I am an open concept renegade. In our last house, kitchen and family room are the same space (we bought into the open concept fad). I slowly grew to really be annoyed by it - all the advantages of togetherness were in our case quickly canceled out by the noise and the clatter. Cooking noises, water running, hood going on in the kitchen interfered with conversation, TV, phone calls, what have you, in the family room. It became an annoyance.

We designed our current house based on this experience. We now have a big kitchen that flows into the dining room (through an arched opening, not open space). Family room is separate from that space. There is also a small living room for adult conversations.

I found I don't really need to be a part of family life on a 24/hr basis, and I enjoy cooking in my own great space, of which I am a boss. At least one of the kids usually hangs out there too. I came to see the kitchen as my hideout.

I truly WISH I lived in a house with an open floor plan. We live in a Colonial in NW DC.

I love visiting my parents' house (in another state) where they have a beautiful open floor plan. The only downside is the noise -- when my mom is emptying the dishwasher at 7 am, we can hear every fork and spoon as it's put in the drawer.

Anonymous wrote:I cook and love an open floor plan. Our house is so small that sectioning off the kitchen always had zero influence on containing odors, even before we renovated. We temporarily lived in a house this year while our home was being renovated to become an open floor plan. I absolutely despised having to walk down a hall with two young kids I was chasing back and forth. Also felt like any night I cooked, I missed out with spending time with my kids as I was in the cave of a kitchen cooking and cleaning, everyone else was in the living room area.

Now happily living in an open rowhouse where the first floor is essentially one big long room with the living room area at the front, dining area in the middle, and kitchen at the back with tons of light. Love growing plants with our beautiful huge windows, happier mood in general with more light coming into the house, and love that my DH and I can chat with each other and the kids while cooking and doing dishes. We have our bedrooms upstairs and a finished basement if anyone needs privacy or space.

In a way, yes it might seem more messy as everything is out in the open, but it also is inspiring us to declutter and clean up more whereas it was easier to be out of sight out of mind before.

To each their own.

ding ding ding

The reason open floor plans have gotten so popular - to distract people from how teeeny tiny their houses are.

I'm GenX and hate them, and our house is 2000sf. It's not completely open floor plan, but it could use more walls.

I cook and love an open floor plan. Our house is so small that sectioning off the kitchen always had zero influence on containing odors, even before we renovated. We temporarily lived in a house this year while our home was being renovated to become an open floor plan. I absolutely despised having to walk down a hall with two young kids I was chasing back and forth. Also felt like any night I cooked, I missed out with spending time with my kids as I was in the cave of a kitchen cooking and cleaning, everyone else was in the living room area.

Now happily living in an open rowhouse where the first floor is essentially one big long room with the living room area at the front, dining area in the middle, and kitchen at the back with tons of light. Love growing plants with our beautiful huge windows, happier mood in general with more light coming into the house, and love that my DH and I can chat with each other and the kids while cooking and doing dishes. We have our bedrooms upstairs and a finished basement if anyone needs privacy or space.

In a way, yes it might seem more messy as everything is out in the open, but it also is inspiring us to declutter and clean up more whereas it was easier to be out of sight out of mind before.

To each their own.

Anonymous wrote:Ok boomer

I am one of the PPs and born in 1980. So... nah

Ok boomer

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I prefer older houses. I like having delineated spaces.

me too

And I as well. Super unpopular opinion - I love my galley kitchen.

I love them too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I prefer older houses. I like having delineated spaces.

me too

And I as well. Super unpopular opinion - I love my galley kitchen.

Anonymous wrote:This is why I prefer older houses. I like having delineated spaces.

me too

Oh the smells.. cook some fish, and everybody can enjoy it for hours, way past the last piece of
fish has been eaten.