Kieran McCarthy: Why 'open plan fatigue' is real — and how to design intrigue back into your home

From strategic 'nooks' to the nifty magic of pocket doors, open-plan spaces are all about balancing flow with a little bit of privacy

Kieran McCarthy: "When you walk into an open-plan space I think it is nice if you can’t see all of it at once. This might mean designing in a dining nook or perhaps the living area might be tucked around a corner so you can't see it all in one go. This provides the added benefit of some privacy for those in the dining or living areas if a stranger is welcomed into the kitchen area."

Hi Kieran,
We are planning a larger open-plan kitchen, dining and living space but we’ve seen homes where it feels too vast and lacking in atmosphere.
How do you design open-plan spaces in large homes so they feel warm and usable?
Louise, Foxrock, Dublin

Hello Louise,
I love this question and it really is vital to the enjoyment of your new home — whether it’s an upgrade to a modest house or a new build luxury home, the principles are the same. The advent of the open plan space really gained ground during the Celtic Tiger. Open plan living became the ultimate prize in terms of opulent home living and became a must-have when building or renovating your house. But are we suffering from ‘open plan fatigue’? Has it lost some of its sheen? What needs to be fixed?