My Home's Open Plan Layout Made Sense Before the Toddlers Turned Into Teens — Now the Lack of Walls Seems Like a Really, Really Bad Idea
I'm starting to think I need some division within our open-plan layout — I'm certain it will make for a happier household
There are certain moments when, no matter how much you might adore the people you share your home with, you just need to escape. It's a feeling I know all too well. Everything is getting a bit overwhelming, noisy, fraught even, and to prevent the pan from boiling over, you need to be able to shut yourself away in a quiet space, just to take a breath and recalibrate.
Having these pockets of private space is important for every member of the household and, now that my toddlers have become teens, I'm finding it more important than ever – not just for me, but for them too. Architect and engineer Kimberley Peck sums up the issue I'm having perfectly. "Open-plan layouts can work very well when children are young because sightlines are useful and family life tends to happen collectively. As children get older, the same openness can become difficult. Someone is studying, someone is watching television, someone has friends over, someone is on a call, and suddenly every activity belongs to everyone."
Other than wondering whether open-plan layouts are still in style, I am in no doubt that the present layout of our house just isn't working — yes, we all have our bedrooms to retreat to, but I don't want the kids to feel they have to totally shut themselves off in order to put a bit of space between them and us. With a remodel and extension project on the horizon, I want to get some expert opinions on the wisdom of reinstating a few walls in the process – in short, does my open-plan layout need to go?
An architect and engineer with 25 years in New York, Kimberly Peck designs modern homes shaped by The Edit: remove the unnecessary, refine what remains, and let it function for a modern life. Her work brings modernism into dialogue with the city’s historic homes – brownstones, lofts, and upstate retreats – without chasing trends.
Why Do Open-plan Layouts Make Family Life Hard?
While open-plan living suits younger families or households where children have flown the nest well, in bustling noisy homes with teens, they don't always work.
A warren of small rooms is definitely not what I am aiming for here, but at present the open nature of the kitchen, dining room and snug isn't working. The snug often gets used as a home office, making it nigh on impossible to concentrate once my son gets home from school and starts creating his culinary magic in the kitchen. Likewise, should my daughter and her friends decide to watch a movie in the snug or film a TikTok in the dining room, I get banished from the kitchen — you see the issue.
Philip Thomas Vanderford, principal and founder of Studio Thomas James, agrees that a lack of walls can be problematic for families at a certain stage in life. "Open planning can be wonderful with young children because parents naturally want everyone within sight — but family life changes dramatically as children become teenagers. Suddenly there are different schedules, friends coming over, televisions, music, homework — and people all together who don’t necessarily want to participate in the same activity at the same time."
So what, according to Philip, is the answer? "There is a sophisticated middle ground between a collection of closed-off rooms and one enormous space containing the kitchen, dining room and living room. I think we’re moving beyond the idea that removing walls automatically improves a house. The answer isn’t necessarily putting every wall back. I prefer what I think of as 'controlled openness.'"
As principal and founder of Studio Thomas James, Philip Thomas Vanderford has built a portfolio of projects rich in expression, all seemingly understated but that are highly detailed with their own unique emotional intelligence. His studio was a featured designer at Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas in 2020 and Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach in 2023, won HGTV’s Designer of the Year Award in 2021, and has been on D Home’s list of Best Designers for multiple years running.
Should Teen Parents Consider Reinstating walls?
Keeping some walls in place is a good idea if you want a little separation — the addition of glazed sliding doors helps foster a sense of togetherness too.
While the idea of creating some separation between the ground floor spaces in order to make it easier for everyone to go about their separate business is an appealing one, what concerns me is that there are times when a more open layout makes sense — I don't have a sprawling floorplan and the lack of walls in the open-plan kitchen extension really helps here when we're entertaining, for example.
Kimberley Peck feels that reinstating walls should definitely not be the immediate response to a need for greater separation. "I think the mistake is assuming that teenagers simply need more privacy. What they really need is more control over when they are connected to the rest of the house and when they are not.
"I wouldn’t automatically start by putting all the walls back," continues Kimberley. "First I’d identify what the problem actually is. Visual separation, acoustic privacy and simply having a different place to sit are three different things and require different architectural responses. For example, a bookcase or partial room divider can create a sense of separation, but it won’t solve a noise problem. If sound is the issue, you need a space that can genuinely close."
