I don't like open floor plans either. I like to be able to close off rooms, have private conversations, quiet areas. This isn't possible in an open plan. A well-planned house will have good flow and some open area for larger-scale entertaining, but will allow people some quiet and cosy areas.

I hate being at peoples' houses and being able to see through all the rooms hundreds of feet away, and to hear and be overheard, and see and be seen no matter where I am. It's exhausting.

I hate my open floor plan home that is 30 years old - I think it's human size compared to newer homes, but larger than older homes.

I hate that I can hear my kids from the whole house (except the family room)

I'm looking to hang some stain glass between the living room and dining room to define it.

Open floorplans work well in small houses which are human scale. Open floorplans in large houses are uncomfortable because the space is overwhelming.

Not a fan of open floor plans either. A table space kitchen is my preference. The open kitchen rowhouse look is a way to compensate for a very tight space and allow light to flow though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in one now and I can't stand it. There is no privacy, and if the kitchen is messy the whole place looks messy. No place to hid during a dinner party.

We've started house hunting a bit and it seems like anyplace that has been redone has had all of the walls knocked down.

There must be a happy medium. Am I alone in thinking this way?

Actually, we've been looking for an open floor plan that doesn't cost a fortune and we've been very frustrated at how many houses still have one dinky room separated from another.

It's a question of when it was built. Our 1930s home is probably 3,000 sq ft but it feels half that because every room is small. There's a living room, family room, dining room, sun room, kitchen, foyer, bonus room all on the first floor. We are knocking walls down as we go. Like you, we couldn't afford anything with an open floor open cause that meant new construction.

Center hall colonial.

It is circular open. I LOVE it!

The stairway in the middle divides, but you can walk all the way around. It's not one single room.

It is an entertaining house for sure. Kitchen is one whole side with a high bar creating dining space in front, but preventing from seeing sink.

I don't like most open floor plans. Our newer home is a bit of a hybrid. There are separate rooms but with partial walls that flow from the front to the back of the house. The kitchen and family room are in the back, and while open, they are have small walls that separate them, they are side to side rather than one big room.

I immediately loved the design.

Anonymous wrote:I too hate open floorplans, especially open kitchens. Who wants to open the front door and see dirty dishes?? Looking to buy a Petworth rowhouse, and none of them have walls anymore! Super annoying.

+1000 we are in an old small arlington colonial. We took down all the walls except the one separating the kitchen from the living room. So open kitchen to dining room, open dining room to living room, but that's it. The complete lack of privacy, the inability to 'hide' in the kitchen and just cook without the background noise/people and the fact that I could otherwise see the messy dishes from any point in out house was enough for us to keep that one wall n place. Great compromise.

If you don't have a good range hood the house will smell. We have an industrial range good and there is no smell in our open floor plan.

Anonymous wrote:Closed style made sense when you had butler's and maids preparing your food.

That's half baked... I like closed style because it reduces the noise and smell. Your whole house do not smell each time you cook and you are not going to hear every footstep when someone is walking in the house.

Anonymous wrote:Our very long, narrow rowhouse would definitely be improved with an open floor plan. My sister renovated her Brooklyn brownstone "parlor floor' with an open floor plan, and I really like it because the light is awesome. With the right arrangement of furniture, you have a separate dining area and living room area that give a cozy feeling.

If you had a wider house, I agree that an open floor plan sucks. My parents have a 1920s home that's kind of a cross between a bungalow and a four square in Northern California, and the formal living/dining separated from the kitchen works really well. Opening that up would be a crime!

Agree with that smart pp. It just depends.
Open floor looks good with small space, but can make bigger spaces look warehouse-like. I don't like having cooking smell all over the house when I cook and when I have a dinner party I turn my kitchen upside down, so I enjoy the privacy.

We live in a house built in 1836 in Arlington. It's about 3500 sq feet. We do not have an open floor but can still entertain about 75 people on our first floor. I know this because we've done it twice. The second time there were 90 people and that was a bit tight.

We have a large foyer which is like a room (also has a fireplace) and all the other rooms are off of that. Our dining room has a huge opening to the library, but there are mahogany sliding doors to close it off if we want to.

We are about to re-do the kitchen (it's from 1980) and are going to open the doorway into the dining room but are going to use barn doors (can't find the mahogany ones anywhere) if we want to have it closed off.

I love the layout of the house. You can hide away in different places, but it's also a great place to entertain.

Closed style made sense when you had butler's and maids preparing your food.

Our very long, narrow rowhouse would definitely be improved with an open floor plan. My sister renovated her Brooklyn brownstone "parlor floor' with an open floor plan, and I really like it because the light is awesome. With the right arrangement of furniture, you have a separate dining area and living room area that give a cozy feeling.

If you had a wider house, I agree that an open floor plan sucks. My parents have a 1920s home that's kind of a cross between a bungalow and a four square in Northern California, and the formal living/dining separated from the kitchen works really well. Opening that up would be a crime!

Hate open floor plans. Kitchen is open to the breakfast room and has big glass doors to the family room.