How to Remodel an Open Concept
The order the work happens in, and what to settle before anything is ordered. Removing one wall, and dealing with everything that wall was doing.
BeforeAfter
- 1
Work out what the room has to do
An open concept remodel is a single decision with a long tail. The wall comes out and the two rooms become one — but the beam has to go somewhere, the flooring has to reconcile, the lighting has to work as one plan, and the noise has nowhere left to stop.
- 2
Decide what is actually changing
On this project the work touches structural wall and beam, flooring across both rooms, ceiling line, unified lighting plan — and often skirting and trim and acoustic treatment. Settling that list first is what stops a remodel growing sideways once it has started.
- 3
Hold the dimensions
Whatever the finishes, these do not move. Decide early whether the beam is flush or dropped — a dropped beam is not a failure, it keeps the zones legible. Run flooring in one direction across the whole space; a change of direction at the old wall line reads as a scar. Keep 42in of route from the kitchen work zone through to the seating.
- 4
Plan the light before the finishes
One plan, several circuits. The kitchen half needs task light the living half must never be subjected to, so switch them separately and let the transition happen through a shared ambient layer rather than a hard line.
- 5
Check it against the room you have
Photograph the space and render it before anything is ordered. A Standard run costs 4 credits and a new account starts with 4, so the whole thing can be seen before a single decision is paid for.
Questions
- What should I decide first in an open concept remodel?
- An open concept remodel is a single decision with a long tail. The wall comes out and the two rooms become one — but the beam has to go somewhere, the flooring has to reconcile, the lighting has to work as one plan, and the noise has nowhere left to stop.
- What goes wrong most often?
- The wall removed and the two lighting schemes left in place, so the ceiling shows exactly where the wall was. Flooring changed direction at the old wall line.
- Will it work in a small open concept?
- Opening up a small house does not always help. Two 11ft rooms can work better than one 22ft room with no walls to place anything against — a wide cased opening often gets the light and sightlines without losing the wall.
- Can I see it on my own open concept before starting?
- Yes — photograph the space and run it through the Studio. It is generated imagery, so compare the render against your photo rather than treating it as a plan.