Creative Ideas on Updating Floor Plans

From the Home Remodeling Pros in San Jose and Santa Clara Valley 

Many clients come to us frustrated with their home renovation plans. While you may want to create a beautiful, modern open floor plan, a load bearing wall, an inconveniently placed fireplace, and other structures in your home make it seem impossible. Don’t lose heart; there are many creative ideas on updating floor plans, and there will be one that’s just right for you!

At Flegel’s Construction Co., we pride ourselves on coming up with innovative ways to give clients a better flow from room to room. Let’s discuss different options that allow you to get creative and enjoy the process while maintaining your budget and the structural integrity of your home!

Improve Flow and Visibility with An Updated Floor Plan

If you feel constrained by the layout and structure of your older home, it might be time to partner with experienced remodelers in the San Jose area. Whether you’re already working with an architect or need the assistance of a structural engineer, we can help provide expert advice and feasibility checks to ensure your plan works for you today and into the future.

Open floor plans improve visibility, make entertaining easier, and improve the natural flow of your home. So, if you have an older home with walls separating your kitchen, living room, dining room, and other communal spaces, it’s time to get creative and open things up a bit.

Here are some ideas for overcoming structural issues that prevent you from just knocking down walls:

• “You’re going to need a column to keep the roof up.” No one wants to hear that their dream of an open floor plan will be intersected by a floor to ceiling column. However, it’s not the end of the world. Use it as a design element. For example, instead of one column, add two and put in some shelves for storage and display purposes.
• Load-bearing beams. Nothing makes a homeowner cringe more than hearing that they can’t get rid of a wall due to load bearing beams. However, our construction team can improve the existing load beams or replace them with stronger material, such as steel beams. You may even get a more attractive, contemporary look by exposing newer materials.
• Open your fireplace between two rooms. Keep your existing fireplace but open it up as part of your remodel. You can even add a two-sided fireplace to create separate zones for the living room and dining room, kitchen and living room, and so on. By using gas fixtures and glass surrounds, you keep the warmth and comfort of your fireplace without heavy traditional materials such as brick or cast iron. Alternately, you can use the fireplace as a focal point, surrounded on all four sides with river rock, brick, or other materials that fit the style of your home.
• Opening doorways. If you’re looking for a more subtle update, consider opening doorways by replacing them with arches, glass panels, or pocket doors. You can browse through our online portfolio for more ideas and inspiration.
• Flooring transitions. You can put tile in your kitchen, wood floors in the living room, and concrete in the entryway without breaking the feel of an open floor plan. We’ll work with you to create fun transitions between unique materials.

Our construction consulting team for home remodeling often jumps in to salvage open floor plan remodels. Let us tackle your toughest conundrums with creative ideas on updating floor plans.

Contact us today for open floor remodeling for your traditional home. We can also suggest flooring and zone transition ideas to update your Eichler home in San Jose, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Campbell, and Palo Alto.