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When we build which will hopefully be soon we are going to have an open designed by us area. The entire home is being designed by us and it will be built exactly as we want it. So if it turns out like crap we only have ourselves to blame.
I miss having some walls - a completely open floor plan (my living area, dining room, and kitchen are all combined) doesn't offer enough noise control, or options when it comes to placing furniture, art and wall hangings - to suit my fancy. I mean, I think it's very PRETTY - but my next house is going to have more nooks and crannies, that's for sure!
Here's my main area in my house now (you can see the kitchen counter leading to a nice, large kitchen to the right):
I'm grateful for good construction, nice windows and light, and a pleasant home - but the next go round I want a few more walls! I especially want a larger, more separate (and therefore more formal) dining room. We have a large family and need to dining space.
We have a separate den, thank goodness - otherwise with the tile floors, granite, and tall ceilings, the noise from a movie or football game would be DEAFENING. As it is, kitchen noise and scents can interfere with visiting. I'm not crazy about that.
And placing this furniture was a BEAR! You can't see it but there's a corner fireplace to the left. As if there weren't already enough challenges!
Beautiful home Kathryn....I think we all make concessions to some degree when we buy a home - few are perfect but somehow we grow to love them and how to decorate them despite their imperfections....love your tree by the way.
I miss having some walls - a completely open floor plan (my living area, dining room, and kitchen are all combined) doesn't offer enough noise control, or options when it comes to placing furniture, art and wall hangings - to suit my fancy. I mean, I think it's very PRETTY - but my next house is going to have more nooks and crannies, that's for sure!
Here's my main area in my house now (you can see the kitchen counter leading to a nice, large kitchen to the right):
I'm grateful for good construction, nice windows and light, and a pleasant home - but the next go round I want a few more walls! I especially want a larger, more separate (and therefore more formal) dining room. We have a large family and need to dining space.
We have a separate den, thank goodness - otherwise with the tile floors, granite, and tall ceilings, the noise from a movie or football game would be DEAFENING. As it is, kitchen noise and scents can interfere with visiting. I'm not crazy about that.
And placing this furniture was a BEAR! You can't see it but there's a corner fireplace to the left. As if there weren't already enough challenges!
I think that would be a perfect layout if there was also a separate formal dining room and the current dining area was just a breakfast/lunch area. I like open layouts so long as there is a separate dining room and office area on that level. Something about having people over for dinner and eating right next to a kitchen full of dirty dishes just doesn't appeal to me!
Lots of good points. I will add that there are homes that were designed by prominent architects well over 100 years that have well proportioned / carefully detailed living areas that lend themselves to entertaining , conversation, family enjoyment of music / child's play. In some cases the food preparation area was part of that space but most were not. The shift toward making the kitchen a more communal area was answered well by some architects as early as the period immeadiately following WWII but far too many builders do not put in enough thought to the practical concerns that modern kitchens demand.
Honestly when I see well DESIGNED homes that do have appropriate delination between public areas and more intimate parts of a home it is rare and tends to be in the homes carefully drawn by a skilled design who uses years of practical experience to answer the challenges of how to make a home both functional and attractive. Homes that violate principals of proportion be that "open" or "traditional" will never feel as comfortable / inviting as those whose designers clearly demonstrate an understanding of such things.
I think that would be a perfect layout if there was also a separate formal dining room and the current dining area was just a breakfast/lunch area. I like open layouts so long as there is a separate dining room and office area on that level. Something about having people over for dinner and eating right next to a kitchen full of dirty dishes just doesn't appeal to me!
I agree - as long as there are TWO living areas and TWO dining areas I can make it with an open floor plan. But I really have decided that I do not like the kitchen sitting in the middle of the main living area. Now - if the living area in the kitchen/dining space was the less formal den, it would be fine - like a keeping room, that sort of thing. In my house, however, the main living area and the main dining area is all wadded up with the kitchen.
We have a good size room - about 15 x 18 - right off the main living area. It could be either a large dining room, or a small den. That's sort of odd, too. We made it a small den. Oh well!
