Open Space Concept - Where Do You Stand?

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This is a post about decorating. I'd like to rant, but I'll try to be nice.

I am totally puzzled by this new fad for tearing down all the inside walls and "opening up" the whole downstairs to be one big room. Where the kitchen is in basically IN the den and you can cook while watching TV. It seems to be all about constant family togetherness. But there is no privacy? Not to mention you can see the dirty dishes sitting on the island from every view point around the room. (Not that they show that in the photos.)

I'm all for close families but I cannot cook in front of a TV. Nor do I want to listen to the TV, r other people talking, when I'm trying to follow a recipe, or compose a shopping list. I need quiet to focus. If I have guests I don't always want them right in the kitchen watching me. I really prefer lots of SEPARATE rooms for different activities. I'm thinking this is Aspie because everyone else I know seems in favor of the concept.

I can understand some people wanting this, but I'm afraid the fad has so taken hold that it will be difficult soon to find a house to buy with the downstairs walls still intact! Doesn't all the noise that the high ceilings and open space generates bother anyone else?

I think the openness appeals to many NT people. They enjoy being around people more often, and have less of a hard time concentrating. I like openness to a point - I still want a separate bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. But the rest of the area can be open. But this is partially because I like having lots of space for the ferrets to play, and I don't like allowing them into the areas that I'd want separate.

I hate those open floor plans, too. A friend recently built a new house that she and her husband designed and was extremely proud of this aspect of it--I said something like "How can you manage to cook with people watching you and talking to you?" and she thought I was criticizing her great new house. *sigh*

All my favorite places to live have been from the 1920s-1940s vintage, when kitchens were kitchens and living rooms were living rooms and never the twain did meet. Plus I love the details such as phone niches, original hardwood floors, and claw footed tubs which older buildings have! Hopefully the fashions in home design will swing back toward smaller rooms now that the excesses of the housing bubble are in the past.

I dislike it - no privacy and it makes me feel "disorganised". I also empathise with the sitting on the couch and seeing a pile of dirty dishes issue. I once lived in a rented open plan apartment and became totally compulsive about washing every little thing immediately after use - a dirty spoon in the sink was enough to drive up the wall.

Last edited by Sallamandrina on 17 Sep 2010, 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Funny, my son was just talking about this sort of thing, because we were in a house with no foyer and no hallways. I don't know if it actually bothered him or if he just found it different.

Open spaces can have a nice roomy feel, but I tend to like some separation, myself. I especially like some space between the front door and the rest of the house, so you're not instantly *in* everything when you walk in.

Hooray! Well, that makes 4 of us. Have a friend with one of those high ceiling great rooms and to me it's like being in a cathedral, echoing, drafty and poorly lit in spots. Not comfy/cozy at all. Besides, how does one get the cobwebs off the ceiling fan???

ArielHawksQuill: Love your taste! Great choices.

I renovated my kitchen 2 years ago, and most people act surprised that no walls were taken down. They ask why the range is not on an island in the middle of the floor (it faces the wall in the corner). I designed for function, from an Aspie point of view I guess. The response has been under-whelming.

Cooking at a range in the center of a room I'd feel as though there should be commentary provided along with scrambled eggs. Does everyone secretly want to be a cooking show host? Distract me, and the eggs will burn. LOL!

Our house has an open floor plan and its SO LOUD! I feel a constant need to close a door on myself just because of noise.

I prefer separate rooms as well, especially having the kitchen behind a door that can be shut.

I do like watching shows like "Grand Designs" though, and the shows where people do up houses, and I've noticed a recent trend for having a bath in the master bedroom and the toilet open plan to the bedroom as well! How ... revolting!

Most tract houses in California have an "open" design where the kitchen is not entirely closed off from the family room. In fact, you typically cannot close off the living room, dining room, kitchen or family room in most Californian houses.

A lot are similar in style to the "Brady Bunch" house.

There is usually some degree of partitioning though so it's not just one big room. I don't like the completely open designs where the only way to tell where one room ends and the other begins is the positioning of the furniture.

Open Plan - bring it on!

Natural light and fresh air boost creativity so big windows and lots of space are perfect. My dream home is a cottage/cabin with no rooms at all. Something way out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature. The only sounds to disturb my peace are those of nature. The only person to invade my space will be my husband. That's pretty much how it is now.

I can't stand light either.

I love fairly open floor plans with cathedral ceilings and sunlight. They're easier for me to clean and it's easier for me to see that they're clean. It's part of the reason I like sunlight, too...it makes it obvious when things are clean.

I get depressed if I don't see sunlight for a while though, so I've learned to live with it, in spite of the fact that I'm nocturnal. I can sleep in full sunlight with no problems, which I suppose is a bonus

I have to have carpeted floors with high ceilings though, to cut down on noise, and I'm notsomuch a fan of sunlight outside. There's too much distraction. Noises, breezes, the sunlight and I don't get along, but it's welcome in my home, where I control everything.

I never put it into those words, but I feel similarly. I have always lived in very dark places, because my mom is kind of a cave dweller; when we bought our house, I insisted it be sunny. I rarely feel like going out on our patio (except to garden) but I like the light and a nice screened window. My dream for the house (probably will never happen) would be to have a sleeping porch.

love open plans...BUT I do get overwhelmed sometimes...problem is, I am also claustrophobic...hehe...so, I hate hallways, separate rooms, etc...they make me feel like I live in a cage...I want a QUIET open plan...hmmm...hard to do, but I can always got to a bedroom if I need to...

I don't like big open spaces. I like cozy little sections.

Likewise. Open-plan houses make me feel anxious and exposed.