New York Loft style open plan - where to start from?

7 years ago

Hi, we are planning an
open plan kitchen extension; however we feel overwhelmed by the number of
decisions we have to make. The open plan area is highlighted in light blue in
the diagram below. A vertical support beam is required in the middle of the
room as shown with the blue dot.

We will be having a 6
meter wide sliding doors to the garden and considering installing 2 lanterns on
the flat roof (although thinking of having one bigger lantern instead).

What we are struggling
to decide on is how to achieve the New York loft style/soft industrial look. We have
an 8 seater solid dark oak table with a couple of matching cabinets. We have
been thinking of a white/grey/anthracite kitchen with a breakfast table (wood
or wood effect) however not sure whether to go for a combination of the colours
and or whether to go for gloss or mat. It makes sense to have a wall kitchen to
the left. We have also been thinking for an exposed brick wall (right
wall opposite kitchen) to bring the industrial element to it with the remaining
walls painted in white. Also as we are installing under floor heating the
dilemma is what colour floor to use (most likely LVT or laminate) and how
to zone the kitchen with the rest of the room. Are there any dos or don’ts that
we should be considering in this project to make the design enjoyable rather
than stressful?

We would be grateful
if you could share your opinion with us!!

Thanks so much

Featured Answer

Carolina

7 years ago

I love the suggestion that OnePlan made. Think Jonathan makes a good point. Since you're investing in a large open plan extension, it would also be a good investment to employ a designer who can give you a design for the best use of space. It will be a fraction of the cost of the extension, but will give you the best result. If you get a designer who can give you a 3D visualisation of the proposals, it will give you a good idea of what you're aiming for.

Here on Houzz I'm seeing quite a lot of dilemmas of people who've invested in an extension without thinking about how it will look and be used when finished. Then they have all that space, but are struggling with layout and furnishing.

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Comments (14)

kl55hp
7 years ago
We are in the middle of building a rear extension on a similar 'existing' floor plan. There is so much I could say! I'll limit myself!

Our proposed floor plan is different in that we didn't go to the side like you, but further out the back. We have a long garden. That meant we could keep both existing reception rooms intact as (1) cosy sitting room; (2) a playroom/music room. We put a small cloakroom and then a small utility room immediately after the stairs opening onto a short corridor that opens into the open plan area. We kept the area to the side of the house free for a garage/storage area; and for access to the garden when we get around to doing it up! That said, there are several advantages in your sketch. Your external side wall can be better insulated; and your cloakroom and utility will be bigger.

One thing that has worked well for us is that our builder organised a rectangular Elliott unit in the front are of the house. It has two rooms - one for his headquarters; and one for our makeshift kitchen. We are now very tired of eating in The Mess Hut (as we call it) but it has meant that we could carry on living at our property for the entire build.

We have a structural vertical support in a very similar location to your proposal. We have made it part of a kitchen island.

We opted for a pitched zinc roof, with velux windows. It has given the room fabulous height in the centre of the room, and we kept the side walls relatively low so as not to bother the neighbours. We have raked windows above the rear doors letting in even more light.

Our open space is more or less four quadrants: 1) kitchen in a C shape plus island 2) dining table beside large glass doors to garden and separated from kitchen by raised counter top; 3) sofa area around a woodburner beside glass doors to garden; and 4) kids' homework/computer area separated from the kitchen by the island, and from the sofa area by open cube bookshelf.

We got our doors from Origin, via a local supplier. It's early days but we are very happy with them.

I have renovated before; this has helped a lot. And thankfully, our kids are now old enough not to eat screws.

There have been many stressful times; and a long gestation period before we started. But we are really pleased and are certain that it will be worth the wait and hardwork.

I am spending a lot of time on Houzz at present as we are coming into the decorating and finishing phase. I am nervous that I will mess it up in the home stretch! So I seek lots of advice, and procrastinate on our decisions looking at other people's dilemmas!

Good luck!
Panikos thanked kl55hp
PRO
OnePlan
7 years ago
This is a great design - might suit your space - the colours and whole set up say New York loft to me !
Panikos thanked OnePlan
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Jonathan
7 years ago
You might consider employing a designer to achieve your vision. Try the professional se ruin of Houzz and find out their terms. You may well be able to make cost savings by using their contacts which in turn will offset their fee.
Panikos thanked Jonathan
Panikos
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you all for your comments.

kl55hp your project sounds equally exciting. One thing that I learned so far is the need for light, big windows, big doors!! We have exactly the same dilemma regarding living in the house during the building work; it will save a lot of money as well. You have definitely thought this further than us. Sounds like there is a consensus regarding using a professional to help us make some decisions!

OnePlan, thank you for the pictures the colours are spot on. Were thinking of a slightly more modern look by incorporating some gloss cabinets to reflect light etc.

Thank you all once more!
smartypantsnancy
7 years ago
Hello
If you fancy coming to have a nosy, we are doing a huge warehouse conversion in Clitheroe (which is about an hour away) We are having underfloor heating on two of the levels, rads on the double height top floor. I have bought everything on ebay/ex display etc. You are more than welcome and I can tell you/show you what we have done.
Nancy
Panikos Apoel
7 years ago
ouaooooo smartypantsnancy you are at a different level than us :-) thank you for the offer, we would love to see some pictures when it's ready! good luck
0
Jonathan
7 years ago
If you search for industrial kitchens or an urban look any white kitchens are tempered with brutal concrete, red brick, rough sawn wood, and brushed steel.
In fact most images you look at are of grey cabinets with pale worktops so you should be clear about the final look of the whole room before investing in a white gloss kitchen.
Panikos Apoel
7 years ago
Jonathan, you are absolutely right. The majority of the searches (if not all) show a heavy industrial look full off exposed brick and lots of grey. Although we want to achieve this element we would like it to be softer to the eye. The gloss is more my wife's idea. My preference is mat, however there might be a way to mix and match!
0
Carolina
7 years ago
Well, a New York loft is usually an old industrial building, converted to apartments. So what you often see are exposed brick wall(s), black steel beams and pillars, and a dark(ish) rustic wooden floor.

Your plan to mix that with white walls and a sleek, modern kitchen sounds good to me.

Browse through the photo section here on Houzz and save what you like the look of in your ideabook(s) to get an idea of what you're working towards. There are loads of industrial style examples here.
0
Carolina
7 years ago
How about something like this?
The McDonough's · More Info
0
Carolina
7 years ago
Also look under the other styles for photos that you like though. Seriously, creating an ideabook will really help you to get ideas
0
kikiamack
7 years ago
This kitchen has a soft industrial vibe, with white units. I think you would need matt units though.

Brooklyn Heights Townhouse · More Info
0
kikiamack
7 years ago
If when you look at the photo above you click "more info" then "people who liked this photo also liked" there are quite a few white kitchens with various levels of industrial style.
0

New York Loft style open plan - where to start from?

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