Spinoff: Do you like "open-concept" and others?

[Nette]

I've been thinking about this a lot as we are currently looking at larger homes. DH and I have decided we must be weird because neither of us wants an open-concept floorplan, or a great room. I prefer for my kitchen to be out of view of my living spaces so that if it's a big mess, I don't have to look at it.

How about you? Do you like open-concept? What about other trends that we see all the time on these home shows? Like giant master bedroom/bath/closet (we don't want any of that either).

Just curious to see if we really are as strange as we think.

 

[denisem]

We have an open concept great room (8 foot wall separating kitchen, but it's open above to the cathedral ceiling) and open to dining area and breakfast nook.

I'm not a fan. I would also prefer a kitchen completely closed off, not so much for the mess (which sometimes it is) but because of the noise factor. Between running the blender for my smoothies and DH using the coffee grinder, watching TV can sometimes be a challenge. The ceramic tile doesn't help matters in muffling the noise.

I enjoy the large bedroom, bath & closet, though.

 

[auntfrannie]

Exactly, DeniseM! It gets noisy cooking and I can't imagine how enjoyable that would be for anyone trying to watch tv in one of those open areas. Also, when I cook I would prefer not to have to talk to anyone while I'm doing it!

Based on the large number of people that also have that as a requirement for their new home or remodels, we must be in the minority.

 

[Janepod]

No, I quite hate it. Our kitchen/eating area/den is all open and it's always driving someone crazy. E.g., if I need to wash dishes and they want to watch TV. Or they're making milkshakes while I'm listening to music and reading. We have other TVs and stereos, but we seem to gravitate to the room off the kitchen.

Hate it hate it hate it hate it.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Exactly, DeniseM! It gets noisy cooking and I can't imagine how enjoyable that would be for anyone trying to watch tv in one of those open areas. Also, when I cook I would prefer not to have to talk to anyone while I'm doing it!

Based on the large number of people that also have that as a requirement for their new home or remodels, we must be in the minority.

I don't want anyone bothering me when I cook either. My home isn't open concept but when I visit homes that are, I find it too noisy.

 

[disney212]

I have had both. I hated the open floor plan when my kids were younger. I wanted them to do homework but DH was watching TV so everyone ended up watching TV. I was making too much noise in the kitchen when everyone wanted to watch TV, etc. We moved into a 100 year old house when the kids were in middle school which we loved, lots of rooms, nice big old kitchen. Now that the kids are gone and it is just DH and I we are planning on downsizing. We are looking at open concept again, we actually loose each other in this big old house.

For my 2 cents it depends on what point you are in your life.

 

[KristaTX]

We love it, but we don't have and won't be having kids. Our house isn't very noisy or messy. I love being able to watch TV while I cook, etc. I do wish the dining area was slightly larger than it is.

 

[Nette]

I have had both. I hated the open floor plan when my kids were younger. I wanted them to do homework but DH was watching TV so everyone ended up watching TV. I was making too much noise in the kitchen when everyone wanted to watch TV, etc. We moved into a 100 year old house when the kids were in middle school which we loved, lots of rooms, nice big old kitchen. Now that the kids are gone and it is just DH and I we are planning on downsizing. We are looking at open concept again, we actually loose each other in this big old house.

For my 2 cents it depends on what point you are in your life.

That's a good point. But I think I also associate open concept with newer homes, which lack character (to me!). I guess being a child of the 70s, I feel most at home in houses of that era. So I don't know if I'll ever want an open concept... but really a very good point about losing each other in the house!

 

[sunshinehighway]

That's a good point. But I think I also associate open concept with newer homes, which lack character (to me!). I guess being a child of the 70s, I feel most at home in houses of that era. So I don't know if I'll ever want an open concept... but really a very good point about losing each other in the house!

My aunt has an older home, late 1800s, that she opened up when she remolded. Its nice but every time I go there, everything is so loud. They are even a family of loud talkers and we always joke its because they opened up the downstairs.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Our last house had a kitchen open to a eating nook and a step down family room. I really liked being able to visit and just eat right there. Our formal dinning room was with a traditional sitting room and that was great for parties and just a few feet from the kitchen.

This house has an open "circular" floor plan. You come in the front door and can go left into the dining room and then goes through doorway into my kitchen. In my kitchen I can see the eat in nook and curves into the office/extra tv area before it curves again to the "great room." In the middle of the circle of the house is the stairs, a coat closet and a powder room.

