To think open plan living is not actually that great?

[Dancergirl]

In almost every homes magazine, tv programme etc these days the focus seems to be on open plan living space. Same old story - the main cook of the family feels isolated in the kitchen, everyone is doing their own thing in different rooms, families are not being together. So the answer is to knock down walls to create one big 'space' so all the family members can be together.

We currently have separate rooms downstairs although some are connected with doors. Kitchen is big enough to have a table in where we have every day meals. Sometimes I do think about going open plan but I can see huge disadvantages:

-Sometimes (especially in a bigger family) you do crave a bit of space to do your own thing and you can't really do that in one big room.

-Dh likes to listen to sports on the radio in the kitchen while the dc are watching telly in the other room. This wouldn't be easy in one big space.

-Dd1 plays piano and flute and practices in the living room. Other family members can sit in kitchen or small tv room and can do something else without having to listen to music practice.

-We are a close family but don't feel the need to spend every waking minute at home in the same room.

Do you think this open plan thing is just fashionable at the moment and we'll start craving walls soon? Or am I missing something??

Completely agree OP, for all the reasons that you listed and also because a big open plan room just doesn't feel cosy!

We own a fairly large Victorian house which needs total renovation. We're hopefully going to be in a financial position to do this in the next couple of years. There are half a dozen similar houses in the street. All the others have been extended and in several cases modernised beyond recognition, with huge open plan spaces, ceiling spotlights everywhere etc. They're very stylish, but just don't feel at all "homely" and all the original character is gone.

Everyone seems to assume that of course we'll also want to extend across the back of the house to join the (already considerable) kitchen/breakfast room to the living room / dining room and make it all into one great big party space (there is a separate study and utility room downstairs). But we have no intention of doing this! We'll just re-organise the downstairs a bit to make it more practical for modern living (direct access from hall to kitchen which also makes the dining room more accessible from the kitchen rather than using the traditional "servants' corridor"). We've been told that the way to maximise the resale value of the house would be to go all modern and open plan - but I'm not even sure that this is true as the tide seems to be changing somewhat and I suspect a lot of people will end up wishing they hadn't gutted their beautiful period houses...

So people with open plan - is your dishwasher in a seperate room (like the washing machine is - hopefully) or do you sit down after your evening meal with Eastenders on full blast to to be heard above the dishwasher whirring?

I don't have a dishwasher

Twirl - ours is intergrated and super quiet so you don't hear it. Usually we turn it on overnight though so last glasses we used throughout the evening can go in. Take about 3 hrs as Eco so it cleans whilst we sleep so we don't hear anything

Washing machine is also in kitchen area and we run over night also

My washing machine is put on at about 6pmish if I'm not at home during the day. It's done after about 90 mins - we don't eat until later anyway and the TV isn't really on at that time, so I've never really noticed the washing machine noise.

So people with open plan - is your dishwasher in a seperate room (like the washing machine is - hopefully) or do you sit down after your evening meal with Eastenders on full blast to to be heard above the dishwasher whirring?

No but we are usually in living room - with doors shut when it's put on. Plus the eating area is through an arch - and sinks are over other end of kitchen to dinning area - so can't see them when sat down.

The washing machine is out through proper outside door - in utility area - so can't hear that even in kitchen.

I can see in other open plan layouts the noise would be unbearable.

I like the doors so can shut them on the DC when they are being noisy - and with their bedroom door and door before living room means they can go in their rooms and there are two even three door between us. Yet layout still flows so not separate rooms - great while they were/are young.

I have a dishwasher with noise level of 46 dB. You have to check if the lights are on if you want to know if it's working or not.

Ours is integrated, quiet and a long way from the tv area. We put it on whenever and it's not intrusive.

In our last open plan flat it was so noisy with the dishwasher and washing machine on, god help you if you also wanted a cup of tea. It meant I only washed clothes and put dishwasher on over night. We had a washer dryer which took fecking ages to dry so that would have to be on for 3-4 hours a day. It was so hot and loud and horrible. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to move.

Actually we don't even have a door to bedroom from living room, just a kind of corridor that bends around ( so you can't see in bedroom from living room)

I think we have the best of both worlds.

