are being used in a kitchen at the same time. Or, dinners over and everyone sits down to watch Only Murders in the Building, when the $&@!?#%! dishwasher is turned on. Follow-up recommendations for upholstered furniture, pillows, window treatments, rugs, etc.
Cooking smells (especially the day after), outdoor clothes hung on hooks in an entry way (with *outdoor* smells lingering on them, and not in a good way), cheap candles, cheap air fresheners (
Got to the ‘proper rug size’ portion of the program in under 2 minutes. Well done!
I dislike open floor plans. I think it is such a bad idea I dread moving and house shopping. I may never move. Most people do not have large enough living rooms to shove furniture into the middle.
I’m so glad I found this channel. I’m trying to get my mom to watch bc I so badly want to renovate my home and she just is stuck in the 2000’s beige trend. I just moved in I’m not selling!
Best part? They did modern country. Barn doors. Badly installed barn doors. With wood cabinets that have artificial dents that look like actual cockroaches. It’s awful. It’s god awful. And she loves it.
You keep saying don't push your furniture against the wall in the living room, but like you, ours is a tiny room. If I move the couch from the wall there would be no way to walk into the room. It's not even a sectional, just a small couch. I know we have to work with what we have and a tiny space should be the exception... but every time you say it I get a wave of embarrassment and anxiety that my couch is against the wall. I know... Me problem. Just needed to vent. 😜
I have a 70's L shaped living room with a galley kitchen, my accent wall in my living room is a Blue wall with 3 large pictures over the sofa. It works for my space. Love your thoughts on design.
I can't wait to knock down the wall between my kitchen and dining room! I'm an Architectural Designer and was able to do my own drawings. I'm just waiting on my structural engineer to help me size my beam so I know if it can be tucked into the ceiling or not. I haven't decided if I want to change the floor between the two rooms or not. These ideas in this video are awesome! Thanks Nick!
I don't like your design style but I find your advice practical.
I can always count on laughing out loud at least once during Uncle Nick (which is how I refer to you when I am informing the dogs that we are all moving to the den and I would like them to respect the Nick and not bug me for the duration).
I would love a video on coordinating wood cabinets and flooring colors. I am remodeling and like the natural light oak cabinets and engineered or hardwood light flooring but am not sure how to pull it off. I worry that it will be impossible to match the cabinets and flooring and will end up looking funny.
I got a 2 story but had an injury that caused me to be unable to use 2nd floor temporarily and had to sleep in the 1st floor.
These are helpful so I don't stress out until I'm healed enough for stairs again.
He says…with all his furniture pushed up against the wall. 😂😂😂 Me too, btw.
…and ME!!! Lol!
Nick, I absolutely love your tips for handling children 😂😂
He didn't invent them first. My parents' go-to was banishing us to the wild outside. All day.
@karenk2409 Lol, when i was young, parents punished children with banishing them FROM the outsile🤣
Whaaaat, I have been seraching for a video like this. I JUST moved to an open floor plan house and it's cool and all but .... htf do you design your spaces? This video was heaven sent. ❤❤❤❤❤
The big takeaway for me was his segment on unifying the style and colors for the various spaces to make a cohesive whole.
Gosh, Nick, you are so lovable :) Have been watching your videos for a long time now, love them and then the way they are presented leaves me always with a smile on my face. PS My husband and I bought an old manor style house with an open kitchen . Struggled with that concept (of one space) because I love to have a really cozy living room and never liked the kitchen in view, no matter how beautiful we made it. Solution for us: we put palm trees in big copper pots between the sitting area and the kitchen. . Now it feels we are in the tropics, it looks quite exquisite and we dont see the kitchen:)
You are so sassy! LOVE you & love your videos…I’ve found them so helpful❤
Nick, you just got in a home, why build? You have the know how to create whatever you want in your current home!!! I think we would all love to see you transform the spaces to what you like. Even an addition! What great content that would be! Nick Lewis Recreates His Home!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I hate my open floor plane we built 2 yrs ago….open to the noise, to the kitchen for drop in guest to watch you eat or see a messy kitchen. Looks very similar to 4:22, screened porch behind the great room off the dining area. Also, I called BS on using the rugs to define the space, because even though I do that you walk in the front door and you can see the living room, the kitchen and the dining space all in one glance no rug fixes that. And trust me, I have area rugs, and all those spaces. And I have no transitions all I have all the same flooring except for those area rugs. Nothing makes up for walls.
You can build long sideboards between the areas. This will make the spaces more refinded and give you more storage space. We have a 9 foot one behind the sofa and it's 3 feet high
Children are loud, but at at 16:40 I heard: "Noise is something people forget about and they shouldn't because oftentimes these are really good for families and children are allowed." I thought to myself, Nick is in a generous mood today.
What I learned from this video is that I need more chickens in my living room and that I should ship my four kids to Nick's house. 😂
😂😂😊😅😂
Open concepts lack privacy too. This means whatever you are doing is visible to EVERYONE and if you have company over, NO GOSSIPING or PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS. Everyone can hear you! LOL!
I don't mind (too much) of open concept (if you can heat and cool properly) but the kitchen open to family room is okay to watch TV and keep an eye on everything but that is where the formal living room (behind French doors) is an awesome idea when entertaining. I don’t entertain anymore (get-togethers throughout the year I used to host) but I still wouldn't mind having a house large enough to have a formal living room for the holidays only. Not able to right now but maybe someday.
If you don’t like someone enough to gossip behind their back why have them in your home at all?
@@fj7865 I don't but I am surprised at the number of people who do. Also, you never know who they are friends with, so why gossip anyway?
@@fj7865 Some people get stuck in miserable situations so I can imagine they’d appreciate having that little bit of extra space. But also it’s harder to plan surprises if the kitchen’s open plan!!!
I loved that wall. The moldings, too.
I’ve never understood the appeal of an open floor plan home. In my opinion the kitchen and dining room should never be combined. Nothing says it’s time to go more than looking at someone’s kitchen after they have prepared a fabulous meal. You’re stuck debating whether to help clean it up or run out as early as possible so the ones hosting can get it done. I personally don’t want to do that to my guests. I have owned two homes, neither of which kitchen and dining were combined and my best memories are of hanging out in a separate dining room with friends and family long into the night,talking and laughing over several bottles of wine. Another advantage to separate rooms is you can manipulate the lighting in a dining room to encourage lingering, a dimly lit room with burning candles, comfortable chairs and soft background music just says, relax and stay awhile we want you here.
Open floor plan is not my favorite, but it’s what we have always had and it’s what our new forever home is going to be, so I’ve made peace with it. Thanks for bringing these things to through with cautions and solutions in you special hilarious“Nick” way. I especially like what you said about loading rooms too full. I believe rooms can be comfortably furnished but also have room to “breathe”. When I go into rooms that are stuffed too full I feel claustrophobic, but I’m far from minimalist…echo-y, cavernous and sparse doesn’t feel good either. “Breathing” is the balance and function I aim for in my home. 🏡
Electrical in the floor works so well with all the new furniture having push button recline, usb ports, etc! We did that and do not regret it. No cords to trip on.
Two things I don’t want to see all the time during my waking hours? My kitchen and a television.
In my second open concept house, there is a separate room for the TV and the kitchen is around a corner, so I don’t see it from the living room, but I can easily move from one to another