9 Prime Examples of ‘Broken-Plan’ Rooms
Clever solutions like half walls and interior glass doors bring intimacy to an open floor plan
Victoria Harrison
January 4, 2018
Editor, Houzz UK and Ireland
Love the airiness of an open-plan layout but want to retain some pockets of privacy and coziness? A “broken-plan” layout could be just the ticket. Here are nine rooms on Houzz that show you how to do it with style.
1. Get a glass partition wall. This is a really neat solution for sectioning off an open-plan kitchen from a living space without blocking the light flow from one side to the other.
By dividing the room with glass panels taken right up to the ceiling, there is a distinct division of the space, but the cooking and relaxing areas still stay intrinsically linked. None of the sense of height and space of the large room is lost, as it would be with a solid partition wall.
By dividing the room with glass panels taken right up to the ceiling, there is a distinct division of the space, but the cooking and relaxing areas still stay intrinsically linked. None of the sense of height and space of the large room is lost, as it would be with a solid partition wall.
2. Maximize a half wall. The layout of the top floor of this London house is open-plan at heart, but the half wall between the kitchen and the living space divides the room to create two distinct zones while solving the common dilemma of where to put the TV in an open-plan space.
If you want to introduce an element of broken-plan living into an open-plan space without interrupting any sightlines, a low wall like this a neat solution. It also allows you to bring in the practical elements often missing in an open-plan space, such as storage or, as in this case, a low bench seat.
If you want to introduce an element of broken-plan living into an open-plan space without interrupting any sightlines, a low wall like this a neat solution. It also allows you to bring in the practical elements often missing in an open-plan space, such as storage or, as in this case, a low bench seat.
3. Divide with a fireplace. Here, a large open-plan living area is neatly divided with the addition of a tall fireplace with see-through glass doors on both sides, allowing a line of sight from one side to the other while clearly separating the space into two living areas — a main seating area on this side and a smaller den behind.
The neat firewood “wall” next to the fireplace is a practical addition and provides another division between the two spaces.
The neat firewood “wall” next to the fireplace is a practical addition and provides another division between the two spaces.
4. Put in open shelving. Every inch of space has to work hard in this tiny studio apartment, so the clever central dividing wall fulfills multiple functions. The open shelving provides much-needed storage while clearly dividing the sleeping and living areas. By keeping the shelving open, light filters through to the “bedroom” from the “living room.”
One of the cleverest aspects of this studio, though, is the rotating central element in the shelving unit. It swivels to allow the TV to be viewed from the living space or the sleeping area behind the unit.
6 Clever Studios Make Multitasking Beautiful
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5. Bring bifold doors indoors. A popular choice for connecting the indoors to the outside, bifold doors can also be a smart solution if you want to add flexibility to an open-plan ground floor.
Here, they offer the option to close off the kitchen-dining area from the rest of the house when required, but they fold back almost invisibly against the wall when not in use.
Here, they offer the option to close off the kitchen-dining area from the rest of the house when required, but they fold back almost invisibly against the wall when not in use.
6. Carve out an office. If your main living area also needs to double up as an office space, you’ll probably want to create a quieter working zone away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In an open-plan layout, this can be difficult to do, but the beauty of a broken-plan design like this, with a glass wall dividing the space into two clear areas, is that you gain an extra room without cutting off light and garden views.
7. Try extra-wide doorways. The downstairs rooms in this new-build home are connected via oversize room openings in place of interior doors. The doorways allow the spaces to feel visually connected while giving pockets of privacy in each room.
This is the view from the opposite direction. It nicely demonstrates how the ground-floor layout flows while enabling each space to retain a separate identity.
8. Zone with contrasting colors. This open-plan living room and kitchen are neatly divided without the need for walls, thanks to a clear change of floor material and wall color. The deep inky blue of the living room creates a den-like space that feels warm and inviting, while the white walls of the kitchen beyond offer a bright and airy contrast.
Switching from warm wooden floorboards in the den area to industrial-style concrete in the kitchen area further reinforces this division of space.
Switching from warm wooden floorboards in the den area to industrial-style concrete in the kitchen area further reinforces this division of space.
9. Build a central storage unit. This is another example of a hardworking dividing wall creating clearly marked zones and breaking up an open-plan room.
By placing the storage wall right in the center of the space, the large room becomes two connected but individual areas. And by building in lots of storage, the dividing wall works hard for its keep, allowing everyday items to be stashed out of sight and keeping the large room clutter-free.
More
Open Plan Not Your Thing? Try ‘Broken Plan’
Design Workshop: How to Separate Space in an Open Floor Plan
Open-Plan Living: Partition Your Way to Comfortable Spaces
By placing the storage wall right in the center of the space, the large room becomes two connected but individual areas. And by building in lots of storage, the dividing wall works hard for its keep, allowing everyday items to be stashed out of sight and keeping the large room clutter-free.
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Open Plan Not Your Thing? Try ‘Broken Plan’
Design Workshop: How to Separate Space in an Open Floor Plan
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I love the extra wide hallways. It makes the house look like a palace.
My floor plan is the best of both open and closed plans; traffic can circulate among all rooms with no dead-ends, there are many open sight lines, yet there is also some separation by walls and French doors. It is a larger home, though.