For us, it is a mixture of issues — sometimes sound, other times a need for complete privacy. Interior design Mia Spencer, founder of House by Mia, advocates bringing back a wall or two where genuine separation is required. "For those who already have an open-plan layout I often advise putting back a wall, usually to the front sitting room, or at least sliding doors that can be closed. Glazed Crittall-style or vintage wood are my favorites. You can then have comfy seating (and even a television if you want) in both spaces for when you all need a bit of your own space."
Mia Spencer is an interior designer and founder of House By Mia. With 15 years of corporate design experience, an MA from Greenwich University School of Architecture, a pop-up art gallery and food writing adventures to her name, in 2017, after completing her interior design training, House by Mia was born.
Striking a Balance With a Flexible Layout
Having the ability to open and close spaces up to one another strikes a good balance between open-plan and separate rooms.
It's becoming clear that, without a huge space to work with, what many families at this stage of life need is options. Sometimes we want to be together, other times we don't.
Kyle Landis, a team leader at Landis Architects, says that this need for flexibility is common. "Most families are not asking us to recreate a completely closed floor plan. Instead, they want a semi-open layout that balances connection with privacy. We often keep the kitchen and family room open to one another, creating a central place where everyone naturally gathers, while giving nearby spaces, such as a den, dining room, living room, or home office, a more defined purpose and a door that can close. For families with teenagers, that combination offers togetherness without requiring everyone to share the same activity, conversation, or noise level all the time."
Philip Thomas Vanderford agrees that creating spaces that can adapt as and when needed is the best way forward, and also points out that even small home design can benefit from this approach, which is music to my ears. "Flexibility is more luxurious than square footage. A great family house allows everyone to come together when they want to and retreat when they don’t. Large cased openings, pocket doors, glazed partitions and strategically placed walls can preserve long sight lines and natural light while still allowing rooms to be acoustically separated. That’s far more useful than simply creating the largest possible opening between two spaces."
That said, while the concept of spaces that can be opened and closed as the need arises is a good one, Kyle Landis is keen to point out that, if travelling noise is an issue (which it often is here), extra consideration needs to go into the separation methods used. "Pocket doors, glazed doors, or wide cased openings with doors can preserve a sense of openness while allowing a room to be closed when privacy is needed, but it is important to distinguish visual separation from acoustic separation. A screen, open bookcase, curtain, or partial wall can define a zone and make an open concept feel more cozy, but it will do relatively little to contain conversations, television, music, or gaming noise. If sound control is the priority, you need a full-height partition and a properly fitted door. Insulation within the wall, solid-core doors, and careful sealing around openings can make the new room substantially more effective."
Perfect for creating a little privacy where needed, the adjustable louvres of this divider also let you decide how much of a view you'll allow through.
This sturdy double-sided shelving unit works very nicely as a room divider — allowing you to zone spaces and display your favorite pieces.
Featuring panels of natural rattan on a black frame, this divider is ideal for creating a peaceful little corner in a living space, or even a dressing room in a bedroom.
Kyle Landis serves as the Senior Director of Marketing & Strategy and a Team Leader at Landis, where he brings both strategic leadership and hands-on expertise to the organization. As a Team Leader, he acts as a trusted advocate for his clients, ensuring seamless communication and collaboration throughout the design and construction of their homes. In 2025, Kyle was named to Pro Remodeler Magazine’s 40 Under 40, recognizing the industry’s brightest emerging leaders.
Creating Visual Separation Is Sometimes Enough
This layout keeps kitchen, dining and living areas open yet gives each space its own identity.
The experts have managed to convince me that adding a glazed door between the snug and dining room is what needs to be done in order to make the ground floor a more flexible space, but I'm keen to know what other design tricks they might have up their sleeves when it comes to creating distinct zones within open-plan spaces.
Architect Megan Ebanks, founder of MEA Studio, reveals how she likes to approach the design of an open layout. "Within a single space, we try to make it provide a range of functions. A nook with a lower ceiling over it, a window seat in a bay, a corner formed by joinery that reads as a destination rather than as leftover space.
"The real test is whether two people can use the space differently at the same time," continues Megan. "We might zone areas using sliding partitions, but sometimes we just use a change of floor finish, a lowered ceiling or an indented wall. For example, in our Poet's Townhouse project (above), the kitchen is visible from the sitting room but is tucked around a corner so it feels separate. That is a very different experience from two people at opposite ends of an empty rectangle."
