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[jannabelle1]

Not all ranch homes are open concept. I'm not sure what part of the country you live in, but ranch homes in the midwest that were built prior to the 90s have individual rooms. If you're looking for a new home, then you'll probably find nothing but open concept. I sold my ranch in 2004 that was built in the late 70s - 3200 sq ft - not open concept. There were, and still are, plenty like it in many communities where I live.

Most of the open concept ranch homes that I've seen, are open with the kitchen and living area.....no separate dining room or living room. To be honest, it makes better use of space if you can live without a dining room. Having both a living room and a family room just makes more cleaning for a lot of younger families, and extra rooms that go unused.

Best of luck to you in your search.

[FancyPhillyshopper]

I think that some open concept designs fit the architecture of the house and others don't.  Some houses are made to have separate rooms.

Our home is pre-1900, and each room is separate with a door, although our parlor and our dining rooms both have built-in sliding doors.  

We love having a separate closed-off space for each area, and we can have our dogs stay in the kitchen and family room rather than roam all over the bottom floor.

We also toured houses from the 1920's which were built open concept on the first floor except for the kitchen.  Those homes emphasized entertaining and flowing from room to room.

In these historic home cases, kitchens were NOT a part of the public space.

Modern day open concept seems to focus on the kitchen as a key entertaining center.  If folks are comfortable with that role for the kitchen, then they eliminate all the doors and have direct access to the dining and living rooms.  Some people do not even have a "dining" room space, but rather just extended kitchen space with eating areas.  

The size of the house may also have an impact.  In our house with closed-off rooms, we can install mini heaters or air conditioners as wanted or needed.  WIth open-concept designs, full house heating or air-conditioning is required and every part has to stay the same temperature.

Finally, as you search for a new house, having a one floor house will certainly make it easier as you age to hopefully remain longer in your home.  However, my DM has a multi-story home and she installed electronic stairlifts, and is quite pleased with them.

[qvcfreak]

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@manny2 wrote:

I have open concept, and I love it. It is really a preference, so good luck in your search!

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Me too, I love my open concept home. I downsized to a much smaller home and it still makes it feel spacious.

[AngelPuppy1]

We bought a small ranch home several years ago.  The rooms are all separate.  Every ranch home we looked at had separate rooms.  Our home was built in the '50s.  Maybe the newer ranch homes have open concepts but you could ask your realtor about this.  I know many people prefer the open concept but I really don't care one way or the other.  We decided on a ranch because we were getting older and it's easier for us to navigate without a lot of stairs.  Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for! 

[Still Raining]

One subtle difference is privacy.  In an open plan someone can talk to you from over there.  With rooms you can hide away and read in peace.  Not in a bad way, just less intrusive.

[ScrapHappy]

I went from living in a single story ranch with a semi-open concept in the kitchen, dining and family room areas to a more "traditional" 3 story home with designated rooms.  I don't have a favorite either way.  For me, it's more of the feeling I get from the house.  I knew when I walked in...."this was the house."  It seems that just about all the newer homes I see have the open concept and they are beautiful.  I just wouldn't want to walk into a house and be directly placed in the kitchen or be able to see it.  I think some sort of entryway is still nice to have.  What bothered me at the time about my ranch was painting.  There is really no beginning to end with open concept.  It all had to be the same color because it's technically all the same room.

[jeanlake]

Love my open concept patio home. We do have a finished w/o basement leading to a hardscape courtyard. Hope you find a cozy place where you can find your own space within your home. I like poster's idea of shed if you don't have a basement. Helps with storage. Enjoy your search and new home.     

[ECBG]

When we built, we used a large great room with an enclosed kitchen, dining room, and laundry room.  Bedrooms are up stairs.

A hallway with bedrooms could have easily been plugged onto the end of the first floor.

I didn't want work areas open.  To have built the down stairs in an "L" shape with the kitchen on the end, would have given me a little kitchen privacy, but I still favor the concept to a large room with bedrooms off to the side if I can't have a 2 story.

Being on the side of a hill, I needed a two story.

[Katcat1]

@PAlady   One thing you can't do with open concept is run the dishwasher until you go to bed.  Too noisy.  I actually prefer the kitchen separate but close to the dining room.  A big kitchen so you can have a table and chairs or one of those built in cushioned seats plus a couple of chairs for casual dining.  For me the dining room is always for formal dinners with family and/or friends.  A ranch style home soounds wonderful and i hope you find something you love.

[PAlady]

Thank you all for your thoughts, it has been very helpful.  We went to look at a house last night.  It was very nice but not "our" house.  We will continue the search.  

Around our area ranch homes have become popular, of course all they are building are townhomes and mega homes.   There are a few that go on the market but are gone in a matter of hours or a couple days.  We are not in a hurry so we will continue to look.

Again, thank you all for your thoughts it has made me rethink a few things.