Will open-plan fall out of fashion?

[dollyolly]

Just moved into a 1930s 3-bed (ok, 2.5 bed) – it's one of very few in the area that hasn't been structurally changed in any way. No extensions, no walls knocked through. Small-ish kitchen with two downstairs reception rooms.

Everyone assumes we'll knock walls through to create an open-plan space, but it suits my husband and I as it is, as it's just us here.

I know open-plan has pros – for example, I guess it's very useful to be able to keep small kids in view, and a lot of people hate small kitchens. Plus, spaces can be more multi-functional.

But I wonder if there'll be a move back to privacy, separateness, each room having a very defined purpose. Open-plan is relatively recent, and there were good reasons for designing these homes as they originally were.

Interested to hear thoughts on this. Why do you love open-plan (or not)? Has anyone regretted knocking walls through? Do you agree it could fall out of fashion and folks will start putting walls back in?

@dollyolly I honestly don’t know, a large majority of Dutch housing is 60s or newer and very small. Open plan makes sense then because it’s already small, but then older places tend to be remodeled in this style too. This is a very typical Dutch house https://www.funda.nl/koop/amstelveen/huis-43479669-patrijspoort-38/

A kitchen diner would be nice but open plan is not for me, I like a separate living room or two. I like defined spaces and when I've stayed in open plan places they just feel messy and noisy to me even if they are not actually messy or cluttered.

Thanks for indulging my curiosity! Love the generous windows and see what you mean about light and space.

Open plan doesn't work with autistic child and several dogs! We have a table in the kitchen, separate dining room, sitting rooms and playroom, tell me you're introverted without telling me you're introverted!

I think open plan is fine in a modern house that has originally been built that way, but it really makes me sad to see lovely old houses being gutted and having all their internal walls pulled down to make one massive space, often with a square box extension tacked onto the back.

I live in a Victorian house, which has the original layout, but the stream of successive neighbours who have moved into the house next door have knocked every bit of character out of the house and almost the entire ground floor is now one bare echoey space. The current owners, after buying the house at well over the market value, have spent the last year having a loft extension built. The back of the house has been an eyesore for several years with a ground floor box extension with a huge butterfly roof, but now the front and side external elevations have been ruined as well. I can understand people wanting a modern, open plan house, but not people who buy a period property that is full of character and then knock the shit out of it. It's perfectly possible to modernise an old house sympathetically. If you want open plan, why not buy a modern house to start with?

Depends.

I’m not too fond of open plan regarding the kitchen. but a small kitchen is even worse imo.

a separate kitchen that’s large enough to have a table for supper, quick breakfasts etc. is ideal imo.

different people have different preferences. Some version of open plan will therefore stick around, I suppose.

and open plan is easier when lack of space or accessibility are concerns.

I like a kitchen to be a sociable space so I definitely want to be able to have a table in there but the lounge can be separate unless I have a library (in my dreams).

I grew up in a house with no doors downstairs, with the stairs going straight out of the open area. It was cold, noisy, echoey, impersonal, you could smell everything from the kitchen. It baffles me that some people want this.

I do however like a larger kitchen/dining room with room for seating, as long as there is a separate lounge/hall etc.

Our original layout 30's semi was snapped up when we sold it.
They are very popular among the Asian community as men and women are able to occupy separate room when required.

when our children were growing up , we lived in a large 4 bed century home (canada) Kitchen was at the back and very large but very seperate from the living and dining area. I always felt alone as I spent alot of time cooking and baking (love doing that) Once the kids moved out and we downsized, we bought an open plan and I loved the fact I could do my thing in the kitchen and see and talk with my husband at the same time. When we sold last year and moved down her to Dominican Republic, my only thing that was a MUST was open plan. I think it comes down to lifestyle choices.

I can't stand open plan, I prefer separate rooms that can be closed off. I love my little house ,but there's only two of us living here and our dog. Our kitchen is small but there is room for a dining table at least. It's easier to keep cosy in Winter too. I think if I lived in a warmer climate I'd want open space, but maybe not as I'd spend more time outdoors

Really interesting point! Never thought of that.

Also PPs above who mentioned accessibility – yes, can see how different needs could require very different layouts.

