Architect-led transformation of a cramped, cellular ground floor into one bright kitchen-dining-living space — or a considered broken-plan layout that keeps the openness without losing every room. Structural openings, steel beams, zoning, glazing and the kitchen itself, designed and engineered by RIBA Chartered architects and our in-house structural team, delivered under one fixed-price contract.
The cellular ground floor of a typical London house — a front reception, a back reception, a galley kitchen tacked on the rear — was designed for a way of living that ended decades ago. Opening it up into a single, light-filled kitchen-dining-living space is the most-requested change we are asked to make, and when it is done well it transforms how a family uses the whole house.
It is also the change most often done badly. The difference between an open-plan space people love and one they quietly regret is almost never the kitchen units — it is whether the structure was engineered properly, whether the room is warm and quiet, and whether the layout was zoned with any thought. This page is for getting it right: the open-plan kitchen, the open-plan ground floor, the knock-through and the broken-plan layout, designed and engineered as one piece of work.
Open-plan removes walls for maximum connection. Broken-plan — the more sophisticated approach we increasingly recommend — keeps the light and sociability but reintroduces gentle definition with a crittall screen, a part-height wall, a change in level or a run of joinery, so you are not left with one undivided box you can never close off. We design both, and help you choose between them honestly.
Every open-plan project turns on the structure. Where a load-bearing wall comes out, it is replaced with a steel beam sized by our in-house engineers, supported on calculated padstones and signed off by Building Control — the part you never see, and the part that matters most. Where the work touches a neighbour's wall, we handle the Party Wall process too. If opening up is part of a bigger project, it folds neatly into a whole-house renovation or a rear extension.
“Open-plan” covers a range of layouts. The right one depends on your house, how you live and how much separation you want to keep.
Walls between kitchen, dining and living removed entirely for one continuous space. The brightest, most sociable option — ideal for families who want a single hub — and the layout most reliant on getting heating, acoustics and zoning right.
The openness of open-plan, with gentle definition — a part-height wall, a step in level, a pier or a change in ceiling marking out kitchen, dining and living zones. Keeps the light and flow while giving each area its own identity, and somewhere to retreat.
Removing the wall between the kitchen and the adjoining reception or dining room to create a single kitchen-dining space, often leaving a separate front reception intact. The classic London move, and frequently all a house needs.
Steel-framed crittall-style internal screens and doors that divide the space visually and acoustically while letting light flow straight through. The way to have an open feel and the option to close off the kitchen or a snug when you want to.
Combining internal wall removal with a side-return extension to widen the rear into a generous open-plan kitchen-living space full of roof light. The highest-impact ground-floor transformation on a Victorian terrace.
Removing one wall to join two rooms — the most contained version of opening up. Where the wall is load-bearing this is a structural job; see our dedicated knock-through and wall removal page for the detail.
Opening up well is far more than knocking out a wall. Every element below is delivered and warranted under the same fixed-price agreement.
The defining element: load-bearing walls removed and replaced with steel beams sized by our MIStructE engineers, on calculated padstones, propped safely during the works and signed off by Building Control. Beams hidden in the ceiling or detailed as a clean downstand to your preference.
In an open-plan layout the kitchen is part of the living space, so it is designed as furniture — bespoke cabinetry, an island that anchors the room, considered appliance placement and a properly ducted extractor that keeps cooking out of the sofa.
One floor finish run seamlessly through the whole space — engineered timber or large-format stone on a level, often underfloor-heated, screed — which does more than anything to make separate former rooms read as one.
A layered lighting scheme that defines zones within the open space — task lighting over the island, ambient over dining, softer light in the living area — all on scene control so one room can do several jobs through the day.
A larger, more glazed open volume loses heat differently from small rooms. We size underfloor heating or radiators to the actual heat loss and zone it, so the space is genuinely warm in winter rather than expensive and cold.
Open-plan can echo and amplify noise. We design it out with soft finishes, considered ceilings, quiet extraction and appliances, and broken-plan zoning where helpful — the detail that stops the room being beautiful but unliveable.
Bringing daylight deep into the newly opened space — rooflights, larger rear glazing, crittall internal screens and re-planned openings — modelled at design stage so the centre of the room is bright, not gloomy.
A properly sized, ducted cooker extractor vented to outside, plus background ventilation to the larger space — so cooking smells and moisture leave the building instead of settling into the soft furnishings.
Radiators, pipework, electrics, switches and sockets that lived on the removed wall are re-planned and re-routed cleanly — the unglamorous coordination that stops an open-plan space being spoiled by an awkwardly placed radiator or socket.
Steel-framed glazed screens and doors, part-height walls, broken-plan joinery and built-in storage that define zones and add character — the elements that turn a plain open box into a considered, layered space.
Full Building Regulations submission for the structural work, inspections and completion certificate, plus Party Wall notices and awards where the opening affects a shared wall — all coordinated in-house.
Full decoration to bring the joined space to a single finish, a two-stage snagging process, a 12-month defects period and a 10-year workmanship warranty.
Open-plan rooms are loved or regretted on these six points — all decided on paper, long before the wall comes down.
Whether the steel is hidden flush in the ceiling or expressed as a clean downstand changes how the whole space feels. We resolve this at design stage — a clumsy, unplanned downstand is the most common giveaway of a cheap job.
An undivided box can feel like a corridor. Defining kitchen, dining and living zones — with level, light, ceiling or joinery — gives the space rhythm and makes a large room feel considered rather than empty.
