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Yeah the open-concept kitchen is puzzling to me. Do people who like that concept actually cook or is their kitchen more like a museum? If you cook, you loathe the open-kitchen floorplan.
The best kitchen/LR/FR floorplans are from the 1990s. They're spacious and fairly open, but they still have a french door that seperates the kitchen off from the rest of the house. And they're placed in the back of the house unlike those 1960s designs where the kitchen is the first thing you encounter when you enter the house.
I live in an open concept house (and just bought another one) and I do a lot of cooking - I am a foodie and I will even do very complicated prep and many course meals. My kitchen is a large space, and a focal point for the house and sited such that it gets a lot of light. I love the open concept and wouldn't go back to being walled off in a corner again.
Many of my friends are also cooking enthusiasts and it is common for them to show up early and pitch in, helping with the cooking and cleanup so that generally, by the time dinner drinks are being served, the kitchen is mostly back to rights, and all the while we have been chatting and sharing, with the people in the kitchen and the peole seated at the breakfast bar.
In this house, a high quality venting system and a lot of windows take care of the food smell issue - in the new house, the venting will have to be upgraded.
Upthread someone mentioned a separate prep area - what I would love in an old-fashioned butler's pantry, a corridor-style room with storage space for all of my specialty dishes, serving dishes, linens, pantry, etc.
I live in an open concept house (and just bought another one) and I do a lot of cooking - I am a foodie and I will even do very complicated prep and many course meals. My kitchen is a large space, and a focal point for the house and sited such that it gets a lot of light. I love the open concept and wouldn't go back to being walled off in a corner again.
Many of my friends are also cooking enthusiasts and it is common for them to show up early and pitch in, helping with the cooking and cleanup so that generally, by the time dinner drinks are being served, the kitchen is mostly back to rights, and all the while we have been chatting and sharing, with the people in the kitchen and the peole seated at the breakfast bar.
In this house, a high quality venting system and a lot of windows take care of the food smell issue - in the new house, the venting will have to be upgraded.
Upthread someone mentioned a separate prep area - what I would love in an old-fashioned butler's pantry, a corridor-style room with storage space for all of my specialty dishes, serving dishes, linens, pantry, etc.
Our kitchen and dining room are combined and lead out to the deck. It is not unusual to have several people in the kitchen, fixing the salad, putting the appetizers together, one thing and another while a couple of folks are out on the deck grilling the pizzas or whatever.
It is not unusual for several of us to pitch in and clean the kitchen up before we settle back with our beer and stories.
The only advantage I can see is that the folks who aren't part of the cooking could still see what is going on.
Though now that I think of it, having the kitchen and dining room combined probably is half way to open concept.
unmolested Cape from the fifties, all original pale yellow kitchen sink with matching pale yellow metal kitchen cabinets, original pulley with rope weigth windows. it was like stepping back in time.
Sounds divine! I wouldn't touch a thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClayRing
I had a lovely brown Kenmore top loader from the 70s that finally gave up the ghost about a year ago.
When I sold my last house 8 years ago, I left behind a wonderful coppertone Kenmore dryer, dated 1969. It worked beautifully; no dryer I've had since then has worked as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
Homes with large dining areas off the kitchen seem to more practical.
Aren't most dining rooms off the kitchen??
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
Seems that except for task lighting, say in the kitchen, pot lights make a place look dated.
Hate them! They're so ugly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
Then I tried to imagine being in the same room as my husband for the next twenty years.
I have young kids, and I cook a lot. I make everything from scratch. I spend a LOT of time in my kitchen. I hate open concept kitchens. My last 2 houses had them (they're really hard to avoid these days) and they're such a pain. If the family is watching TV, they have to pause it while I run the various appliances I use. Either that, or blare the TV way too loud. The kitchen is where I work in the house, so having it in the living room means I never feel at rest. There is always something else I have to do. The room always feels messy with all the appliances on the counters. It also means there is not a space separate from the TV/play room that the kids can do their homework in. Keeping the non-school aged kids quiet and entertained while the school aged kids do their homework and I'm making dinner did not work for our family. Our last house had a large single room downstairs that was supposed to be the kitchen, dining area, and living room in one. The lack of separation just drove me crazy after a couple of years. We were constantly under each other's feet all the time.
I think it sounds like one of those great ideas that people think they want, but then when the kids get older and you live with it for several years you start to see how much it limits your lifestyle.
I have young kids, and I cook a lot. I make everything from scratch. I spend a LOT of time in my kitchen. I hate open concept kitchens. My last 2 houses had them (they're really hard to avoid these days) and they're such a pain. If the family is watching TV, they have to pause it while I run the various appliances I use. Either that, or blare the TV way too loud. The kitchen is where I work in the house, so having it in the living room means I never feel at rest. There is always something else I have to do. The room always feels messy with all the appliances on the counters. It also means there is not a space separate from the TV/play room that the kids can do their homework in. Keeping the non-school aged kids quiet and entertained while the school aged kids do their homework and I'm making dinner did not work for our family. Our last house had a large single room downstairs that was supposed to be the kitchen, dining area, and living room in one. The lack of separation just drove me crazy after a couple of years. We were constantly under each other's feet all the time.
I think it sounds like one of those great ideas that people think they want, but then when the kids get older and you live with it for several years you start to see how much it limits your lifestyle.
I think it probably works best for a couple of compatible, tidy people. That business of having everyone underfoot all the time would drive me bonkers.
Plus, I hate listening to the TV nattering on like an insane relative and someone always has a show they want to watch.
It seems that "appliance garages" are a thing of the past as well. Glad we didn't put one in our remodel 12 years ago.
Sadly I'm still seeing them in some new construction I've looked at. Also, the desk/bill pay area built into the kitchen seems very common in the new homes I've seen. Hope that one doesn't have staying power. My kitchen gets cluttery enough since I must have 8 different varieties of balsamic vinegar. I don't need the nightmare of mail and bills adding to that.
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Aren't most dining rooms off the kitchen??