In the age of open floor plans and walk-in kitchens, it might be tempting to want your bedroom to also lead into the kitchen.
While this may seem like a convenient option—being able to cook, have breakfast and walk into the bedroom—there are some risks involved that you should know about.
The main reason a bedroom should not lead into the kitchen is that many kitchens have grease appliances and are filled with gases from cooking. Not only can this smell become unpleasant for you and those around you, but it could be dangerous. If your mattress is close to the kitchen it might absorb all those smells and gases, which can be harmful to your respiratory system.
Also having a doorway into the kitchen could lead to some accidents, such as kids or pets running into the room while you are in bed.
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It may also put your mattress and furniture at risk to be scuffed and damaged.
Conventional wisdom is that a bedroom should not open into a kitchen.
When you’re in bed and hear a pot clanking in the kitchen, you’re bound to be startled, and it’s incredibly disruptive to be jarred awake.
This is the case for just about everyone in the house, and there are good and bad reasons to have your bedroom open into your kitchen.
Many people are often confused about the layout of their homes.
If you’re one of them, this blog post is for you!
This blog post will discuss whether a bedroom can open into a kitchen and what the pros and cons are to doing so.
Read on to find out more!
What’s a bedroom that opens into the kitchen?
When a bedroom opens into your kitchen it means that there’s an opening between the two rooms.
It can really depend on what your plan is for that space.
If you want to make it a mudroom or an access spot between the two rooms, then you can add some cabinets and hooks, dog bowls or litter boxes.
It’s also good if someone sleeps in that room because it’s easier to get out when there are no obstacles in your way.
If you don’t want it to provide easy access between the two rooms, then you can block the opening by adding doors or even just making sure that they don’t align right and you need to walk around a table or something else.
Key elements of a floor plan
A floor plan is a two dimensional representation of the layout and design of a house.
Read More: House Not Built According to Plan (Prevent Nightmares!)
This type of diagram should be able to help you see where important rooms, such as your kitchen remodel and bedroom are located. Most floor plans typically include:
- Doorways, corridors and stairs that connect various rooms;
- External features, such as patios, balconies, garages and gardens;
- Internal features, such as family room, kitchens, toilets and stairs.
When you are planning your floor plan, it is vital to remember that walls are often placed for a reason.
They separate areas of the house in order to provide privacy between family members or different areas of the home.
For example, a typical bedroom will include a bed, study desk and closet, whereas a typical kitchen will include a stove, sink and refrigerator.
It doesn’t make sense to have the doors that separate these two rooms open up into one another because both are used for completely different activities.
If you were looking at the floor plan of your home or apartment building, you would be able to see what each room is used for, along with the walls that surround it. In fact, this is a very useful tool for helping you to determine where you would like to place furniture or other household items.
However, when it comes down to your own personal floor plan, the walls that separate each room are not in place.
This means that if you design your bathroom as part of your bedroom and then go ahead with your plans to move into your own home, the door from your bedroom into your bathroom will not have any walls on either side of it.
Some people may think that this is a good thing because you can simply step out of bed and begin using the toilet or taking a bath.
However, if you do decide to create an open plan kitchen and living area, then it is a good idea to ensure that the kitchen door and any cabinets in your bedroom are made using strong materials.
This is because they will be subjected to a lot of wear and tear if you decide to move into your own home or apartment immediately after the work is completed.
Can a bedroom open into a kitchen?
A bedroom may be a place to feel safe and relax.
But if there is one thing that puts stress on you, it is probably your kitchen’s clutter that makes the room so untidy.
Kitchen is the most important area of our home after all.
It’s not easy to clean up the kitchen every time I want to go to bed or have a good night sleep. It’s just too much effort for me to do that. I would rather sleep all day in bed and then clean up when I’m healthy again.
This is what you experience when you live in a studio apartment, I guess.
There is no more room for any kind of furniture so you end up using the kitchen as your bedroom.
The good thing is, when you have a small space to live in, there are actually pros and cons to everything.
Here are some of the benefits and disadvantages of having a bedroom door that opens right into your kitchen.
Benefits of a common door for bedroom and kitchen
1. Ease of access
It’s very easy to just walk into the kitchen without making any effort at all.
No need to walk through a congested hallway or squeeze yourself through the narrow space between tables and chairs.
You have the freedom to get a glass of water or cook food whenever you want.
2. Convenience
It’s also convenient when you’re cleaning up the dishes after dinner and you just happened to be sleepy.
You can just open your bedroom door, go straight into bed, and then clean up later on.
It will save you some time and energy.
3. Saves space
If you’re living in a studio apartment, this type of design is really ideal for saving space.
There is no need to build separate closets or go through the hassle of moving your kitchen furniture just to make more room for your bedroom.
The door will serve as a divider between the two rooms and it works great!
4. No need to walk far
For those of you who have a long way to go when going from your closed kitchen to your bedroom, having the door open in the middle is convenient because it’s just right there.
No need to walk through the hallway or step on the stairs just to reach your room.
In your bedroom, you can just lie on your bed and watch TV until you feel like cooking. You don’t have to walk all the way to another side of the house.
It’s actually convenient not only for yourself but also for other people who are hungry and want to eat. They won’t have to go far to fix a hot plate.
5. You can cook anytime you want
If there’s anything that I hate about cooking, it is cleaning up after I’m done with dinner.
It takes me forever and sometimes I get sick of doing it so I just give up and leave the mess for the next day!
Anyway, if your bedroom door is open to the kitchen, you can just put some food on the stove and then go lie down on bed until it’s cooked.
I don’t mind cooking at night…as long as there is no messy clean up involved!