Hard surfaces and a big volume make noise travel. Soft finishes, ceiling treatment and quiet appliances keep the space calm — the difference between a sociable room and one nobody can think in.
With the kitchen on show, it has to look like part of the living space, not a utility bolted on. Island, cabinetry and appliance placement are designed as carefully as the seating.
A bigger, more glazed space behaves differently. Heating sized to the volume, glazing balanced for daylight without overheating, and light pulled to the centre keep it comfortable all year.
Total open-plan can leave nowhere quiet. Keeping a separate snug or front room — or using crittall to close off a zone — gives the household flexibility a single box never can.
We work to the RIBA Plan of Work 2020. Here is what each stage means for your open-plan project.
We discuss how you want the ground floor to work, look at which walls you would like gone, and talk realistic budgets and the open-plan vs broken-plan choice. No charge, no obligation.
A measured survey and a structural assessment of which walls are load-bearing, what carries the floors above, and what each opening will require — the foundation of an honest design and price.
The new layout, the zoning strategy and the kitchen position developed and presented with a 3D walk-through, so you can see the open space — and the beam detail — before committing.
The Building Regulations submission for the structural work, plus Party Wall notices where a shared wall is affected. Planning only where the project also extends or the house is Listed.
Full structural calculations, beam schedule, the detailed drawing pack and a written specification covering kitchen, lighting, heating and finishes.
Temporary propping, wall removal, steel installation, making-good, then first fix, plaster, kitchen install, flooring, lighting, second fix and decoration. Weekly updates throughout.
Deep clean, commissioning, a joint snagging walk, the certification pack (structural, electrical, building control completion) and handover.
A 12-month defects rectification period, a six-month service visit and a 10-year workmanship warranty.
An open-plan project can be a single opening or a full ground-floor transformation. Here is how our four tiers differ.
For a representative high-end full open-plan ground floor at around £80,000 including a new kitchen, here is where every pound is spent.
Open-plan lives or dies on the structure. Here is what is calculated and installed once the layout is fixed.
The good news: opening up internally is mostly a Building Regulations matter, not a planning one. Here is how it works.
Removing internal walls to create open-plan space inside an unlisted house generally does not require planning permission — you are not changing the footprint or the external appearance. What it always requires is Building Regulations approval, because removing a load-bearing wall is structural work that must be designed, calculated and inspected. We make a Full Plans submission, the steel and bearings are inspected before they are hidden, and you receive a completion certificate.
Planning permission only enters the picture when the open-plan project also extends the house — a side-return or rear extension to widen the space — or when the property is Listed, in which case internal alterations need Listed Building Consent. Where the wall you are opening is shared with a neighbour (a party wall), the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies, and we serve the notices and agree the award through our sister surveying company.
We confirm exactly which approvals your project needs at the survey, and then prepare and manage every one of them — so you are never left chasing consents. For an early budget while you weigh the options, use the cost calculator, and if the wall in question is the main event, our knock-through page covers the structural side in more depth.
A representative programme for a full open-plan ground floor with a new kitchen. Yours will differ by scope, but this is what a properly run project looks like in real time.
Many builders will take a wall out. Here is what makes the result worth the difference.
One agreement covering design, structure, approvals, kitchen and finishes. No cost-plus surprises once the wall is open.
Our own structural engineers size the steel — the design and the build sit under one roof, so the beam detail is resolved, not improvised on site.
Zoning, light, acoustics and the kitchen are designed as one — the difference between an open box and a room you love.
Our core carpenters, electricians and plumbers are PAYE staff — continuity of standard from job to job.
We design steel to sit flush wherever the structure allows — no clumsy unplanned downstands cutting across your ceiling.
Professional indemnity and public liability at £10M, well above industry standard.
RICS surveying support in-house for the Party Wall process where a shared wall is involved.
An insurance-backed workmanship warranty protecting the work long after completion.
Open-plan living often combines with the services below. Start here, or speak to us about packaging them under one contract.
The structural side in depth — removing load-bearing walls on engineered steel beams.
The kitchen that anchors the open-plan space — bespoke design and install.
Widening the rear of a terrace to create a generous open-plan kitchen-living space.
Extending the back of the house and opening it into the existing rooms.
Adding floor area specifically for an open-plan kitchen-dining space.
Glazed rear additions that flood an open-plan ground floor with light.
Opening up as part of a wider whole-house renovation, delivered as one programme.
The wider structural capability behind every opening — beams, underpinning and more.
Comparable projects with real structural openings and finishing standards. Start with our open-plan living case study, then browse the wider case-study hub. For survey-led due diligence before you commit, see surveying support.
Cellular ground floor opened into a single kitchen-dining-living space with engineered steel.
View case study →Rear extension and structural opening creating an open-plan kitchen at the back of a terrace.
View case study →Structural reconfiguration and open living as part of a full townhouse renovation.
View case study →Browse the full portfolio of openings, extensions and renovations across prime London.
View portfolio →“I would like to thank Ross and his team for their consistent commitment to quality and their unerring reliability. They delivered our property to specification and on time, proving to be an extremely effective, experienced, and proactive contractor.”
“We have worked with Ross and his company many times. They are extremely professional and hardworking individuals who can work under any circumstances. There was no variation to the works.”
Book a no-obligation consultation at our Finchley Road design studio or in your home. The first meeting is free, lasts 60–90 minutes, and concludes with an honest indication of feasibility, programme and budget band. No salespeople. No pressure.
Site visit · feasibility assessment · outline cost estimate · programme indication. No obligation. Saturday appointments available.