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[twinny70]

We built our open concept home 19 years ago. The old house seemed so confining to us. As far as seeing dishes in the sink, we have a nice island with glass door cupboards above it, so when you come into the house, all you see are the beautiful cupboards above the island. It is a great home for entertaining as everybody can mingle with everybody. All of our family and friends love to come here for the holidays, and we love having them here. There are only my DH & I, so if we want some time by ourselves, we head down to our full basement which also has a bathroom, family room & bedroom. Both our DD & SIL & their 3 children and DS & DIL have open concept homes too and thy love them too.

[Desertdi]

I don't like anyone to watch me cook......or "help" me in the kitchen. My kitchen has 3/4 walls, but no door........I can put up with that.......but I wish I could lock myself in and be alone with my "creations"............

[Starpolisher]

I've never liked the open concept. Two of my neighbors took down the wall between their dining rooms and kitchen to make open kitchens. While it looks nice and makes the kitchen larger, it really doesn't give them more seating area. To me it just took away the separate formal dining room. I love my formal dining room. When we have family dinners. I can seat ten comfortably and still have my kitchen table to seat at least 4-6 more. I also like my rooms separate and don't like it when people come to your door and can see in the entire house or most of your living space. The open concept is just not for me.

[lolakimono]

I have had both. I think one main problem with open kitchens can be the lack of upper cabinet space, as there is nowhere to hang the cabinets.

[ID2]

Oh I absolutely wouldn't live in a house without an open concept design! I've lived in houses with closed in rooms...yuck. We just completed rebuilding our summer home (just moved everything in a month ago!) and its completely open concept. I LOVE being able to cook in my kitchen and just look up to see my dh on the couch, I can watch tv, and the BEST part is I can view my beautiful lake from just about anywhere in my cottage.

[gardensla]

On 1/19/2014 luvmyteddy said:

I have lived in both but prefer the closed kitchen setup. I like to keep the cooking smells in the kitchen and not floating around. I like the privacy of cooking while not being watched.

What she said!

ETA--I really enjoyed both the Slate article and the blog piece from the mom.

Thanks for posting. Such an interesting topic.

[Snicks1]

On 1/19/2014 lolakimono said:

I have had both. I think one main problem with open kitchens can be the lack of upper cabinet space, as there is nowhere to hang the cabinets.

I agree with this thought, I know that when we did a mini remodel on our kitchen about 15 years ago, we talked about taking out walls, but I need cabinets, so we kept our walls. I would love the open concept, other than lack of cabinet space.

[stevieb]

The whole open concept thing (along with granite and stainless) had become somewhat of a joke as far as I'm concerned. You watch HGTV and all they talk about is wanting the kitchen open so when they entertain they can interact with their guests... It's like some sort of mantra... Open concept, open concept, open concept... Really? They entertain THAT often that the entire flow of their house has to be focused on entertaining? Common sense would tell you that kitchens get messy and you might not want a direct sight line from the room in which you live (or entertain...) to your kitchen. I like a kitchen to adjoin a living area, but it doesn't have to be one big open space to make me happy. If people like to hang out in the kitchen or have their friends and family hang out in the kitchen, then why not just seek a really big kitchen?

[ginirn]

I have been interested in the development of "open concept living". Way back when in pioneer times the cabins people lived in were all combined open spaces-living, cooking, sleeping. Then as people became more prosperous they built homes with separate rooms. I really think the biggest influence on the public and the open plan was early television from the 50's. Initially on shows like "Father Knows Best" sets were like real homes with separate rooms. Later due to the cameras it was easier to film the shows as open sets which to me back them were not realistic. However after being exposed to this idea for years and years it actually evolved into architectural reality.

I personally like separate rooms. You can decorate so each area has a different feel and purpose. Having my kitchen exposed is exposing to rest to my home to smells and chaos when actually cooking in there. That said I do like a large kitchen with a table. It just seems comfortable to me.

[CookyJ]

Long ago I remember my mother saying there is no perfect house, even if you custom design it, because your needs change throughout your life. I have lived with both open kitchens and closed-off ones. Right now I am loving my open kitchen. It works well for my needs when it is just family here and when I have guests. If I had it do over again, I would have selected drawers instead of bottom cabinets.