HGTV’s Alison Victoria is over the open floor plan

HGTV personality and interior designer Alison Victoria hates the word “trend,” but one she’s hoping homeowners give up is the open floor plan.

To Victoria, open floor plans take away from the so-called wow moments that defined spaces provide.

“I’m born and raised in Chicago. All the houses were compartmentalized,” said Victoria, host of the upcoming "Sin City Rehab" and formerly "Windy City Rehab," in an interview. “Every room has its own vibe, and every wall has a purpose.”

She's taken that Chicago influence throughout her career, beginning as a designer at Christopher Homes in Las Vegas to starting Alison Victoria Interiors in 2001.

“I like the curiosity that compartmentalizing a house creates,” said Victoria. “Think of Walt Disney. How did he do it right? He created curiosity. … When you turn the corner, you want to be wowed. You want your jaw to drop, you want to be like, ‘What’s around the next corner? And the next corner?’”

And though she doesn't like talking about trends, Victoria did note some approaches she considers when designing homes, such as mixing metals and incorporating vintage pieces, that are gaining traction. She tries to make an impact visitors will remember — “sticky design“ is how she describes it.

“Design in a way that people understand where it sticks in our brains, whether it inspires us later or we’re still talking about it five years down the road,” she said. “When you’re doing design and it’s sticky, you’re doing it right.”

The open floor plan most commonly rids a home of walls between the living room, dining room and kitchen, opening it up to one airy space. The look has grown in new home construction, and in many remodeling projects, homeowners look to tear down nonstructural walls.

A 2024 kitchen trends study from home renovation and design website Houzz found 43% of homeowners opted to open their kitchens to interior spaces, a 5% increase since 2022.

Since the pandemic, homeowners are said to see the benefit in defined spaces and look to retain walls for greater functionality. But attitudes may be split: A 2023 survey from Rocket Mortgage found 51.2% preferred an open layout and 48.8% sided with a traditional one.

For designers such as Victoria, it’s all about creating memorable spaces. The Paris-inspired converted Chicago commercial building she designed as her dream home included walls separating the kitchen, bar, and sitting area. The house in the Logan Square neighborhood is for sale, priced at $2.9 million.

In kitchens and bathrooms, homeowners have welcomed mixing metal finishes for lighting, plumbing fixtures and hardware as an eclectic touch. Faucets can be matte black with brass or gold accents, for example.

“Mixed metals for me have always been on point,” said Victoria. She draws inspiration from her personal jewelry collection.

“I’ve been doing this since I started,” she said, referencing wrapping shelves in brass and making kitchen range hoods out of thin sheet metal.

Victoria has identified the hood as a functional appliance perfect for making a statement. She recently launched a partnership with Hoodsly where she selected three metal finishes and designs.

“My hood game has been my focus in a kitchen. It’s beauty and brains. It’s the first thing you look at, and what’s the function of it? To suck that air right out,” she said. “Thank god people are now focused so much more on the beauty.”

Victoria has also noticed a shift back to traditional design away from modern aesthetics.

“People are appreciating the finer things in the old, historic pieces that are having new life breathed into them,” she said. “That’s something I’ve been doing my entire career.”

Vintage items such as a thrifted piece of furniture or decor on a shelf can become a fixed part of the home. Victoria is known for taking a storied piece and incorporating it into her historic Chicago remodels on "Windy City Rehab."

“I do it all the time with anything you can think of, whether it’s an old piece becomes the [kitchen] island, or an old drop-down vanity becomes incorporated and built into the closet,” she said. “Old doors, 100% at all times. Mantles, I don’t care where they come from, as long as they’re old, they’re going into the house.”