How many people like an 'open floor plan'?

[chowmama]

There isn't a forum for Architecture or houses (as opposed to household), so I'm just sticking this here I'm just wondering.

I keep seeing these new and renovated houses that have had most of the interior walls gutted. I don't think I could get comfortable there. They'd have to be company-clean all the time. There are no cozy places, no privacy. (And I'm not even getting into the bathrooms where you only have to walk around a couple view-blocking walls and there's no door at all, let alone one that locks.)

I look at houses on the realty websites. (For a pastime; no way could I afford to move from my current house, and I don't want a condo/apartment in the anthill serf-storage units that are going up everywhere.) Nearly every one, I start analyzing where I would put interior walls.

My favorite house would be a hobbit hole. Or an old-fashioned bungalow. All the nooks and crannies. I guess I'd like the equivalent of an English muffin.

And don't even get me started on pale gray walls. I don't want to have to put on makeup at home so I don't look dead. Beige is almost as bad, but at least you don't look ready for the viewing.

But somebody must like them. How much of a minority am I in?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. No, I don't care for open floor plans at all.

[EarthAbides]

2. HATE IT!

The noise from the kitchen interferes with entertainment going on in the living room or dining room. It looks cheap and feels cheap.

[HappyH]

3. I like some of them

My step dad had a great cabin, 2 nice bedrooms and a bath to the back and a large open living/dining/kitchen area to the front.

[LisaM]

21. I think it's different in a cabin, which are for family get togethers.

People go up for holidays or weekends and share big meals and play games. I don't care for open floor plans, but it makes sense in a vacation cabin, as long as the bedrooms are separate!

[flor-de-jasmim]

4. I'm with you!

I hadn’t even considered the perils of grey walls, but the lack of coziness is the first thing I consider. I don’t want to feel I’m on permanent display or continually in the presence of the rest of the household.I don’t want to have to worry about kitchen smells permeating everything. I like nooks. Also, I want walls for placing furniture and hanging artwork.

I also appreciate being able to give each room its own personality, rather than trying to find a single style for the entire house that will define me.

[Polly Hennessey]

5. No. Hate them. Big space, no style or personality.

[Ocelot II]

6. Hate it.

My house is 150 years old with separate rooms and lots of doors. I can’t imagine having the kitchen mess open to the living room.

[alwaysinasnit]

7. I have an open concept house and it has it's pros and cons. Kitchen smells spread, and heating/cooling

requires more energy. The best part is that you can interact with family/friends easier when there is a gathering.

[TommieMommy]

8. I like cozy rooms and pleasant colors. Don't want drab walls and everything open with tile and echoes.

[NCDem47]

9. My kitchen still has two swinging service doors at both ends...

Just the way I like it. When I host, I can keep that all behind closed doors until guests leave and then prop open when the house is empty.

With or without an open plan, people STILL like to congregate in the kitchen if something is being prepared!

[anciano]

10. Love an open floor plan ....

currently sharing a two story house with my son and DIL. The first floor has a large open area with the kitchen, dining room, and living room. It's great for hosting family get-togethers.

[Big Blue Marble]

11. I very much agree.

I want a home with rooms and defined spaces that have their own personalities.
I keep waiting for the fad of open spaces to die. I suspect it is mostly driven by
the builders who have convinced buyers that this is what they want.

I live in an older neighborhood and watch as homes one by one are sold to flippers
who gut them with cheap remodeling materials and resell them, very sad.

[Captain Zero]

12. Everyone likes it at first,

Then not so much.

[spooky3]

13. Most open plan houses are open only on the first floor

And maybe a basement. Upstairs, where people sleep, there are defined spaces and private bathrooms, and a closed off laundry room.

The open first floor looks and often is larger, without too many walls. It allows flexibility in furniture arrangement. It enables the host to interact with guests and a parent to supervise kids while working in a kitchen, for example. These elements are essential if you live in a smaller home. And they work great if you live alone.

For these reasons I think this is now a classic design, not a fad, in cities, where land costs and build costs are sky high.

