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[AuntG]

While looking at some floor plans, I saw an optional feature called "messy kitchen". An internet search explained that the downside of open concept homes is that all the kitchen prep mess is on display. A popular feature is to include a small prep kitchen adjacent to the actual one. Boy, would that be up my alley - I'm a very messy cook and could use a messy kitchen. I'd gladly give up a walk-in pantry for a small extra kitchen.

[Annabellethecat66]

@AuntG Sign me up!  I have so much 'stuff' on my counters....well to say it's messy is an understatement.

It's OK because I seldom cook anyway, so......

[Peaches McPhee]

That is exactly why I don't like open concept.  It looks great, until your kitchen is covered in dirty dishes and dish towels.  I went to a nice dinner at a home that had open concept, and as we were eating, all I could think of was "oh, there's the refridgerator" and "there's the dish the pasta was cooked in".  I like more formal.

[stevieb]

No, no, no... Not for me... I don't want to have to maintain two kitchens... Just give me one with plenty of storage and that isn't open to the whole house... I'd also note, having an eat-in kitchen is fine, as long as there's another dining alternative...

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Talk about the tail wagging the dog!

I have an eat-in "country kitchen", within walls except for an entry to the dining room, center hall, and step-down den (which leads to the garage).  I love it.

I'm a pretty organized cook but I like the feeling of privacy I have while doing my thing in the kitchen.

[Sublime Saumya]

@AuntG I completely feel you. I'm a certain level of a messy cook. (Completely opposite to my mother) and I'm paradoxical, want everything to look pretty without trying to do much. So yes a 'messy kitchen' would be great.

[Lilysmom]

I like a self contained kitchen as well.  We had a cottage that had an open style kitchen and I liked that but not for my home.  I have a huge eat in kitchen.  I took one wall and this large set of plantation shutters so I can view into the formal dining room which is street facing.  You can open a little, a lot or pull back completely.  It is surprising how much it brightens the kitchen.  I love it.  LM

[faeriemoon]

I have always preferred big open living spaces.  I don't care for enclosed rooms except for (obviously) bedrooms and bathrooms, and perhaps offices and the like.  

I liked the open concept before it was a concept. 

[queendiva]

My small home has an open plan but the kitchen is separate from the other areas. In a small home this is a good thing, for many reasons given on this thread. Starting kitchen reno on Monday. Present plan has a raised half wall area behind the sink run of counters that separates it from the eat-in dining area. DS wanted it to go in favor of a peninsula design. I nixed that idea, as the half wall provides a backsplash and the all-important  visual barrier to the whole prep area. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen on my laptop, eating meals and entertaining one or two guests. More than that calls for the dining room.

In my previous home's kitchen reno I left the wall up between the eat in kitchen and the dining room, just opened up the doorway to a generous size. Did not want to be looking at the mess while trying to enjoy my meal! When I cook there is a mess, even though I put away and clean as I go.

Prep kitchen area of the kitchen? Sounds redundant and $$$$. Give me a walk- in pantry over that any day. A kitchen that needs a kitchen so it can be a showplace/ museum? Not in my world!

[Bri369]

I prefer an open concept.  I always hated being in the kitchen seperated from everybody.  Everyone gathers in the kitchen anyway.  I'm not that messy.  LOL

A friend of mine has a butler's pantry.  It has a sink, a dishwasher, and storage.  It has a door and can be closed off is necessary.  She gets a lot of use out of it.