If I Never See This Decor or Design Choice Again, or Please, No more….. (doors, designs)
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I was talking about high density cities during the 90's in relation to a city in the midwest.
Open floor plans (as explained in the Houzz link) was a questionnaire with a consensus that
concluded "It's a good solution for small space living. Knocking down walls to open up small
homes is a popular way of creating a feeling of space. Germany's Kurz says "In all those areas
determined by a highly competitive housing market, an optimization of small flats is more likely-
as there is less space."
Open concept as in one large room (what we see today) vs mid century or Frank LLoyd Wright
had subtle separations (there were many variations).
Also, for some of us, even comfy chairs and stools are a problem if you have some mobility
problems.
Hmm. Our house was built especially for elderly people! The previous owner told us that, and we've noted several ways that this was done. At any rate, it would seem to me that an open floor plan might be better for someone who uses a walker, than, say an active 5 member family.
Most of the posters who post on this issue seem to be almost emotionally invested in this issue. I've lived in both sorts of houses, and I prefer a more open plan. But, I don't view this preference as any thing except a preference. I am sort of surprised at the vehemence of the segmented room group of posters.
Hmm. Our house was built especially for elderly people! The previous owner told us that, and we've noted several ways that this was done. At any rate, it would seem to me that an open floor plan might be better for someone who uses a walker, than, say an active 5 member family.
Most of the posters who post on this issue seem to be almost emotionally invested in this issue. I've lived in both sorts of houses, and I prefer a more open plan. But, I don't view this preference as any thing except a preference. I am sort of surprised at the vehemence of the segmented room group of posters.
Maybe I can shed some light on that vehemence!
It's very frustrating to be uncomfortable in one's own home. Our home is supposed to be our refuge from frustration, our comfort zone. When a person is perpetually - every day, day in and day out - uncomfortable in their refuge, it can bring out the vehemence.
Several things frustrated me every single day in my beautiful, open floor plan home. One thing was the difficulty of placing furniture without walls. I have a lot of original art work and I wanted walls to hang it on. I really hadn't thought about that before living there.
Another thing that frustrated me was that every sound and smell from the kitchen permeated the living space. And turn the TV on and it was like having a symphony orchestra, or a football stadium, inside my house. I like peace and quiet, so this really bothered me.
Here's something odd that subconsciously bothered me for awhile until I realized with a start what was really getting to me - TOO MANY LIGHT FIXTURES HANGING EVERYWHERE. Oh my gosh - three pendant lights over the bar, a big kitchen light and fan, a big chandelier over the dining table, a big fan/light in the living room, and another hanging pendant in the entry way. Then of course, I had lamps at either end of the sofa and a standing lamp by a chair. Then there were can lights throughout that same space. It was like living in a light fixture store! All that looked fine when there was no furniture in the room, but it was too much of a good thing once everything was in place (which took some doing, I might add).
No outlets in the floor in the huge living space. So you have to float furniture and then what? You don't need a lamp by a chair or the end of the sofa to read, to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea? Of course you do - so I had to run extension cords under the sofa - which doesn't have a skirt so I couldn't hide the cord. Grrrr.
This is a small thing but it did surprise me - Christmas decorations had to be completely revamped. In our former home, we had very separated rooms, so I had different colors and themes going - for instance, the den was really rustic stuff, and the living room was in traditional red and green and the dining room was in white and gold, and the kitchen stuff was all snowman stuff. In separate rooms this was fun, but of course it would look awful all mixed up together. But the house was big, and so I had to sort of choose one theme out of my stuff, go buy some new stuff, and store my other old favorites.
These things wore on me for several years. Now - the house itself was beautiful. It had a lot of architectural interest and gorgeous trim and surfaces. So it LOOKED nice but it didn't feel comfortable to me. Being subconsciously (and sometimes consciously) irritated every single day built up angst to the point that when we were house shopping, we would walk into a home with an open floor plan and both of us would exclaim, "OH NO!!!!!"
^^^^ I disagree. Actually it's pretty hard to find a house that doesn't have open floor plan. Except it's really old or custom build.
I agree. We ended up buying a custom built home that was over 20 years old. Now that's not OLD but since it was custom built then, it was decked out to the max with 1990s colors and finishes, which looked really dated. Thankfully it has great bones, and was priced to accommodate updating, but we've been slowly updating it for two years now (and are up to about $60,000 in updates - not to mention the hassle of remodeling).
Several things frustrated me every single day in my beautiful, open floor plan home. One thing was the difficulty of placing furniture without walls. I have a lot of original art work and I wanted walls to hang it on. I really hadn't thought about that before living there.
No outlets in the floor in the huge living space. So you have to float furniture and then what? You don't need a lamp by a chair or the end of the sofa to read, to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea? Of course you do - so I had to run extension cords under the sofa - which doesn't have a skirt so I couldn't hide the cord. Grrrr.
