​Last week, I wrote specifically about different floorplans, and the pros and cons of open versus closed plans... and the options in between.  But I didn't include the most important factors in choosing a plan: the people living inside.  ​Some old homes have exactly what anyone would need, and some - though beloved - leave something to be desired.  No plan is perfect for every situation, but it takes assessing your needs and wants to choose and set up the perfect space.

​For anyone active in old house circles there is a distain for open floor plans, and over the course of the pandemic design preferences have begun to shift away from the open layouts and wide great rooms.  There is more to how these design trends flow and function than we think: and applying a "good vs. bad" dichotomy to design doesn't help anyone.  It's okay to have different preferences.  But like with "timeless design," I'd rather see people nail down their preferences than try to force a style onto a house where it doesn't fit.  

The real need is for families to be honest about how they are using their spaces.  

How do you know what floorplan, historic or otherwise, is best for you?  Back in February, Martha Stewart posted an article by Kelsey Mulvey outlining the shift away from the open floorplans that have dominated design for the last several decades.  Why?  What is the benefit of a closed floorplan?  What are the benefits of an open one?

The answers really depend on a lot of things.  No preference in design is inherently good or bad, preferences are based on a lot of nuances in how each person lives and interacts within their environment.  What I will add is that despite the popularity of openness in the past few decades, architects and designers have added semi-private spaces to overall plans. This shifts the narrative from complete openness to include spaces that are intimate and flexible to ever-changing needs of families. Spaces like finished basements, upstairs lofts, and game rooms add that separated space that the noise of a fully open great room necessitates.