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Building houses with open floor plan is CHEAPER. Just look how everything in a house became cheaper than, say, 50-80 years ago. From the thickness of the walls and solid foundation to quality of windows and doors.
In an older home they're probably built with plaster and lathe, making them structurally stronger than the drywall construction of modern homes. These older materials also provided a better sound barrier and insulation.
Now houses are cheap and affordable for every pocket. Not the exterior, but the interior is affecting the price you pay and most people engage only in debates about floors, appliances and build in kitchens.
Open plan is a builder's dream - so much less work to do, so much faster to sell.
People were told that open floors are great and they just follow the fad because everyone else is following and they don't want their houses look different.
As you probably noticed, most people will not make any drastic changes to their homes, changes THEY would like, because they are always afraid that it will affect the resale. People buy houses, pay mortgage and from the day one think already about resale.
That's probably explains why so few people built homes with closed floor plan when they built it from scratch.
This fad is sitting deep in their mind and nowadays interiors seem to look all the same. Sure, people have different kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops or even appliances, but the open floor concept looks in every home the same. When a stainless steel is in - everyone has them, liked it not. Same with granite tops, same with floors - pergo for cheap houses, engineering wood for more expensive etc. Even interior paint is a matter of a trend. Just look how many houses have rooms painted in gray...
They were told that they absolutely need open floors to "entertain" their guests, to communicate with other members of family, to feel "connected", to control their kids...etc.
Homes became places where one can really hide (kids rooms are soo small they can't really sleep, play, learn or have other kids over) to do their own stuff without being constantly visible and a part of home life. There is hard to escape to read quietly, or listen to music, or watch their own choice of tv program or even talk with their friends without being seen and heard by everyone else. I also think that's not good for ones mental health either.
One needs to hide in their bedroom, which I think isn't really a place to visit with others. With open floors concept, bedrooms (except for master) became smaller and smaller.
People buy houses and decide on interiors mostly to make their friends or the next buyer happy and they often follow the trends regardless of their own wishes.
Just read the threads on this or other forums.
The "open concept" actually started in the late 50's- so, 7 decades is not a "fad". There are so many other misnomers already mentioned in this thread I could barely stop laughing! But the "fad" thing really needed to be put to rest.
The "open concept" actually started in the late 50's- so, 7 decades is not a "fad". There are so many other misnomers already mentioned in this thread I could barely stop laughing! But the "fad" thing really needed to be put to rest.
I would say that while the concept itself certainly isn't new (heck, Lloyd Wright was designing houses like this back in the 20s and 30s), what is relatively new (say, the last 20 years) is the insistence that EVERYTHING must be open plan - along with the almost total absence of anything else in new construction, and the lemming-like move to remodel all older houses into that format. That's what's the "fad", not the open plan concept itself. And for that matter, it's not clear to me that "fad" is the right word for something that's been going on for 20 years, either. But if one takes the long view, 20 years is a short time compared to how long people were building houses that primarily had separate rooms.
I would say fads can go on for quite a while. Though yes, we can debate the definition of "fad" I suppose.
I'm sure you can find houses with open floor plans, or something resembling it, even back in the 1800's. But I hope it's agreed it didn't really become a thing until starting about 30 years ago.
turf3 has it right: It's not just that open floor plans are popular, it's that EVERYTHING is built with an open floor plan these days. You have no choice whatsoever unless you buy an old house or hire an architect to design you a custom house. If builders built a mix of things these days, I wouldn't be ranting.
The "open concept" actually started in the late 50's- so, 7 decades is not a "fad". There are so many other misnomers already mentioned in this thread I could barely stop laughing! But the "fad" thing really needed to be put to rest.
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I love open plan and find it way more efficient. Others are not going to like it and there are still tons of options for you if you don't like it. Regardless, this has been discussed 1,000 times on this board.
I hate the open floor plan. We bought a house with an open floor plan. The first thing we did was close off the kitchen from the living room and dining room.
I prefer a formal living room and dining room. The kitchen is an informal, sometimes messy room. I don’t like having guests see food preparation, cluttered counter tops, dirty dishes, or whatever else may be going on in the kitchen.
Open plans do have their problems. I still prefer them for people who like to entertain. Makes a lot more sense to have a group in one large room.
Well, that's my definition of unpleasant: a huge group of tipsy people all screaming at each other at the top of their lungs in one large room (usually with hard surfaces everywhere) because no one can hear a word anyone else is saying.
Yippee, what fun!
We certainly wouldn't want to make it possible for smaller groups to get off by themselves and actually, you know, converse - exchanging information and viewpoints, rather than just screaming at each other and deciphering a quarter of what's said. No, no, no, that wouldn't be "fun" and "sociable". Nope, "entertaining" has to be like five minutes before closing bell on the Stock Exchange.
Open plans do have their problems. I still prefer them for people who like to entertain. Makes a lot more sense to have a group in one large room.
But, come on... How oft people are entertaining? Some do once or twice a year, if even. Some do on their backyards, patios, enclosed terraces, with BBQ kitchen, sitting arrangements and all.
But they have to live in that open floor house all year long because there aren't other choices on the market.
The problem of missing walls is not only the smell, the sound, the lack of privacy, the increased costs of cooling and heating, the lack of intimate corners, the lack of variety of different rooms made for different purposes, but also a limited space for furniture and art and big spaces need some uniformity in color themes, furniture types, floors, decorations etc.
Only rich people can buy houses with several rooms they can purpose for playing, reading, craft, work or such.
Open spaces need to always be tidy and clutter free, otherwise they look messy and chaotic. If you have one big open space and tiny bedrooms for your family, then you can't create such cozy, personalized spaces.
I also hate the concept of walking from outside right into the living room. You see it in apartments, condos and smaller houses all the times.
When someone who isn't your close friend walks into such house, he is exposed right away to everything there - your kitchen, dining and living space. Not everyone is comfortable with that. Especially if there are other family members busy with their own stuff like cooking, eating, doing homework or other work, watching TV or reading, perhaps leisurely laying on the couch, dressed in house clothes. Maybe people don't care about that anymore?
Kinda weird to me, if you can't redirect those visitors to your study, library or office without disturbing others.
Bigger McMansions have some sort of an entry hall and extra rooms, but smaller houses and condos generally don't.
Change people's mind or at least give them an option, and they might start to appreciate closed floor plans. Many already wish they live in those.
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