I have wondered about the art and electrical outlet situation. I'm in a quandry about what to do when I buy my next house - which will be next year.
I think I'd like a modified open plan but one thing I really disliked when I was last looking at homes was seeing the kitchen straight ahead the minute you open the front door - bad, just bad.
Also - I have a formal DR and when having guests over it's nice to partially clean up the mess by loading the dishwasher and get them going. I close the pocket door and the washer can't be heard in the DR or LR. I'm trying to picture the same situation wide open.
I have wondered about the art and electrical outlet situation. I'm in a quandry about what to do when I buy my next house - which will be next year.
I think I'd like a modified open plan but one thing I really disliked when I was last looking at homes was seeing the kitchen straight ahead the minute you open the front door - bad, just bad.
Also - I have a formal DR and when having guests over it's nice to partially clean up the mess by loading the dishwasher and get them going. I close the pocket door and the washer can't be heard in the DR or LR. I'm trying to picture the same situation wide open.
Well, you could buy an older home with more walls. You can easily add outlets to existing walls if the older home doesn't have enough outlets (which is pretty common). Many homes built in the 1980s and 1990s have modified open plans.
For instance, the house we bought two years ago doesn't have an open floor plan, but it DOES have a big archway that's like a double door between the kitchen and the living room, and another archway between the kitchen leading into the dining room. So plenty of walls, and I guess the design is good because kitchen noises and smells seem easily confined to the kitchen, but the kitchen doesn't feel isolated. But the sink and work areas of the kitchen are not visible from the living and dining areas.
I have wondered about the art and electrical outlet situation. I'm in a quandry about what to do when I buy my next house - which will be next year.
I think I'd like a modified open plan but one thing I really disliked when I was last looking at homes was seeing the kitchen straight ahead the minute you open the front door - bad, just bad.
Also - I have a formal DR and when having guests over it's nice to partially clean up the mess by loading the dishwasher and get them going. I close the pocket door and the washer can't be heard in the DR or LR. I'm trying to picture the same situation wide open.
Look at the decibel level on dishwashers when you buy one. My floor plan is completely open and I can barely hear my dishwasher when its running and it does not interfere at all with conversation or watching tv or listening to music. I specifically picked the lowest decibel level model to make sure it wasn't an issue.
I think I'd like a modified open plan but one thing I really disliked when I was last looking at homes was seeing the kitchen straight ahead the minute you open the front door - bad, just bad.
Funny you should say that. In every house I've lived in, guests and parties always end up concentrated in the kitchen, except when watching football games, and even then the kitchen was important to have close. So in the house I'm designing, the kitchen is the central portion of the open main house with the dining room off one side and the living room off the other with a lot of light. Perfect for our style of entertaining and living.
^^^^ I disagree. Actually it's pretty hard to find a house that doesn't have open floor plan. Except it's really old or custom build.
Is it ever. Here is an example of a Chicago bungalow. There are several types of bungalows in the
city and the one posted is a modest one. There are others that are much larger and more ornate: HCBA
These were built on small lots and had basements and a stairway that led up to the attic (unfinished).
They had separate living rooms, dining rooms, a nice size kitchen with a pantry and usually 2
bedrooms with one bath. It was an affordable home, at the time, for working class families.
In the first video, the house definitely needed work done on the roof, electrical, boiler, a/c,
sanding the floors... and I do think at one time there were built-ins in the dining room and stained
or beveled glass windows in certain rooms.
This kitchen is not from a Chicago Bungalow but it gives people an idea what it would have looked like originally but a bit smaller (and probably one wall with the cabinets). http://www.butdecor.com/wp-content/u...sign-ideas.jpg
But, I don't view this preference as any thing except a preference. I am sort of surprised at the vehemence of the segmented room group of posters.
The problem is choice. Cheap-ass builders trying to save a buck have brainwashed the public into thinking that open floor plans are the bees knees. Thus, every new dwelling has an open floor plan. If you want a new home, you're stuck with either a custom build -- nice, if you have the cash -- or an open floor plan.
When you really get down to it, an open floor plan is nothing more than a gigantic eat-in kitchen. Blech.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Here's something odd that subconsciously bothered me for awhile until I realized with a start what was really getting to me - TOO MANY LIGHT FIXTURES HANGING EVERYWHERE.
[snip]
No outlets in the floor in the huge living space. So you have to float furniture and then what? You don't need a lamp by a chair or the end of the sofa to read, to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea?
I've wondered about walls -- where does one hang one's art? -- but never thought about the plethora of light fixtures (I hate can lights with a passion!!) or outlets. Of course, floor outlets are possible, but that's just one more restriction on furniture placement.
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