Hello,
My wife and I visited a model home park for prefabricated houses yesterday, and we noticed that each house offered various features and floor plans whose practical benefits I don’t quite understand. That’s why I’m starting this thread, hoping you can explain the advantages of these choices or point out what I might be missing and why it still makes sense to design a house that way:
1. Almost every house had floor-to-ceiling windows installed. What’s the purpose of these? I imagine they would be terrible both in summer and winter. Wouldn’t it get extremely hot in summer? And in winter, don’t you constantly have to lower the blinds so that anyone passing by can’t look directly into the living room or inside the house? Also, isn’t the effort to clean those windows huge? Am I missing something? Do they have advantages that I don’t see?
2. There wasn’t a single house where the kitchen and dining area were separated from the living space; at best, the kitchen was separated from the dining area. I understand that having everything open makes the space appear larger and is better for hosting many people, but isn’t it very impractical? If I’m frying or cooking something in the kitchen, doesn’t the whole living room end up smelling like food? It would also bother me that as soon as my wife or I have guests over, the other person couldn’t sit in the living room and watch TV quietly, for example. This might sound a bit picky, but for me, it’s important that everyone can invite their friends without the other person always being within earshot or needing to get out of the way somehow. Why are open-plan ground floors so common? What are the real advantages?
3. The balconies on the upper floor are always accessible from one of the children’s bedrooms and the parents’ bedroom. Doesn’t that significantly affect privacy? I can’t imagine it’s great if my child can constantly knock on our bedroom door via the balcony, for example. Also, if you have two children, wouldn’t the one without a balcony be at a disadvantage?
I don’t want to bias you with my opinions here—I’m completely open to your views because I’d like to be convinced of the benefits. So I would like to know your reasons for including such features in your plans. Alternatively, has anyone built in a more “traditional” way and can speak to the practicality of these layout choices?
Best regards
My wife and I visited a model home park for prefabricated houses yesterday, and we noticed that each house offered various features and floor plans whose practical benefits I don’t quite understand. That’s why I’m starting this thread, hoping you can explain the advantages of these choices or point out what I might be missing and why it still makes sense to design a house that way:
1. Almost every house had floor-to-ceiling windows installed. What’s the purpose of these? I imagine they would be terrible both in summer and winter. Wouldn’t it get extremely hot in summer? And in winter, don’t you constantly have to lower the blinds so that anyone passing by can’t look directly into the living room or inside the house? Also, isn’t the effort to clean those windows huge? Am I missing something? Do they have advantages that I don’t see?
2. There wasn’t a single house where the kitchen and dining area were separated from the living space; at best, the kitchen was separated from the dining area. I understand that having everything open makes the space appear larger and is better for hosting many people, but isn’t it very impractical? If I’m frying or cooking something in the kitchen, doesn’t the whole living room end up smelling like food? It would also bother me that as soon as my wife or I have guests over, the other person couldn’t sit in the living room and watch TV quietly, for example. This might sound a bit picky, but for me, it’s important that everyone can invite their friends without the other person always being within earshot or needing to get out of the way somehow. Why are open-plan ground floors so common? What are the real advantages?
3. The balconies on the upper floor are always accessible from one of the children’s bedrooms and the parents’ bedroom. Doesn’t that significantly affect privacy? I can’t imagine it’s great if my child can constantly knock on our bedroom door via the balcony, for example. Also, if you have two children, wouldn’t the one without a balcony be at a disadvantage?
I don’t want to bias you with my opinions here—I’m completely open to your views because I’d like to be convinced of the benefits. So I would like to know your reasons for including such features in your plans. Alternatively, has anyone built in a more “traditional” way and can speak to the practicality of these layout choices?
Best regards
C
Caspar202020 Aug 2018 16:52In our house, the living room, dining area, and kitchen are open plan. The entire space is separated from the hallway by double doors.
Normally, the dining table seats 8 people; however, we can easily extend it to accommodate around 20 guests, as there are no fixed zones.
Normally, the dining table seats 8 people; however, we can easily extend it to accommodate around 20 guests, as there are no fixed zones.
Bookstar schrieb:
Not separating at all is only a last resort.Definitely not. I don’t like it when guests are around and I’m working alone in the dining area while everyone else is having fun in the living room. Usually, guests also feel uncomfortable when someone is practically locked away. The separation of the “formal living room” from the kitchen/dining area dates back to a time when that formal living room was only heated at Christmas and Easter and otherwise cold. I do need a separation.
I’m like Caspar and Maria: open zoning offers me more options, and I don’t think anyone has an unheated living room anymore.
Yes, everyone sees it differently. We always have guests in the dining room; the days of receiving guests in the living room are over.
When I want to watch TV undisturbed, I’m glad to be able to separate the dining room and kitchen with a door. That way, my wife can work in the kitchen and the children can always do their homework at the dining table...
I also had an open-plan layout at one point, but it wasn’t for me...
When I want to watch TV undisturbed, I’m glad to be able to separate the dining room and kitchen with a door. That way, my wife can work in the kitchen and the children can always do their homework at the dining table...
I also had an open-plan layout at one point, but it wasn’t for me...
A double door requires enough space in the rooms before and after it; otherwise, it’s impractical. For example, if the hallway leading to it runs perpendicular to the door, that would be awkward. Or ending a 1.5m (5 feet) wide hallway with a double door would also seem strange.
In terms of style, it’s rather old-fashioned. But that depends on your personal taste and the style of the house.
In terms of style, it’s rather old-fashioned. But that depends on your personal taste and the style of the house.
Bookstar schrieb:
Everyone sees it differently, The differences are not that big; "mostly" it is viewed here and elsewhere that the three "elements" living / dining / cooking are split as "two together, and the third separate"—in various combinations of which two are grouped—and a smaller portion combines all three parts or prefers the large open plan.
Bookstar schrieb:
We always have guests in the dining room; the times of receiving guests in the living room are over. Guests join the family where they happen to be: invited and more often in the living-dining area in the evening, spontaneously and during the day more often in the kitchen. When there is no game night, the table is left after meals in favor of the seating area. I only know the “parlor” as a phrase from my grandparents.
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