The floor plan that works best for your home depends on your needs! Do you want to be able to watch your children or the TV from your kitchen? Do you prefer having a dedicated space where you have more control over your surroundings? There are advantages and disadvantages with any type of floor plan, so let us help you decide what fits your situation best.

What Is an Open Floor Plan?

An open floor plan is a type of home design style where, instead of walls separating rooms for different purposes, there is one open space that creates a single, much larger room. Open floor plans will sometimes combine a living room with a kitchen creating clear sight lines from one side of the space to the next. Open floor plans are often considered more multi-functional than other types of floor plans because the single large space must accommodate many different needs.

What Is a Traditional Floor Plan?

A traditional floor plan is a home design style where there are several smaller rooms divided by walls and doors and each room is often assigned its own purpose. For example, if there are five separate rooms on a home's main floor, one might be assigned as an office, another as a dining area, a family room, a master bedroom, a kitchen, etc.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Floor Plans

There are advantages and disadvantages to both open floor plans and traditional floor plans. Learn more about different aspects of home design and decide what best fits your needs:

• Space: A room with an open floor plan can make a space feel bigger and more inviting. Several separate rooms allow for more storage options like more walls for cabinet space.
• Privacy: Traditional floor plans might feel cramped compared to open floor plans but can give you more privacy with dedicated spaces to enjoy. If you work from home and have a dedicated room for a home office, you'll have more control over your environment for video calls, for instance.
• Social interaction: One open room that includes a living area and a kitchen can make it easier to communicate during parties or even when your family is trying to catch up after a long day.
• Sightlines: If your kitchen is connected to space with a big table or a play area, it's much easier to keep an eye on kids while you're cooking (or help them stay focused on homework!)
• Light: Depending on the window placement, open floor plans might have more natural light which can reduce electricity costs.
• Sensory Input (noise, smells, temperature): Volume levels can be more difficult to control in one shared room, which can also make it easier to get distracted. The same thing goes for smells (which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your cooking skills). It might also be challenging to control the temperature. Instead of focusing the heat or A/C on one small room, you need the temperature to circulate in a much larger area.
• Aesthetic: If you like hanging art, you might prefer a traditional floor plan with more wall space for decorations.
• Resale value: If you plan to resell your home in the future, the market in your area might have a preference between open concepts and traditional concepts which could make it easier or more difficult to sell your home.

The best home style is the one that meets your needs. If you're looking to buy a new home, Freedom Homes™ partners can put you in touch with a local real estate agent who can assist you with your home search. You can also get cash rewards when you buy and sell a home through Freedom Homes.* Learn more about Freedom Homes.

* Cash Rewards are provided by HomeAdvantage Partners. HomeAdvantage Partners is not affiliated with Freedom Mortgage Corporation. Freedom Mortgage Corporation is not responsible for the program provided by HomeAdvantage. Obtaining a mortgage from Freedom Mortgage Corporation is optional and not required to participate in the program offered by HomeAdvantage. The borrower may arrange for financing with any lender. Freedom Mortgage Corporation is not licensed as a real estate broker, and its employees are not authorized to perform, nor do they perform, any activity that is or could be construed as unlicensed real estate activity.

Home buyers and sellers must use a real estate agent in the Home Advantage network to be eligible for Cash Rewards and the prospective purchaser or seller of real estate property must be eighteen (18) years of age or older. In some cases, a real estate agent in the HomeAdvantage network may not be available. If you are currently working with a real estate agent, this is not a solicitation.

Cash Rewards may be in the form of a closing cost credit disclosed on the Closing Disclosure or a reduced real estate commission with the exception of the following states where a check will be issued after closing; AL, AK, IA, KS, LA, MS, MO, OK, OR and TN.