We have lots of people over and I like that people can be all over and not have to yell over each other.

I just like to decorate seperate rooms instead of trying to make everything flow in a couple giant rooms.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Ours is open - kind of an L shape with the kitchen and LR at the tips, and the dining area at the corner. Also have an 11 foot vault throughout this section of the house. Love it! Had a closed off kitchen as a kid and I remember momalways hating that. I've also been in many homes 1/3 larger than mine that felt 1/3 smaller than mine due to the closed off rooms.

 

[Nette]

Ours is open - kind of an L shape with the kitchen and LR at the tips, and the dining area at the corner. Also have an 11 foot vault throughout this section of the house. Love it! Had a closed off kitchen as a kid and I remember momalways hating that. I've also been in many homes 1/3 larger than mine that felt 1/3 smaller than mine due to the closed off rooms.

To be fair, I don't want a kitchen that is a separate room. with a door. where you feel isolated. Our current set up is a galley kitchen with the "dining room" (our office) and breakfast area at either end. both the breakfast area and the office open into the living room, with a wall (really the fireplace with exposed brick walls ) that separates the kitchen off from the main living space.

As to the feeling roomier, our last house (circa 1992) had at least 300 sq ft more, and it felt like a LOT of wasted space. The master bedroom alone was probably 150 sq ft of wasted, unused space. Our current house (1975) has less sq ftg, but so much more storage in the way of built ins and custom cabinetry. Not one single inch is wasted.

 

[disykat]

Our last house had a closed off kitchen, so I knew with small kids at the time I wanted a kitchen/family room combo. However, we closed in the doorways enough to close that area off from the living room/dining room part of the house for noise control. It is nice to be able to have two different things going on in the house at one time.

All open - no way. Partly open - yes please.

 

[Gorechick]

I'm pretty traditional. I'd like an eat in kitchen that is open to a family room and a formal dining room that opens to a formal living room.

 

[Tinijocaro]

For my 2 cents it depends on what point you are in your life.

Yes. Seems lots if the people who want open concept on those shows have little kids and they want to be able to see them at all times.

Have a couple teenagers and you'll come to regret that whole "open concept" pretty quickly.

We wanted a family room and living room that were not near each other so we wouldn't have TV wars. Our new house has an open concept kitchen/dining room which we love for entertaining. I love having the family room an living room separate.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I have an open kitchen/family room, and I love it! I don't feel out of things when I'm cooking, doing dishes, etc

 

[Pigeon]

I hate open floor plans. I also hate great rooms with vaulted ceilings. You have to heat all that, and it wastes so much of the second floor that the bedrooms are small.

I like a traditional center hall colonial the best.

 

[SC Minnie]

Our last house had a kitchen open to a eating nook and a step down family room. I really liked being able to visit and just eat right there. Our formal dinning room was with a traditional sitting room and that was great for parties and just a few feet from the kitchen.

This house has an open "circular" floor plan. You come in the front door and can go left into the dining room and then goes through doorway into my kitchen. In my kitchen I can see the eat in nook and curves into the office/extra tv area before it curves again to the "great room." In the middle of the circle of the house is the stairs, a coat closet and a powder room.

We have lots of people over and I like that people can be all over and not have to yell over each other.

I just like to decorate seperate rooms instead of trying to make everything flow in a couple giant rooms.

Our house is similar to yours-- circular floor plan. I like it being not completely open but not all separate rooms either.

 

[EMom]

My parents built a house in the mid 60s that was ahead of its time. It had one big room with a kitchen, enormous snack bar the entire family could eat around, room for a dining table and a living area. It also had stainless appliances because back then, those were the cheapest option. And hardwood throughout the house was also the least expensive flooring. So I grew up with a GREAT ROOM and loved it. I still like the concept.

 

[indimom]

Our first home was open concept. I loved the look of it, but I didn't like "living" in it... Too much noise, too much open space for the kids to RUN, too many different activities all competing in the same area.
When we moved, we bought a century old farm house. The main part of the downstairs is essentially four rooms, each open to the next in a big circle (not counting the laundry room, bath and mud room which are all on one end of the house).
There is a double door entry between the living room and the office/family room. The rest are standard size doorways and can be closed, even locked, if we want to. I like it.
I would be fine with the kitchen open to the dining room, I just don't want all those competing spaces wide open to each other.