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I've lived in both styles of homes and in my opinion a blending of both styles works best. Completely open, with kids, is very noisy. Try cooking dinner and talking on the phone, while one child is watching tv and another is playing. Very difficult! Add another child trying to do homework at the dining room table and it just doesn't work.
For us, having separate rooms but an open flow works very well. The dining room and living room open to each other and the kitchen and family room are open to each other, too.
I don't know if stainless and granite appeal to prospective buyers but they certainly appeal to me!
Just wondering, I watch a lot of HGTV, do your clients always say they want granite counter tops and stainless appliances? Are those two items a big deal to prospective buyers?
It depends. We have had quite a few clients want us to spec out concrete counter tops. we generally do not get into the very fine details such as appliances, or counter top choices unless it is going to change the way the structural elements must be laid out such as stone interior items. I can tell you from the completed homes I have walked through, many of the clients actually like to have the ref. and dish washers to share the exterior finish of the rest of the cabs. Stainless is slowly fading, black appliances seem to be used quite more frequently in the past couple years.
HGTV really pushes the open concept. I prefer seperate rooms, my kitchen (while gorgeous) LOL, there is always something going on in there, **isn't that what kitchens are for** so when I go into the Living Room, it is like a peaceful getaway. I do not need to see dishes, pots , laundry...etc while I am watching TV or reading a book.
Also, doesn't it seem like the builders are being cheap with making an open concept, so instead of having 3 decent size rooms for Living, Dining and kitchen they make it just 1 room for all 3....Here in Brooklyn NY there are a lot of new homes going up and they all seem to have 1 big room with the cabinets shoved in the corner......oh well......
I prefer traditional layouts. I don't want my guests to sit at the dining room table and look over into the kitchen filled with dirty pots and pans, nor do I want us to have coffee and dessert in a living/family room that also has a view of the kitchen -- messier now because I've cleared the table.
On the other hand ...
Quote:
I sure ain't going to sit in there, eat and discuss World Affairs.
... I like a large, cozy kitchen, with a table, for casual meals and coffee klatches. But I want it separated from the formal dining and living areas.
Kitchens in the middle of the house also annoy me -- I want that window over the sink! -- as do dining rooms you fall into as you step over the threshold.
I'm really not sold on the open floorplans. They tend to look great on HGTV, in model homes, etc. but in reality unless you have zero clutter and a good eye for design they don't look nice. ESPECIALLY when combined with vaulted ceilings. With the kitchen, dining, and living rooms combined it can be more difficult to place furniture and I think a lot of people have no idea how to decorate the space. It's a lot harder to transition design from one room to the next when it's all open, too often people leave the design plain and have too much clutter in sight.
I believe that deciding on open concept floor plans depends on personal preference, the architecture of the house, and the way people live (or need to live) on an everyday basis. Personally, I do not prefer the open space plan. I think that each room should express its own individuality while being part of the flow and design of a house. I believe that individual rooms should offer a sense of privacy (i.e., a space to read a book, watch TV with guests, or simply to think about things). I am trying to buy a new house now and there are two things I would insist on: (1) a private/separate dining room. Yes, one that deserves a large table and a beautiful chandelier, and (2) a closed kitchen. I abhor the idea of an open kitchen where everything is seen, heard, and smelled. I don't mean to sound rotten but kitchens, at one time, was meant only for the servants to enter, not the owners of a house. I think that this open-floor plan idea for kitchens is an ideal way for the building industry to sucker homeowners into buying or upgrading to the latest-and-greatest products on the market.
If you are going to build an open design, spend some time planning your possible cluster arrangements and install flush mount floor plugs.
This is especially important if you have non-carpeted floors as you don't want to be running cords across the floor or having them hang down from above.
Floor plugs are not intrusive and are the only practical way to supply power to furniture clusters in the middle of the room, like to power reading lamps, or a computer desk.
If you have a crawl space or a basement they can be added later; but, if you build on a slab, they need to be planned for before construction begins.
I've lived in both styles of homes and in my opinion a blending of both styles works best. Completely open, with kids, is very noisy. Try cooking dinner and talking on the phone, while one child is watching tv and another is playing. Very difficult! Add another child trying to do homework at the dining room table and it just doesn't work.
That is what I meant in my post above but did not express! I have 4 kids and the open floor plan is very noisy.
All this open concept is pushed by lazy women that do not want to do housework, do the women's work, clean, cook and please the man of the house. My GF loves my structured house. Is over joyed at being able to do the duties involved. Nothing like having the best. Hands to work, hearts to God and feeling all is right in its place.
I was with you right up until here... I very strongly dislike open concept floor plans, but I do not think it was pushed by lazy women, let alone the rest of that.
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