Megan Ebanks (BA(Hons)DipArch RIBA), founded MEA, a RIBA Chartered Practice, in 2019. MEA is known for blending the historic with the contemporary, creating a sense of timeless luxury in heritage and modern buildings. Before founding MEA, Megan worked on high-profile projects for Foster + Partners and Bennetts Associates, including large-scale new build offices in the Kings Cross Development and the City of London, the refurbishment of significant listed buildings in an Oxbridge University and a new HQ for a prestigious Royal College.
Could an Extension Resolve the Open-Plan Issue?
If there is scope to extend in order to create some separate, quieter spaces, this can make family life run smoother.
While adding a glass partition with doors between the snug and the dining area is definitely going to help things, I'm wondering whether for me, and others struggling to give everyone their own space, an extension might be the best way forward.
"An addition may be the right answer when the existing house simply does not contain enough space for the family’s changing needs," picks up Kyle Landis. "However, the goal should be to add a space with a clear long-term purpose, such as a family room, study, bedroom, or flexible den, rather than merely creating more square footage. A successful addition can also relieve pressure on the open-plan area, allowing it to remain the social heart of the home while giving family members somewhere quieter to work, relax, or spend time with friends."
"I would think very carefully before extending a house simply to solve this problem," picks up Philip Thomas Vanderford. "Sometimes 150 square feet that is properly enclosed and intelligently planned is far more useful than adding another 500 square feet to an already oversized open room."
That said, Philip points out that if your addition will genuinely add a useful space for household members to retreat to, it could be worth doing, even on a small scale. "Secondary living spaces become increasingly important as families grow
A library, family room, upstairs den or smaller sitting room gives people somewhere to retreat without requiring an enormous amount of additional square footage."
The Wisdom of Open Plan Kitchen Diners in Family Homes
While a sociable kitchen layout can work well, creating some separation between cooking and dining areas is a wise idea in busy households.
In our previous house, a Victorian terrace, I longed for an open-plan kitchen diner, where I could keep an eye on my toddler while preparing meals. Now I have one, I often dream about being able to hide away while cooking rather than listening to a running commentary from my know-it-all teens on everything I am doing wrong. There are also times (usually when things are not quite going to plan) when, as much as I love to entertain, it would be nice not to be quite so on view.
"Kitchens are particularly interesting in this conversation," muses Phillip Thomas Vanderford. "Somewhere along the way, we decided that a kitchen had to be completely exposed to the principal living room for a house to feel modern. I don’t think that’s true at all. A kitchen can have a very clear architectural identity and still feel completely connected to the way a family lives."
But how do you achieve this? Megan Ebanks suggests using level changes rather than physical divides. "A lot of our work is extensions to period properties, and those houses are rarely flat. There are half-landings, closet wings, and rooms that step down at the back because the ground does. Rather than flattening all that out, we use it. Dropping the floor of a rear extension by a few steps buys you ceiling height and gives you the separation at the same time. So, with different levels someone at the kitchen table could sit a metre below someone in the room behind, and the two are unmistakably in different places. You can still see each other. You can still say something across the gap. But you are not in the same room, and everyone in the house understands that without being told."
Choosing Flexibility Over Set Boundaries
Creating pockets meant for solace can help everyone feel more able to create distance within the home.
For me, there is a clear route I need to take to make life run smoother for everyone in my home — and that means turning the snug into its own room, complete with glazed walls (which I plan on fitting with blinds) and a sliding door. It will give the teens their own den and, when needed, me a home office space until I get around to turning my garden room ideas into a reality. Once we start work on the remodel I am also going to look into creating a split level kitchen island that will allow me to hide some of my food prep from view.
Kimberley Peck is all for creating a more adaptable layout as families grow. "The most useful layouts are often those that allow different degrees of connection: a room adjacent to the main living space that can remain open most of the time but close when someone needs privacy, or a series of connected rooms rather than one uninterrupted volume.
"More broadly, I think family homes should be designed with the understanding that the family will change," adds Kimberly. "The ideal plan for a five-year-old is unlikely to be the ideal plan for a fifteen-year-old."
Even if you decide to keep an open-plan concept in your home, there are several key open-plan layout mistakes worth being aware of — putting them right could just make your home more usable for all members of the household without any need for an addition or remodel.
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