BROKEN-PLAN LIVING
Hilda knocked two rooms into one to create a kitchen-diner with clearly defined zones. Jo advises on how you can do something similar
What is broken-plan living? Essentially, it’s like open-plan living, but with defined zones. These could include a kitchen zone, a social zone with a sofa area or dining table, a work zone with a desk space or a quiet nook for reading and downtime. Zones can be created by dividing walls that split a room in half, a large bookcase breaking up a space or even a kitchen island separating the kitchen from a dining or living area. Opening up a space If you have an area of your home in which you want a broken-plan layout and there is a structural wall in place, it may be cheaper and easier for you to split this wall in half rather than removing it completely. This will allow you to create a space either side of it. To let light flow through the wall you could insert glass bricks, or even turn part of it into shelving or a through fireplace. Clever use of mirrors can also help bounce light into darker areas.
Creating divides If you already have an open-plan space but want to divide it up to create a more brokenplan feel, you can use large bookshelves or dividing screens that suit your decorating scheme. Changing the levels of the space is another way to create zones – this may be something that’s more easily done during the course of a building project, although not impossible to achieve later on with some creative carpentry. Defining zones A great way to mark out zones in a broken-plan space is to use different types of flooring in each – for example, carpet in a living area and tiles in a kitchen. Using rugs can create this same effect if you already have all your flooring installed. You could even paint each zone a different colour.