ᐅ Open Plan Kitchen: Regretted Choice or the Ultimate Solution?

We will also have an open-plan kitchen in the new house.
I do have some concerns about odors (we only have a recirculating ventilation system).

I’m not worried about tidiness (we are very tidy), cleanliness, or noise from the dishwasher, etc.

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

the open kitchen started immediately behind the short hallway, so that you always looked into the kitchen first.

I attended a 5-year-old’s birthday party yesterday. In the household, besides the parents, there is the 5-year-old and a 1-year-old. Both like running around the walls, the hallway, and the kitchen/living area, often getting into playful fights. The older child enjoys being able to walk from the sofa to the kitchen with everything visible to the parents. Everyone can communicate with each other. But what I really wanted to mention: the children’s and baby items are kept tidy in the kitchen, not scattered messily. Despite the “lots of stuff” and many activities, the kitchen looks organized. Perhaps it simply depends on one’s own approach to how the kitchen is used, rather than just how much it’s needed.
That’s something everyone has to decide for themselves.

There was also something about noise from the appliances: nowadays, there are appliances that are whisper-quiet. So in fact, any conversation is louder than the appliances.

Hello,

In our first apartment, we had a closed kitchen and a more traditional room layout overall.
In our current place, we have an open kitchen that flows directly into the living and dining areas. That was nice until the family grew and our needs changed. We really miss having a closed kitchen, so the house will have one again.

Of course, an open kitchen looks more stylish and may be considered modern or “in,” but for us, it has become a disadvantage in every respect. Now with a child, the kitchen is only usable when the little one is awake. Even loading the dishwasher wakes the child up, and I can’t even think about having coffee before work in the morning. It doesn’t matter if my wife or I are in the kitchen; we want peace and quiet while there.

Choose the kitchen and house layout that fits your daily routine, and don’t worry about what others think or how they would have done it differently.

Never closed again...

Odors: no problem, powerful downdraft extractor with exhaust, plus two large windows...

Tidiness: for my wife and me, it’s a given to clear away the dishes. In a closed kitchen, it would also bother me to see used dishes lying around.

We have been living like this for one year, and nothing bothers us... I see only advantages for us.

In our apartment, the fairly loud recirculation air system in the open kitchen is actually quite disturbing.
As soon as something is frying, watching TV becomes really difficult.

In the house, however, the kitchen is more than twice as far from the sofa, and there is a proper extractor hood that is also nice and quiet.
From the sofa, you don't look directly into the kitchen either (the entire area is laid out in an L-shape).

I think it depends on the individual situation on site.

What I see in many new apartments and houses is a rectangular or square living room where the kitchen is just slapped onto one of the walls and basically stands there like a built-in cabinet without any separation.
I find that absolutely unattractive. I’ve even seen this in some fairly high-end new developments in the region.

We have now been living in the house for six months and have an open-plan kitchen, just like we did in our previous apartment. I love it.
My little one is currently 15 months old and learning to walk, and I really appreciate being able to keep an eye on her in the living area at all times. I enjoy baking in the evening while listening to the TV and talking with my husband. Everything just happens together, and we like that.
In the end, though, as several others have already pointed out, it’s simply a matter of personal taste.