At the back we have a big open plan kitchen diner with space for a large sofa a tv in it too, so we can all spend time in here together, have family gatherings etc, however we have retained a separate living room at the front of the house so that we do have a separate space if someone want to watch some different TV if DD is doing her piano practice in the open plan area.

I personally love it, find it so easy to entertain, do meals, clear up versus carrying stuff back and forth from a dining room. The only thing is sometimes it can look a bit untidy I suppose as you can see kitchen stuff from the living area but this doesn't bother me.

I specifically chose quiet appliances when we went open plan to avoid the issues mentioned regarding noise and we are luck to have separate utility room we can have the washing machine in.

We run our dishwasher overnight and then empty it in the morning. Our washing machine is in the utility room so there's no noise from that.

Our house is a great compromise. We have a proper hallway, a cosy lounge (about 11ft x 10ft) and then a 19ft x 11ft back room which is open plan to the kitchen. We have the table at one end and then a playroom / family room at the other.

There are still a few issues, namely DD2 climbing on the table when I'm cooking.

Mum and dad have 3 reception rooms in a straight line, all with double doors between. Great for parties as you can make it into one huge room (probably 50ft x 15ft) but it's 3 small rooms usually.

Art - you don't have a door between the bedroom and living space? Where do you shag? Sorry for personal question and obv feel free to not answer but I know you have said before that both your DC are in the bedroom with you and your dh. Do you just do it in the living room and hope they don't wake up and wander in?

I do think most people who say they like 'open plan living' also have a separate and closed off seocnd sitting room/den area and or separate utility room.

Our washing machine is shit - loud and long cycles and we can't watch TV or talk really if it is on. It gets put on when we are out (I know I know mumsnet hates that). Might also get put on on a timer so it runs form 4am or something so we don't hear it when we're trying to get to sleep from the bedroom.

Dishwasher not so annoying as its much quieter, but generally run it overnight when we go to bed rather than when we're watching TV.

What is wrong with putting on the washing machine when you are out?

Is this going to be a revelation to me, like when i found out you shouldn't leave laptops on duvets?

Totally agree OP. I'm really not a fan of open plan living and as a result bought a house with a separate living room, kitchen, dining room and play room. I can't stand people trying to talk to me when I'm cooking and don't like leftover kitchen smells wafting in when I'm trying to watch tv. Plus I like to listen to music when I'm cooking and DH likes to watch telly.

I do understand why people like open plan though, but I think it's also fashion. Serving hatches used to be all the rage and now noone has them.

Also separate rooms are much cosier in the winter

We have open plan, with kitchen living dining all together. I think it has improved family life. As the person who prepares most of the meals, it makes me feel a part of things. And everyone can go and get themselves a cup of tea or whatever, whilst still listening to the movie on tv etc. We have a separate utility so washing machine noise isn't a problem. The dishwasher is in the kitchen but it isn't noisy. Mostly open plan has been a success, but I would love to have a separate, second sitting room, without lego, barbie or Geordie Shore.

I recently read that open plan has an unintended consequence - that people graze more when the kitchen is right next to the sofa/TV.

We have the best of both worlds with an open plan kitchen/diner/sitting room at the back and a separate sitting room and study. I wouldn't want complete open plan as I like to be able to get away from the TV but I enjoy having a large family space too.

I can imagine that this is true^. There is something about closing the door on the kitchen and that signals that eating is over.

I still think that the fashion for open plan is based on a mythical dream of family life something like what you see in adverts where everybody spends their time sitting round in the kitchen chatting and cooking and laughing, and nobody ever says 'oh for goodness sake, do we have to watch football all the bloody time' or 'I can't stand to hear you bickering all the time' or 'just go away and leave me in peace for five minutes'.

A friend of mine has just knocked the whole ground floor of her house into one large space, and I just wonder, what happens when they want to get away from each other? Or do people subliminally think that once they've got a lovely open plan space they'll never feel like that?

We have an open plan kitchen / living room, dining room and hallway with a separate den and study and a utility room. I wouldn't want to have it any other way. Our layout is very unusual and world very well for us.