[RockRaven]

14. I'm in the "it depends" or middling opinion, I suppose.

For my household, cooking is a social activity as much as a functional/practical one. Having a kitchen that is open to a dining and lounge area facilitates that. When we first lived in this house the kitchen, dining room, living room were all isolated (had to step into and go down a long narrow hallway to move between them) and the kitchen was either cramped with people or the chefs were isolated from others. We disliked that layout a lot.

But I would not like the open type as much, probably, if there weren't also some quiet/cozy space. Fortunately we made both when we remodeled, and are pretty happy with the balance.

[MiHale]

15. Hate the open look for most of the same reasons...

Always thought a hobbit home would be cozy. 👍

[slightlv]

18. There's a couple of reasons a hobbit home sounds cool...

First, it just looks cozy, warm, and welcoming. Second, chances are everything (including shelving) would be at a height I could reach. I'm so tired of climbing on chairs or begging someone to help me get a dish from the cupboards! And now that I've screwed up my knee, there's no more climbing for me. I can't walk without a walker.

But with me at 4'9", a hobbit home sounds like it'd be made just for someone my height.

[slightlv]

16. I'm one of those who'd prefer a modified open space house.

I'd still prefer doors to bathrooms and bedrooms. The main living area, including the kitchen, I'd prefer to be in the open style. But now that I'm older, I find it easier to get around in with a walker. Also, fewer walls to bounce back and forth against. But I'm in a particular set of mind right now, as I just fractured my knee, tore the ligaments and the arthritis in the knee, and have "water on the knee" (whatever that means). The house I live in now is your usual 1950's WWII style, but the people who've lived here before me added on to the back of the house (badly, I should add). Plus, the rooms are not very large in the house. I moved from a 3800 sq ft house in one city to this 1800 sq ft here in order to take care of my mom. I tell ya now, tho... To be able to move easily throughout the house would be such a blessing for me, especially as this is the 2nd time I've been through this not being able to walk situation. I'm looking toward the future and worrying... no way could a wheelchair or motorized chair get through this place easily... and there'd be whole areas blocked from me. An open floor plan would be much more amenable to my needs... and to a lot of other disabled people.

[radical noodle]

17. I like semi-open plans

A house that's too cut up into little rooms is difficult, while a house that has one huge room for living, dining and kitchen is too open. I like a kitchen/family room type open or a living/dining type open.

My personal choice for colors is white walls, black or gray countertops and floors, with lots of color choices for the furniture and accessories. I'm old, so have had several more colorful houses, but I always get tired of the colors after a time. When we retired, I wanted to simplify. We've lived here for 13 years with white walls and I'm content.

Everyone is different, and I think age and lifestyle really play into what works for anyone. I would love to see your cute little hobbit hole someday.

[LoisB]

19. I like rooms. Separate rooms.

[FloridaBlues]

20. I recently sold my house that did not have open plan to new rental with open plan

It has been an adjustment.

[Zackzzzz]

22. My house is one large room with a full bath and bedroom at the opposite ends.

I have a tall counter with a shelf that separates the kitchen from the living room.
I can see the TV that is in the living room over the counter.
Because of the counter you can't see the kitchen mess.
I grew up with the kitchen + dining room way in the back, bedrooms in the middle
and the living room in the front. My Mom missed out on a lot back there.
I was once in a one room house.
It was a large square, bunk bed on one side, clothes along another wall,
the kitchen was on another side with a monster size table
and the rest comfy furniture. It worked well for the owner.

I like a house that is just one floor. Great for when your injured.

[Niagara]

23. My dream house would be a straw cob house

Something similar to this but not so large. I don't need that large of a cooking range either.

It somewhat has an open floor plan. It's cozy and not sterile. I like the furnace dragon style chimney, the library/office, the sunroom, the galley style kitchen, the living roof, the rain chains and the alternative heating source.


What annoys be about today's remodels and newly built home are the the gray on gray on gray kitchens. If it's not that it's white, gray and black, again mainly happening in the kitchen. Don't get me started on the gray flooring everyone is now putting in. It's a trend that needs to stop. I don't care if it's fake, real or "outdated" get me an oak or maple colored floor.


