A Modern Town House; Open Plan Living & Dining

A terrace of modern townhouses in a leafy development near Bracknell

Introduction

This modern 4-bedroom townhouse with open plan living and dining is located in a leafy village in Berkshire. The current owners bought the house, brand new, 5 years ago and now live there with their two children.

Now that the children are a little bit older, their daughter is eleven and their son is eight, it has become apparent that the house is no longer working as well as it should for the family.

With this in mind the owners contacted Langdon-Hyde Interior Design to help resolve some of the functional issues as well as to advise on the decoration.

The ground floor living area layout and storage were highlighted as an immediate problem.

The over-riding goal for this project was to create a ‘grown-up’ home whilst still providing a ‘tweenager’ friendly environment.

SPECIFICS

  • to address current storage shortfall as space was needed for books and crafts and bags etc.
  • to review existing furniture with regards to its functionality and arrangement
  • to review existing decoration and consider how this might be improved
  • to review existing window dressings and consider how these might be improved

Open Plan Living & Dining

Located on the ground floor at the rear of the house the Open Plan Living & Dining space is accessed via the Entrance Hall. It lies adjacent to the Kitchen which is located at the front of the house. The current layout provides access to the south-facing rear garden through a pair of glazed doors from the dining area.

This image shows an 'L'-shaped open plan living & dining room in a modern townhouse
Before

Design Concept for Open Plan Space

The lifestyle images below were presented to the client to illustrate how the dining area might be shielded from the bright sunlight with the installation of an exterior awning and how character can be added to the lounging with the addition of some simple painted panelling.

Floor Plan Of Open Plan Living & Dining

A measured survey was carried out and an accurate floor plan drawn using C.A.D. software.

Colour Palette & Key Purchases

Key to the design was to address the current storage shortfall and to create a more cohesive space. The options were comprehensively explored and three alternative schemes presented. The client chose the third option which was similar to the existing layout but incorporated a bespoke storage cabinet and a bespoke media unit. A preference for a corner sofa was expressed to replace the brown leather 3-piece suite and bespoke window dressings designed for the glazed doors to the garden that would complement the plantation blinds present on the other windows.

A gallery-style hanging system was proposed as a means to displaying the client’s art collection in a modern and flexible way. A larger rug was called for to create a lounging zone and a simple colour scheme of blue and white for the whole area prevailed.

One particular aspect of the Open Plan Living & Dining that I was keen to address was that the access to the under-stair storage cupboard was located in the lounging area. In my opinion the positioning of the door was detrimental to the flow of the room and a separate scheme was devised to create access to this space from the Entrance Hall.

Client Presentation of the Open Plan Space

A colour rendered floor plan and 3D model were produced to demonstrate how the proposed furniture would fit into the space. The electrical sockets, radiators, windows, doors and stair overhang were all taken into consideration when creating the scheme. The garden was also given some thought to further enhance the family’s lifestyle.

Proposed Layout including the patio area

Summary

A time scale of 10 weeks was allocated to design and implement this project in time for the clients’ guests to stay for the summer holiday. Due to unforeseen circumstances the deadline was extended to enable the build of the cabinetry prior to the redecoration.

My Services

If you would like my help designing your home you can find a list of My Services and prices here.

Useful Links

Internal

EXTERNAL