Open plan or not?

[Zacharyswan]

We are starting the process of extending/ remodelling to build a new kitchen diner.

There won’t be space within the current plan to have any soft seating in the kitchen. So, should we knock through and make it open plan with the living room too? We would still have a separate tv room.

I know it’s what everyone else seems to do, but we are not he tidiest family and I fear one big cluttered room, filled with junk and kitchen smells.

But then we may be selling in a few years, and should probably think about what others want as well.

Is open plan living really that great?

If you still have a separate TV room then it's probably ok - could you knock through to the living room but put double doors in? That way you can close the doors on the mess/smells when you like but have open plan as an option too.

Do you have a separate utility? The main thing that would put me off would be noise from washing machines, etc.

Keep them separate. We're just about to move out of a house we've been renting for 7 year. Kitchen living diner all open plan. I HATE it.
We've just bought a house with separate rooms and I cannot wait to move in. Keep the walls!

I only like open plan kitchen/diner/living when there is a utility room for the noisy and truly messy kitchen stuff and a separate living room / snug.
I think an open kitchen area with seating and a dining area are great for when children are small and social occasions. But then having somewhere to escape to is ideal when children are older or you want some peace / to be cosy.
I’ve two friends who have all open plan and both say they want a separate living space.

You need rooms really. We knocked kitchen and diner into one but have a lounge and a study/snug with TV in for retreating and where the X box lives. Best decision to keep that room. We toyed with open plan for the lot but glad we didn't now.

I would like open plan or double doors.

We do have a small utility luckily.

Because of how it is configured, putting big doors in between would mean messing around with structural bits- it’s actually easier just to take the whole wall out.

What is it you hate so much Lorelai ?

Split opinions on MN. Tends to depend on whether you prefer to do your cooking/prepping/clearing up with everyone else hanging out in the same room so you can join in the chat, or on your own with peace and quiet and maybe the radio for company.

Which sort are you?

PS definitely agree it only works if you have a separate living room/snug and a separate utility, but sounds like you do.

@Zacharyswan I feel like it's never tidy. We're in it all the time and I just can't keep it. And I follow TOMM and I have absolutely no clutter but dc is inclined to play in there and there are always toys and just things everywhere.

To be fair though it's our living room too and I hate that I can see the sink however clean it is no matter where I am in the room. I can't read in it at all.

If there is a proper utility and lounge to retreat to then I think open plan can work well, but I would mentally think of it as a large kitchen-family-living space, then a utility and a lounge, rather than thinking of it as an open plan in the sense of rooms within rooms with no walls.

Aargh! All your comments are a mix up of my thoughts.

I think I sometimes like sociable cooking but then I don’t always want kids under my feet at the same time.

And the mess, and the clutter, and the noise.

Maybe we should just try it, by in a way where we could put the wall back if we don’t like it.

We have an open plan lounge diner and you can see through to the kitchen but there’s a door. I really appreciate the door. If you’re cooking something smelly or smoky you can close it. Also, as a parent to twin toddlers I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t shut the kitchen off, so you might limit your market when reselling.

I think open kitchen diners are brilliant, but hate kitchens and lounges in the same space personally.