Beautiful home Kathryn....I think we all make concessions to some degree when we buy a home - few are perfect but somehow we grow to love them and how to decorate them despite their imperfections....love your tree by the way.
Thanks for the compliments! I really enjoy decorating.
I agree about the concessions as well - overall, I really love my home. It is the perfect size for us and our furnishings and style go well with the stucco walls and wood trim. It's a pleasant home in a pleasant neighborhood and sometimes I feel guilty complaining about it! But the NEXT house will NOT have the kitchen sitting in the middle of the main living area - that is for sure!
I miss having some walls - a completely open floor plan (my living area, dining room, and kitchen are all combined) doesn't offer enough noise control, or options when it comes to placing furniture, art and wall hangings - to suit my fancy. I mean, I think it's very PRETTY - but my next house is going to have more nooks and crannies, that's for sure!
Here's my main area in my house now (you can see the kitchen counter leading to a nice, large kitchen to the right):
I'm grateful for good construction, nice windows and light, and a pleasant home - but the next go round I want a few more walls! I especially want a larger, more separate (and therefore more formal) dining room. We have a large family and need to dining space.
We have a separate den, thank goodness - otherwise with the tile floors, granite, and tall ceilings, the noise from a movie or football game would be DEAFENING. As it is, kitchen noise and scents can interfere with visiting. I'm not crazy about that.
And placing this furniture was a BEAR! You can't see it but there's a corner fireplace to the left. As if there weren't already enough challenges!
I almost always do not like open concept, I am however, making an exception for yours. You have it decorated really nice, I like that you have designated each area for "living", love, love, love, did I say love, the hanging lights over the counter top, love the chest as a coffee table. It looks warm and inviting, just the kind of home you want to be in.
We all have some things in our homes we don't like, as they are never perfect **drats** and we make it work.......................yours is soooooooooo working !!!
and yes, I will also agree with catt, your tree is really pretty !!!
PS: had to examine it again, this works because the room is not massive, it is just right for it to be comfortable.
I almost always do not like open concept, I am however, making an exception for yours. You have it decorated really nice, I like that you have designated each area for "living", love, love, love, did I say love, the hanging lights over the counter top, love the chest as a coffee table. It looks warm and inviting, just the kind of home you want to be in.
We all have some things in our homes we don't like, as they are never perfect **drats** and we make it work.......................yours is soooooooooo working !!!
and yes, I will also agree with catt, your tree is really pretty !!!
PS: had to examine it again, this works because the room is not massive, it is just right for it to be comfortable.
LOL thank you, thank you!!!
It means a lot to me that people think my home feels inviting - it is my absolute goal to impart just that feeling of warmth and comfort and intimacy. I love for surfaces to feel good, for there to be a nice scent in the air, and for people to be able to relax, put their feet up on the furniture, etc. I also have a lot of art and knickknacks, some would say too many - but I love for there to be something interesting to look at no matter where your eye lands.
I was a military brat and then a military wife. I've moved so often it's ridiculous. So for me, it's the FURNISHINGS and the beloved items that make a home rather than the floorplan or house itself. I was talking with my daughter tonight. She is 29. She is trying to settle into her style and has begun buying more quality items and furniture. I told her "Pick a set of colors that you love, that are independent of trends and fads, and then if you see something that you just love - BUY IT. You will be able to work it in no matter where you move." Her husband is in the military so they will move a lot over the years as well.
Once again, thanks for the compliments - I work hard to tweak on my house and I consider our homes to be havens -where we can recharge and where we are supposed to FEEL GOOD!
I dislike open floor plans. I have a couple of paintings, and I enjoy having walls to hang them on. I enjoy decorating and I like having rooms that look different. I guess I could paint everything beige, but I don't think I'd enjoy doing that.
I think having separation and hallways is safer. If one of my spurned lovers breaks into the house, I don't want him to be able to mosey directly across my cavernous living/dining/kitchen combo and easily locate my bedroom.
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breaks into the house, I don't want him to be able to mosey directly across my cavernous living/dining/kitchen combo and easily locate my bedroom.
