My house has definitely been opened up over time since I bought it. Not really the upstairs but the ground floor is much more open and lighter. In fact, it's where I mostly do stuff on a laptop in spite of having a full-fledged office upstairs.

Virtual visit, get feel for house layout, get walls moved on the plans before building, less walls to be moved after building.

I think parent comment was surprised that there was _any_ moving of walls after the fact, which "reducing" implies..

Never get married, man...

There is a continual stream of TV programs about housing which tell you every problem can be solved by knocking a wall down, building an extension, installing bi-fold doors or a granite worktop.

If your partner watches this stuff then you are in trouble.