Another thing that needs to stop in kitchens in the microwaves above the ranges. It's dangerous for kids, adults, senior citizens and people who are handicapped. I know it's a space saving concept but it's not safe at all reaching above shoulders to retrieve hot food and drinks. Microwaves should be placed at countertop heights.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

[Sweet Rosie Red]

24. I cannot live with an open floor plan.

I’m mobility challenged and hard of hearing. I find open floor plans painfully loud. Kitchens are noisy at the best of times; try it with microphones on your ears! I would pull the things out of my ears and then my husband would start talking. He got really tired of hearing “You’re in the kitchen…I can’t heeeaaarrr yooooo!” 6 times a day. The echoes from all that wall space made comprehension of speech from even 5 feet away stressful and tiring. We finally found an apartment with a separate kitchen. The “great room” is a combined dining and living room, and the kitchen has a roomy “breakfast nook”. First thing I did was was paint the gray walls a pale creamy yellow, spend way too much money on carpets and curtains for insulation (Minnesota!) and noise dampening. The breakfast nook has table and chairs, along with extra storage for the kitchen. (Whole foods!) The dining area is a combination office and exercise area with occasional chairs that can be extra seating for the living room. The smaller rooms are lined with furniture I can grab if I start to lose my balance. We are going to install doors and close off the Kitchen and Bedroom/bathroom/laundry areas to modify the noise level further. Napping, at our age is a luxury! I think it all depends on your stage of life and physical challenges, whether actual or anticipated. Flexibilty is a key consideration for long term planning!

[chowmama]

25. So, about 50:50?

Just to be clear, I don't think there's a wrong answer. I guess I'm just a small person who likes small spaces.

Eventually, DH and I will have to find some way to move into a single level or otherwise compatible home, because he's becoming increasingly less good on stairs. The kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom will have to be on the main floor for safety - I can't have him upstairs if he can't get down in case of a fire.

Our current home is an 1884 HUD house which is 2 stories plus full attic and basement, but only one bathroom on the second floor. It was considered a vacation home for a rich person when it was built, just outside the city limits. Second house built on the block. Now, it's considered South Central neighborhood in Minneapolis. The original city limits used to end at Lake Street, 2 blocks north. I only wish it was a hobbit hole.

But I fear I'll end up in a ranch house. I grew up with and in them. Ugh! But they're still preferable to a serf storage unit, for safety as well as for personal taste. Elevators are just as dangerous if there's a fire.

And I still don't want open floor plan. Other opinions may vary.

[Ilsa]

26. I'm okay with the oprn plan of my kitchen, keeping room,

and breakfast nook.

I think formal living rooms are a waste of space unless you have ALOT of company. My home doesn't have a formal living room.

There is a formal dining room that has junk in it now. I never invite anyone over to eat. It can be used as an office.

I'm considering using the keeping room as a formal dining room because there is a fireplace there.

[enid602]

27. Kitchen

I’ve had an open floor plan for 15 years now. I love it because I have to clean the kitchen everyday so people don’t see a mess.

[JustAnotherGen]

28. Our Historic

Tudor Revival had swinging doors between the living room and kitchfamily room.

Three walls of paned windows where I'm sitting at the moment. The swinging door couldn't be saved - or replaced without spending for custom.

My husband took them off and widened it. Lots of bright light. But we do have doors between diningroom / kitchen and the back staircase. I love it. I can have political meetings in my dining room and that old heavy oak door doesn't get a peep of sound in.

I also have weird angled halls on my second and third floor. Love this unique old house.

If you like nooks and crannies and a hidden room?

You'd love it here. At one point the house man's cottage (now my husband's studio)had a crawl between the two buildings. That's where the booze was kept by the bootlegger that lived here in the 20's.

We had to lift up the blue stone and refill the cement properly a few years after we moved in.

Thank God my husband has a lot trades in addition to his smithing and artistry. The next people who make a home here have a beautifully restored property with the PROPER licenses.

I hope they don't knock out walls. It's the charm of the house. Its a rich crook's lair!