Drawbacks of having a bedroom door open directly into the kitchen
1. Risk of fire
This is definitely not good for those who live alone.
You should never leave your stove unattended when you are sleeping.
It may cause an accident or a fire that will destroy all of your kitchen appliances and eating utensils.
2. No privacy
When you have your door open, anyone can walk in while you’re cooking or getting ready for bed.
It is not so convenient, after all.
A lot of people will see you without your clothes and that’s just bad…or worse if you’re going to have a party!
3. Risk of burglary
If there are crooks in the neighborhood, having an open door between your bedroom and kitchen is dangerous because thieves can just walk in and steal your stuff.
Nobody will even know because the thieves can just pretend that they are one of the party guests.
4. Bad for cold nights
When it’s freezing outside, you’ll be glad to have an open door between your bedroom and kitchen when you want to warm up inside before going to bed.
However, if it’s too cold, you’ll be freezing a lot more than you would if you had separate rooms.
5. Difficult to maintain
I think it’s a lot more work to have an open door between your kitchen and bedroom because you would have to make sure that they are both in good condition.
If only one of the rooms gets damaged, it will be hard for you to fix them separately.
You’ll need someone’s help in moving furniture around so that you can fix the damages.
With an open door, you’ll need to work a lot harder to achieve your goals.
6. It’s just not that aesthetic
If you’re someone who cares a lot about the way your home looks, having an open door between your bedroom and kitchen may ruin your overall design.
It will look very unappealing if there is a big hole between plain walls that look mismatched from each other.
I have used this design in my own space but I’m starting to worry about how it looks already because I’ve been living with it for so long.
Anyway, a lot of people think that having an open door between your kitchen and bedroom is unsightly so they are against it.
7. Kitchen bugs
This is the main reason that I personally will not have a door between my kitchen and bedroom.
If there is an open space between two rooms, it’s very easy for bugs to find their way in.
Imagine having cockroaches or ants roaming around your house while you’re sleeping!
Creepy crawlies lurking inside the kitchen can be very dangerous because they can hide inside cabinets or drawers where you keep your food and drinks.
Having an open door between two rooms makes it easier for bugs to get in so I don’t recommend it at all.
8. You can’t sleep in peace if you’re hungry
If you can hear the sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen while trying to sleep, then that’s probably not what you want.
Aside from making noise, cooking in the room beside your bedroom can cause a lot of distractions.
You might not be able to sleep properly at night if you’re hungry and the food smells so good!
Deciding what’s best for bedroom-kitchen door remodel
Some people find it more convenient to have an open doorway between their kitchen and their bedroom, while others prefer a door leading off the kitchen.
Whether or not you decide to have a door installed in this way depends on your own preferences as well as any building codes that may be in effect in your state.
Here are some things that you may want to consider before making this type of decision for your own house.
Priorities
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recommends that you be sure to consider the following before incorporating a door between the bedroom and kitchen:
- Is a wall separating the bedroom and kitchen an important part of your floor plan?
- Will the door swing into or out of the kitchen?
- Will the door be flush with the surrounding sheetrock or will it have a frame?
- How much traffic and noise is appropriate to have passing between the two rooms?
- Is there a reason why you would or wouldn’t want to have an adjoining door?
Design issues
Although it is possible to have a door between these two rooms, there are some potential problems.
An open doorway may distract from furniture arrangement in the entranceway.
For a number of reasons, it may not be an ideal idea to pass through the doorway in the middle of the night and possibly disturb your bed partner or any other occupants at home.
Costs
The dwelling’s door placement could also affect where additional features are installed.
It is usually more expensive to move appliances than doors, but it depends on the construction of your home.
All these factors should be taken into consideration when determining whether or not to install a doorway between the two rooms.
Harmful effects
An open door between the bedroom and kitchen could also create an opening for unwanted guests such as insects or intruders who may break in at night while you sleep.
Benefits
You may find the arrangement more practical than a door leading directly off of a kitchen.
For example, some homeowners enjoy having their refrigerator right outside of their bedroom for easy access to food and beverages in the middle of the night.
The extra space can also provide you with ample room for exercise equipment or other items that might not fit in a kitchen.
Location
Whether or not to have a door leading to the kitchen depends on your particular layout and the layout of your home.
Before making any decisions, you should review floor plans with your builder or a designer.
If you do decide to have this type of doorway installed in your new home, be sure that it is placed so as not to interrupt traffic flow and block off other important areas of the house.
Should you proceed with having door…
Here are just a few examples of what can be done to incorporate this doorway into the design of a new home:
Building codes
According to the International Residential Code, all bedroom doors should be between 28 and 32 inches wide.
However, if you have a door leading into your kitchen in this way, it can probably be no less than 7 feet wide and not more than 8 feet wide.
Doors must also be at least 1 3/8 inches thick, so they do not pass through any fire-rated walls.
Alternatives to a doorway
You might also consider having an opening between your kitchen and living room to save on cost.
This is especially true if you do not plan on using the extra space for anything other than storage.
If you decide that you do want to create a new doorway leading off of your kitchen, you could add a pocket door to save on space.
Other possibilities
An open doorway between the bedroom and kitchen will never be suitable for every home.
However, it can provide you with extra access to certain areas of the house that might otherwise be blocked off by walls or doors.
You should decide whether this type of arrangement is right for your home by consulting with a designer, builder or other professional.
Bathroom and laundry room layouts
In case you’re interested: A door between the kitchen and dining room is generally fine but avoid one to the bathroom.
In many older homes there was no master bedroom on the first floor so it had to open into the bathroom.
This is often not desirable and unless you have a contractor who can build the walls for you to separate the two rooms, it’s just not worth it.
