How Hard is a Whole-Home Open Concept Redesign in an Older Home?

New builds are easy. You get to design everything on a clean slate and create from the ground up. Working around an older home with an outdated layout? Now that’s a challenge. But how much harder can it be? This guide walks you through the many obstacles you may face when incorporating a whole-home open concept redesign in an older home, and how a team of award-winning designers can help.

Looking to transform an old home into a modern paradise? Reach out to Revive Design and Renovation Brandon today for an in-house consultation and begin your luxury custom home remodel!

Outdated Structural Support Can Make Removing Load-Bearing Walls Impossible

You can’t just demolish any wall you want and expect the roof to hold itself up. Open concept layouts are typically seen in modern homes that account for the absence of interior walls. When you remove the partition walls of an older home, there’s no guarantee that the structural perimeter will have the strength of load-bearing walls to support the added burden.

The solution? Contractors in Brandon can add galvanized steel beams or engineered wood supports to help bear the extra weight. But of course, heavy metal supports don’t come cheap. You’ll want to make sure an open-concept home is what you really want before committing to this level of investment.

Vital Utility Systems Could Also Be Hiding In the Walls

Back in the day, open concepts were a foreign concept. That’s why many older homes have pipes and wires in the walls, making it impossible (or very difficult) to perform the demolitions necessary for an open concept layout.

The solution? Rerouting pipelines and electrical systems in older Brandon homes is definitely possible. It’ll just be very expensive and time-consuming. Again, you’ll have to decide if having a modern open-concept home is worth the wait and the money.

Insulation In Older Homes Doesn’t Always Accommodate Open-Concept Layouts

Older homes were designed to insulate smaller individual rooms. When you take away the walls that create these defined spaces, you’ll also be stripping the home of adequate insulation. Your new open-concept atmosphere may prove to be too hot during Brandon’s scorching summers or too cold during unrelenting winters. You might also notice an increase in noise, be it from the surrounding neighborhood or from the echoes that originate inside.

The solution? Installing insulation is a reasonable option, and often worth the added expense. Spray foam insulation is a top choice in modern homes for its air-tight insulation quality and sound absorption.

You Might Lose Substantial Historic Home Value

Some people would consider it a crime to overhaul a classic home into your average contemporary open-concept space. In some regions, it quite literally is a crime. The older a home is, the more historic value it may hold. In which case, a remodel could actually be counterintuitive when calculating your asking price on the market.

The solution? If you plan on selling your home in the future, calculate the value of your classic home as-is and the projected value after a designer renovation. From there, it’s as simple as choosing the option with the highest potential sale price in Brandon. If this is going to be your forever home, go with the option that will make you the happiest!

Read more > From Suburban to Sophisticated: Elevating Odessa Homes with Custom Interior Design

Trust Revive Design and Renovation Brandon For Your 5-Star Whole Home Transformation! Schedule An In-House Consultation Today

Still not sure if you should add an open-concept layout to your older home? Reach out to Revive Design and Renovation Brandon today at (813) 680-4103 for a zero-obligation consultation! We specialize in 5-star full home interior services, handling everything from managing permits to performing the final inspections.