An open-plan kitchen living room works when you plan the cooking, eating and living zones together and get any wall removal approved before a single cabinet is ordered. Without the wall, the design also has to do the wall's old job: keep cooking smells, appliance noise and bright work light away from the sofa. MODENHAUS, a kitchen studio in Ruislip, plans these rooms in 1930s semis and open-plan rear extensions.
Key facts
- MODENHAUS tests island sizes against circulation pathways of at least 1,000–1,100 mm and four working zones: prep, cook, wash and store.
- You do not need planning permission to move internal walls, but removing a load-bearing wall needs building control approval and a structural engineer's report with calculations (Planning Portal).
- Cutting into a party wall to take the bearing of a beam needs a notice served at least two months before the planned start (Party Wall etc. Act 1996 booklet).
- In a two-storey house, a removed wall can normally be compensated by mains-powered interlinked smoke alarms and egress windows from the other rooms off the stair; in houses of three storeys or more, that may not be enough (Planning Portal).
- A downdraft hob pulls steam and cooking smells down before they rise into the room, so no hood blocks the view across an island.
How do you zone an open-plan kitchen living room?
Give the kitchen its own working core, then set the dining and living areas beyond the main route through the room. The island usually becomes the line between work and social space.
At MODENHAUS, the 3D concept stage tests island scales, circulation pathways of at least 1,000–1,100 mm and working zones for prep, cooking, washing and storage. The studio maps walking triangles, bins and pan clearances before it looks at finishes.
A simple zoning order
- Fix the four kitchen zones first, store, prep, cook and wash, close enough that the cook rarely crosses the room.
- Keep at least 1,000–1,100 mm clear around the island.
- Put the island seating on the living side, outside the work zone.
- Place the dining table where it links the kitchen and the sofa.
- Check the view from the sofa and the garden doors before the island position is fixed.
How do you replace what the wall used to do?
A wall held back cooking smells, kitchen noise and bright work light. In one open room, extraction, quieter appliances, softer surfaces and zoned lighting have to do that job instead.
Smells: extraction planned with the layout
The studio's open-plan style is "islands that flow into social zones, with downdraft hobs keeping views open". A BORA downdraft hob draws steam and smells down through the centre of the cooktop before they rise into the room. It can be ducted to an outside wall or recirculate the air through grease and odour filters. Either way, the fan and ducting sit in the cabinet below, so choose the extraction at the design stage, not after the island is drawn.
Noise: quieter appliances and acoustic panels
MODENHAUS specifies Miele, BORA, Siemens and NEFF appliances for "extraction power, quiet acoustics, and intuitive everyday cooking". At the concept stage it also shows acoustic slatted panels next to door and stone samples; a wall of them in the living zone adds a surface designed to absorb some sound in a room of hard worktops and floors. "Noisy extraction" is one of the problems the studio asks about at the first consultation.
Light: each zone on its own
The studio plans concealed LED under-cabinet task lighting, recessed plinth lighting and pendant positions together with the room's windows. Put task lighting over the worktops, a low plinth glow for evenings and pendants over the island or table, each on its own switch, so the kitchen can go dark while the living area is in use.
How do you make the kitchen and living area look like one room?
Use one joinery language across the room. MODENHAUS designs media walls in finishes that echo your kitchen or flooring, so the television wall reads as part of the kitchen rather than as separate furniture.
Cabinet height matters too. Schüller, one of the three German ranges the studio designs, describes its extra-high 84.5 cm carcase as "perfect for open-plan designs and flowing transitions between the kitchen and living area" in its ergonomics guide. The taller units also give more storage space.
What should you check before knocking through?
Find out what the wall carries before the kitchen is designed around the opening. In a 1930s semi or a house with a rear extension, the questions are much the same: is the wall load-bearing, where will the new beam bear, does it touch the party wall, and what happens around the chimney breast?
