Okuzeka
Interior Design vocabulary · Space Planning

Open up

Meaning in interior design, with examples

phrasal verbCommon term

In interior design, open up means: To make a space bigger and more connected, or make it feel that way, for example by removing walls, widening openings or using lighter colours and mirrors.

In Turkish: açmak, ferahlatmak, birleştirmek

How it is used

Very common when clients talk about renovations. You open up a kitchen, open up the ground floor or open the space up. Literally it means removing walls; visually it can mean using light and colour. A similar British phrase is knock through.

Example sentences

  1. If we open up the wall between the kitchen and dining room, the whole floor will feel brighter.

  2. Pale floors and a big mirror will open up the hallway.

Common collocations

  • open up the space
  • open up the kitchen
  • open up the layout
  • open up a room visually
  • open-planDescribes a space where several areas, such as the kitchen, dining and living room, share one large room without walls between them.
  • load-bearing wallA wall that supports the weight of the floors or roof above it, so it cannot be removed without adding another structural support such as a beam.
  • natural lightLight that comes from the sun through windows, doors and skylights, and changes in strength and colour through the day.
  • partition wallA non-structural internal wall that divides a space into smaller rooms or areas, often made of plasterboard on a metal or timber frame, or of glass.

More terms: Space Planning

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: