Is there anyone that DOESNT want a kitchen/diner/open plan?

[palacegirl77]

Ive posted recently about loft conversions as this is next on our list - so my youngest daughter can have a larger bedroom. However, I was speaking to my brother and his wife and they suggested we concentrate on (opening up the downstairs) first - they totally assumed that we would want to knock down the chimney, several walls, extend and have a massive kitchen/diner/family room type thing. Don't get me wrong, I think these are nice but I LOVE the downstairs in my 1930s semi. I like having separate rooms - I dont want kitchen smells in my lounge and I like the kids to have their own space, I also want to keep some of the character of the house. They were genuinely surprised as they thought everyone wants open plan nowadays - am I really the odd one out?

As a pp said I think it's a "trend" that people have been sold that's generally not practical for day to day living.

It's fab if you have a massive house that also accommodates a separate sitting room and dining room. That's why you see these big "family rooms" in interior design magazines and where the concept was born.

However the reason it was seized on by developers is that it's cheaper. Fewer walls to build, maximises space (and makes small spaces look more generous than they are).

Storage is often I nightmare I note in these set ups and as lovely as they might seem on viewing, living in them day to day is ghastly if (like me) you like a tidy house.

They want to promote open plan for profit, not because it actually works in an average sized family home.

I had to live in one for 6 months (rental) between moving houses and I couldn't have been more relived to move out to a home that had "walls and doors".

@HeronLanyon is a person after my own heart.

Don't get me wrong, if money were no object I would like a nice big farmhouse-y kitchen or maybe a big light airy kitchen diner but I would still also want two further separate Reception rooms, a separate utility room and a nice study somewhere (don't mind if that is upstairs). There is no way I'd want to have cooking smells and dishwasher noise in my living space. There's no way I'd want to be refereeing which family member has more 'right' to peace and quiet vs music practice vs watching something on TV vs meeting with friends etc etc - totally impractical to have all open plan living with a family.

We've just knocked the kitchen and dining room in to one massive space for a dining kitchen with massive island. I totally love it. Off of that, through double doors, is a large sitting room. Put the dreaded Bi-Folds in here as there is a lovely suntrap at this end and it's so much nicer to have doors fully drawn back. The old sliding doors were dated and French doors wouldn't open the full way. Also have a smaller, cosier sitting room and my office is now upstairs. Am loving the new layout because I have a big kitchen and doors on to the living room keeping smells/sounds out.

I have both - having a separate living room at the front is handy for older kids watching tv and entertaining their "friends" (opposite sex) the back is open plan living/dining/kitchen

Ps, yes it's big, around here it's 50% Asian and open plan is super popular my estate agent says

No thanks on open plan. They can be pretty, but they don’t work very well.

I like my open-ish kitchen but really appreciate a separate living room .
Not many people with families prefer a completely open plan downstairs.

Happen plan, thought it would be great. All that space! Hated it. Nowhere to separate dogs/kids. Cooking smells floating through whole house. Much more expensive to heat/cool. No privacy.
Now live in a traditional set up with kitchen, dining room and lounge. Doors are my friend! Much happier.

I don’t like open plan at all, I much prefer it separated. I think it’s cosier

I think totally open plan is not great. However, big kitchen/diner with separate lounge is fab. We used to live in a house with a large kitchen that fitted a kitchen table, but we still had. large dining room and a separate lounge.

We then moved to our current house which had a much smaller kitchen, so no space for a table. There was a separate dining room and a separate lounge. I hated not being able to eat in the kitchen. A few years ago we extended the kitchen and now have a large open plan L shape kitchen diner. We have a large sofa in on corner. We are fortunate in having a utility room so appliances are in there and we wash up in there so dirty pans go straight in there. We hardly ever use the living room now.

I don’t like an open plan. There is no way to block sounds, so all noise travels throughout the area. I much prefer actual rooms. Plus, with walls, it is easier to arrange furniture, bookcases, etc

I’m from the land of open plan, I like it but would like a separate tv room and playroom aka rumpus room also. Funds don’t stretch to that though. I can but dream

We've just moved because we hated the open plan kitchen, dining, living we had before. Now we've got a kitchen diner and separate living space and I love it. I'd never buy a house with open plan.

We were watching Grand Designs and we were both giving out that most of the houses were open plan. I'd never choose it willingly!!

Well in these houses (especially on GD) where they go totally open plan, the people don't seem to own any books do they? (Or records/CDs/a stereo/musical instruments) whereas book/music people seem to build rooms with walls.

I wonder of the correlation is an aesthetic one or a sensory/noise based need one?

I don't like living room-diners. But entirely open plan is worse. The ideal - a small enclosed living room for evenings, a large kitchen with a table and, if possible, opening into a small playroom. However the kitchen would have to have patio doors which would be permanently open to keep cooking smells out. Oh! And a laundry room. Id never use a separate dining room, but a separate room with tv desk and sofa for the teens would be good.

Open plan would have been brilliant when the DC were younger and basically just wanted to be wherever I was, bringing all their things with them and leaving them there.

Now that they’re a little older, I love having individual rooms. Someone can watch tv without us all having to listen to it. I can have the radio on in the kitchen without it competing with the tv. DS can be doing his homework in (relative) peace. The cooking smells stay in the kitchen where I can open the window to let them out and then shut the door without the other rooms getting cold in winter.

The list goes on.

Another one who doesn’t like open plan here! We have a large kitchen diner with a sofa, big table, comfy chair etc but the kitchen is actually off it in an L shape so feels joined but separate iyswim. You could put large double doors on it if you wanted. We have a completely separate living room which is always tidy and there’s a No Toy Rule

I'm not a fan of open plan; a greasy settee doesn't do it for me. Call me a bore, but a kitchen door is a necessity!

I’ve never understood how people in completely open plan houses cope with the noise and smell of competing activities! If little A has her friends round for a noisy game, B is watching tv and C is trying to study, while D is cooking smelly curry, it must be a nightmare.
I do have an open kitchen/diner, simply because the original kitchen was a tiny 1970’s galley, and I opened it up to get a nice 23 foot long space. But I have a separate large drawing room and a smaller sitting room both with a tv and one with a piano. The smaller sitting room was the DCs playroom when they were wee, then their teenage den, and is now my combination study, gym and music room.
I also have a massive number of books - and I wonder where open plan people fit all their bookcases, with no walls?!

I like a mix I think. I am planning my fantasy downstairs extension and it would give an open plan kitchen/diner/family space but retain a separate living room. I really don't like vast open spaces.

A kitchen diner is really important to me/us. I hate hate hate separate dining rooms - you’d need waiting staff to make it anything but a massive faff.
However I’d also not want totally open plan and would always want another room downstairs for tv/reading even if it’s tiny.

I'm moving house this weekend Our new place has an open plan kitchen/diner but it's L-shaped so feels a bit more like two separate rooms which I love. Sitting room is completely separate which was essential to me - I need some space that isn't littered with plastic animals, cuddlies and toy cars! Couldn't bear to be totally open plan.

Open plan is ok if you have a separate utility room, maybe a larder/pantry, and a snug.

My neighbours knocked all adjoining walls down last year so it's totally open plan downstairs. It's constantly cold and she admits they should kept the lounge separate.

We are planning on adding a small extension to our kitchen in the next few years to have an extra living space but I'd never open the whole space. I like cosy living too much!

I'm not a fan of open plan. I like to be in the kitchen on my own with the door closed. Seeing some of the before and after photos on Homes Under The Hammer - I think WHY??????? I liked the walls!