MODENHAUS reviews site drawings, ceiling heights, structural pillars, chimney breasts, drainage stacks and consumer unit positions at the first consultation, so the layout starts from the house as it is. The structural answers come from your structural engineer and building control, and the studio designs the kitchen to them.
If the beam will sit in the wall you share with your neighbour, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies: cutting into a party wall "to take the bearing of a beam" is one of the works it covers. Serve notice at least two months before the planned start, but not too early, because a notice is valid for a year. The government's party wall explanatory booklet sets out the steps.
Which rules apply when you remove a wall?
Three rules apply: building control for the structure, a party wall notice for a beam in a shared wall, and fire safety for the escape route. Planning permission is a separate question.
- Building control and a structural engineer. The Planning Portal says you do not need planning permission to move internal walls, but removing a load-bearing wall needs building control approval because it alters the structure of the property, with a report and structural calculations from a structural engineer.
- A party wall notice. Needed when a beam is cut into the party wall, at least two months before that work starts.
- Fire safety. The Planning Portal's fire-safety guidance for internal walls says that in two-storey houses, removing a wall can normally be compensated by mains-powered interlinked smoke alarms and egress windows from the other rooms off the stair. In houses of three storeys or more, that may not be enough, and the exact features vary case by case. A room whose only way out is through another room may also need an escape window.
An extension is different. The Planning Portal's extension guidance explains that in many cases permitted development rights let you extend a house without applying for planning permission, within specific limits and conditions; beyond them, an application is likely to be needed.
How does MODENHAUS work with your architect and builder?
The studio liaises directly with your builder, architect and electrician, and supplies first-fix mechanical, electrical and plumbing schematics to your main contractor, so the services for the kitchen are planned before the cabinets arrive.
Bring your architect's drawings, any beam details from your engineer and photos of the room to the first meeting. The studio then tests the island, circulation, extraction, lighting and joinery against the whole room, and checks the space with a laser survey before anything is ordered. Most MODENHAUS projects take around 5 to 12 weeks, and the studio confirms a timeline for your home before placing orders. Each stage is set out on the MODENHAUS process page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need planning permission to knock through?
Not for the internal wall itself. The Planning Portal says you do not need planning permission to move internal walls. Removing a load-bearing wall does need building control approval and a structural engineer's report with calculations. If the knock-through is part of a rear extension, the extension is a separate question: in many cases permitted development rights allow it without an application, within set limits and conditions.
Do I need a party wall agreement?
You need to serve a party wall notice if a new beam will be cut into the wall you share with a neighbour, at least two months before that work starts. Your neighbour can consent in writing, refuse, or not reply. If they refuse, or have not replied after 14 days, a dispute is treated as having arisen, and the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 provides for a surveyor or surveyors to resolve it.
Will the living area smell of cooking?
Plan the extraction with the layout, not after it. A downdraft hob draws steam and cooking smells down through the centre of the cooktop before they rise into the room, then ducts the air outside or filters it and returns it. Because the fan and ducting sit in the cabinet below, MODENHAUS chooses the extraction at the design stage, together with the island and the storage beneath it.
Is an open-plan kitchen living room noisy?
It can be, because cooking, washing up, conversation and television share one room. Choose appliances for quiet running: MODENHAUS specifies its appliance brands for quiet acoustics as well as extraction power. Acoustic slatted panels on a wall in the living zone add a surface designed to absorb some sound, and lighting on separate switches lets the kitchen go quiet while the living area is in use.
How much space do I need around a kitchen island?
MODENHAUS plans circulation pathways with a minimum clearance of 1,000 to 1,100 mm and tests the island's size against that space at the 3D design stage. In an open-plan room, keep that clearance on every side people walk past, and put the stools on the living side, so seated guests stay outside the cooking and washing zone.
Next step: bring your floor plan, any architect's drawings and photos of the wall you want to remove to a design consultation, and compare the German kitchen ranges at the MODENHAUS showroom in Ruislip by appointment. The studio's German kitchens page shows its open-plan style.