EVERYTHING that comes into fashion is doomed to fall out of it.

If it's your money and it's your home do what you want and wait for the trendy brigade to catch up.

Only downside to open plan, can't close the door so no one sees your kitchen mess lol, upside, I have learned to tidy as I go instead of making a chaotic mess.

It’s interesting to think about what social changes are reflected in house design OP. Ithink in 1950s and 1960s more families ate formally around a dining table and as PP said wives were stuck in the ‘Cinderella’ kitchen. Then we started to have more money and more people began holding supper parties and cooking for friends. We wanted more sociable kitchen spaces with room for a table, not having to traipse backwards and forwards with dishes to the kitchen. Dini g rooms always felt like cold soulless spaces to me as a child.
Now so many of us love gathering friends and family together for big meals and everyone helps prep round the island or table. It changed the way we used the space when we got rid of poky dark kitchen and opened it up. Life is so much less formal and roles shared out more equally. So a big bright kitchen/dining space feels more warm and convivial and much less isolating for the cook.
The rising costs of fuel seem to be affecting previous enthusiasm for large totally open plan living spaces. We like a separate lounge so heating can be switched off and just have log fire in one room for hygge.
Do you think with property prices so crazy there will be more change in more people sharing a household, multigenerational families or friends living together for longer? That would affect design I imagine.

I think most people ideally want to have space for a table in the kitchen so can’t see that changing.

Our house is 1930s, with a square kitchen big enough for a table but considered small now. Our two reception rooms were knocked through (by the couple who pulled out the original wood panelling on the walls) in the 60s. As a result we enjoy the benefit of having a huge space in summer but like being able to close doors in winter. Similarly at times you need privacy to do quiet work/ visitors/not hear the tv etc. I’d really like a rear extension to gain a utility room, nice downstairs cloak room and a larger brighter kitchen (the lean to blocks the light) but Not a massive space.

I like open plan kitchen dining. But I dislike the lounge into dining room with separate kitchen. They seem to be common in 1930s houses and done because it’s straightforward as they’re often not supporting walls, but I think it’s utterly useless.

This.

I think the ideal scenario for a lot of people is open plan kitchen/dining and a separate living room.

It's quite anti social to have a closed off kitchen if you have guests because they're all in the social area and you're separated, but I wouldn't want a massive open plan area due to heating.

I have only ever been in one house that didn’t have a separate living room, I think most people knock the dining & kitchen together & keep the living room separate.

@Mistlebough love your thoughts, thank you

Do you think with property prices so crazy there will be more change in more people sharing a household, multigenerational families or friends living together for longer? That would affect design I imagine.

Hmmm yeah. And could elder care change, with more people living with their sons and daughters? (Whether that's good/workable is a whole other debate.) I expect home office space could be becoming popular. My 0.5 bedroom is working hard there – but I assume it was originally intended as a nursery.

We lived in a late 1990s house in the Netherlands. Kitchen was separate from the living area but not closed off. It was a good sized room with space for a table. We added a door so we didn't have to listen to Sponge Bob in any language!

When we were looking for a house we noticed that a lot of homes had modest cooking facilities, basic hob, oven & grill. But state of the art coffee machine!

In a British 1930s home cooking was a domestic chore, to be done behind closed doors. Many homes up into the 1970s had a hatch from kitchen to dining area. The housewife would disappear into the kitchen, cook a meal which would then be presented through the hatch. She would then appear in the dining room having taken her apron off to sit down and eat.

I think the separate kitchen and hatch was a way of almost pretending that food was being prepared by a domestic servant. Everybody knew it was a charade but played into it.

We are moving currently from a house with huge open plan kitchen diner cum living room and I really dislike it and we won’t be going open plan in the new house

Nothing worse than a typical 1930s kitchen which is only 9x6ft.
A kitchen that size would completely put me off. I would be more inclined towards a house that already had a kitchen diner saving the hassle of removing walls.
I like to be able to have somewhere to sit at points when I'm cooking.
In the 90s, we extended across the back of our previous house to resolve this.
Our current house, again 1930s, but not the usual size or layout, already had a much larger better shaped kitchen which was originally built that way. Still not big enough for my liking though.