Designing a functional open-plan kitchen and living space

Start With the Structure, Not the Pinterest Board

Almost every open-plan project in Edinburgh begins with the same sentence: "We'd like to take this wall out." Before you picture a breakfast bar, find out what that wall is actually doing. In the city's Georgian and Victorian terraces, and in the tenements of Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Leith and Morningside, internal walls are a mixture of lath-and-plaster on timber studs, brick, and solid rubble stone bedded in lime mortar. Some merely divide rooms. Others carry the floor above, or stiffen the building.

A few clues help, though none replace proper advice:

• The wall is unusually thick — 300mm or more in stone is a strong hint it is structural.
• Floor joists stop at the wall rather than running straight past it.
• A chimney breast, or a wall sitting directly above one on the floor below.
• The wall lines up with a wall in the flat underneath, or continues into the neighbouring property.

Removing a load-bearing wall usually means a steel goalpost frame or a beam on padstones, with the ends of the remaining masonry properly supported. That work needs a building warrant from the City of Edinburgh Council, and in tenements you must also serve notice on adjoining owners — above, below and alongside — before starting. Flats in conservation areas, and any listed building, may need listed building consent or conservation area consent as well. An hour or two of a structural engineer's time is the cheapest part of the whole job.

Zone the Space Without Putting Walls Back

Open plan does not mean undefined. Think of the room as three overlapping zones: cooking, eating and relaxing, plus a clear circulation route between them. Allow at least 1,000mm of walking space around a kitchen run, and 1,100mm between an island and the units behind it if two people will pass. A work triangle of sink, hob and fridge that still functions matters more than symmetry.

You can signal zones without blocking sightlines: a change of floor finish, a dropped ceiling over the kitchen, a different wall colour, or a run of pendant lights over the island. Position the sink so you face into the room rather than a blank wall, and keep the dishwasher and bin near the dining side where clearing up happens.

Ventilation, Damp and Cooking Smells

Edinburgh's solid stone walls and older windows are not naturally well ventilated, and an open-plan kitchen spreads moisture and cooking smells through the whole floor. A ducted extractor hood to an outside wall is worth the effort: keep the run short, under about three metres, with as few bends as possible, and use rigid ducting rather than flexible hose. Recirculating filters deal with grease and some odours but remove almost no moisture.

Background ventilation still matters. Trickle vents, or a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery if you are renovating throughout, will help control condensation. If you are closing off a chimney, leave ventilation in the flue or the damp will find another way out — usually through your plaster.

Sound, Heat and the Flat Below

In a tenement, your new open-plan ceiling may well be your neighbour's floor. Recessed downlights cut into that separating structure and can turn a quiet flat into a noisy one, so favour surface-mounted fittings and track lighting. Hard floors and large open volumes bounce sound, so rugs, upholstered furniture and soft window dressings earn their keep.

Be honest about heating too. Removing a wall often means removing radiators, and an open space needs emitters sized for the new volume, not the old rooms. Underfloor heating needs enough floor build-up and insulation to work properly; if a heat pump is planned, larger radiators running at lower temperatures will serve you better than small ones pushed hard.

Let the Light In

Many Edinburgh flats are deep and narrow, with light only at the front and rear. Rooflights, a glazed internal door, or a borrowed-light window above a half-height wall can carry daylight into the middle of the plan. In conservation areas and listed buildings, rooflights and external changes need consent, so check before ordering. Kitchen task lighting, dimmable living lighting and a little warm wall washing will make the space usable after dark, not just photogenic at noon.

Sequencing, Budget and Living Through It

The order of work is rarely glamorous but always decisive: engineer's drawings and building warrant first, then structural work, then first fix electrics and plumbing, then plastering and kitchen installation, then flooring and decoration. Expect dust to travel further than you think, and plan for the demolition phase to be the noisiest and messiest fortnight.

• Budget a contingency of around ten per cent for surprises behind old plaster.
• Book the kitchen after the warrant is granted, not before.
• Keep a temporary sink and kettle working if you are staying put.
• Photograph every wall before it is closed up, for future reference.

Done well, an open-plan kitchen and living space brings light and company into the busiest part of the home. Done in the right order, it also stays warm, quiet and dry through a Scottish winter.