To not understand why people love kitchen diners so much?

[TwinkleCrinkle]

I like open plan living but don't fully get why everyone seems to love a kitchen diner?
We have a semi open plan layout with an island and sofa seating and dining table around the corner.
Every time I cook it looks like a bomb has gone off... So I can't imagine having my dinner (let alone guests) surrounded by what can only be described as carnage!

Why do you like yours so much? How do you keep things tidy when entertaining?

Same as fishon - I can't imagine going back to closed off rooms - open plan living is so much nicer. However the rooms do have to be quite big imo - we had a smallish kitchen diner in our last house and it felt quite cramped and I did feel people were sort of in the way of me cooking.

In this house we have a big breakfast bar (about chest height on me) so all the kitchen preparation area is hidden but you can still see over to chat and watch TV. The kids sit and eat/ do homework at the breakfast bar and the living area is the other side. The dining area is sort of along from the kitchen but far enough that you can't see the prep area very well so the mess isn't a big deal.