Dining rooms ditched by open planners

Friday, 6 January 2012 10:54 AM

Open plan living is becoming more and more popular as householders ditch traditional dining rooms, hallways and kitchens.

As many as one in five homeowners have taken a sledgehammer to walls to open up their homes and the same proportion plan to do similar according to analysis by Lloyds TSB Home Insurance.

The biggest loser is the single purpose dining room, sacrificed by a third, with many people adopting a multi-purpose kitchen and dining room, often considered the hallmark of open plan living.

Such rooms have grown in popularity by 50 per cent in a generation, reflecting the changes in people's lifestyles.

Thirty per cent of today's homes have a kitchen/dining room and many use it as a social hub.

Simon Hamilton, international director at the British Institute of Interior Design, said: "Property particulars are starting to look very different.

"Houses, especially older properties, were designed with people's lives in mind, with set rooms for set activities, but as times change so does what we want from our homes.

"With our increasingly hectic lifestyles convenience and sociability have become key – which is why kitchen diners and games rooms have grown in popularity. In the next 10 years, the majority of houses will be designed in this style."

However the kitchen diner is not the only addition, 26 per cent of today's homes now have a utility room, 23 per cent an en-suite, 20 per cent a study, three per cent a wet room and six per cent a games room/den.

A lot of people are attempting to add value to their homes by creating more space, with 10 per cent spending over £35k and five per cent investing over £50k.

Paula Llewellyn, head of marketing services at Lloyds TSB Home Insurance said: "Rather than moving, people are adjusting their own property to create their dream home and the living space they need and it’s clear to see that open plan living is what modern families want."

Lloyds TSB Home Insurance have launched a 'My Favourite Room' competition, giving entrants a chance to show off their favourite room and win £10,000.

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While it isn't the absolute most important part of the move, the interior and decoration of your home is pretty vital and will need to take up a fair bit of your thinking in the days leading up to and after the big day. It is always a good idea to try to make your own house a personalised homage to your tastes, so you're not just pandering to what experts have said, you are thinking it through and creating an abode that is unique.

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