A combined kitchen living space is still a key selling point 3 July 2021 • 5:00am ‘This is an era that supports the blurring of boundaries between relaxation, work and socialising’ Credit: Megan Taylor; Chris Snook; Kasia Fiszer The experience of the average family in lockdown might have heightened the importance of separate spaces, but the open-plan family room is still a key element of the way we live now. Architect Karen Stonely (span-ny.com) believes its popularity reflects a gradual change in domestic habits that is here to stay: ‘In an era that supports the blurring of boundaries between relaxation, work and socialising, we prepare food, do homework, pay bills, have parties, watch the news and work quite naturally in the same space. Covid has accentuated this trend, but it was in the making years before.’