Within the last ten years, the idea of the open concept floor plan has come to reign supreme in home design. People can’t seem to get enough of large, open rooms that serve a variety of functions instead of having compartmentalized rooms each with an individual purpose. In the Timber Framed Home, we call this large, open room that encompasses the kitchen, the living room and the dining room, A GREAT ROOM. There are many reasons Great Rooms are so popular in Timber Frame Homes and why we at Vermont Timber Works love creating them. Here are a few of those reasons:
The View
Many people choose to build their Timber Frame Homes in natural settings where the view outside the home is just as stunning and beautiful as the home itself. One thing that the Great Room is able to provide without the hindrance of many unnecessary walls, is a surplus of windows. With all the windows in your Great Room, you’re able to clearly see the lake, or the mountains, or the forest that surrounds your home. People choose to live in nature to be able to enjoy and appreciate it, and with the many windows in a Great Room, you’re able to do that from many angles. So there are the views outside the home that you get to enjoy, but there’s also plenty to see inside the home as well. Great Rooms allow you to keep an eye on your children as they play in the living area while you set the table in the dining area. When entertaining, you can see who’s in the kitchen area while you’re sitting on the sofa in the living area. You can even watch TV while you cook in the kitchen.
The Light
With all the windows of a Great Room also comes an amazing amount of natural light. Natural lighting can do wonders for the atmosphere inside a home. A bright, sunny room is an instant spirit lifter and mood booster. And if the Great Room is placed strategically in the Southern facing position and energy efficient windows are used, all the natural light can even act as a solar gain.
The Space
What gives the Great Room its name is the large amount of space it provides. Even in a smaller home, the presence of a Great Room gives the illusion that the space is much bigger than it actually is. The absence of dividing walls gives a wide-open feeling, taking away the need for space-consuming hallways that are necessary for traveling between multiple walled off rooms. In a Timber Framed Home, there is also the option of high, cathedral ceilings which makes the space even larger and expansive. Couple that with all the windows, and the Great Room becomes a wide open space that everyone in the family wants to spend their time relaxing together in.
The Décor
Decorating your Great Room is less of a pain, because instead of picking out wall colors and décor for three rooms, now you only have to choose one color scheme for the entire Great Room. You can pick one color for all the walls, and have one unifying theme for your living area, kitchen, and dining area. One color and theme keeps the space from feeling disjointed, and it makes picking out the appropriate décor for your space a simpler and easier process.
A Great Room in Alton Bay, NH.
The Connection
With its space, natural lighting, and great views, people naturally gravitate to the Great Room in the home. This gives families a larger space to spend time together. The Great Room also makes entertaining easier, giving guests enough room to mingle while also enjoying food and each other’s company.
A Great Room in Salem, CT.
At Vermont Timber Works, we love the ease of the Great Room and how adaptable this type of space is to many individual lifestyles.
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