ᐅ Explanation of the Hypes

Created on: 17 Jul 2017 07:46
B
blablub1234
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
W
Wickie
21 Aug 2018 07:34
I just thought the same.
In our home, everything is open, no doors that exclude anyone. When we have guests, we cook, play, and chat together.
Most of our daily life happens around the large dining table anyway. The living room area is more for us to relax and watch TV...
B
Bookstar
21 Aug 2018 08:02
One should not hold back on prejudices about Climbee. Most of the time, I am the cook, so I have to dispel that illusion for you.

The trend of having everything open plan is and has always been not for us. If someone likes it, that's fine.
Climbee21 Aug 2018 08:07
Bookstar schrieb:

The trend of designing everything open-plan is and was never for us. If you like it, that’s fine.

That’s perfectly fine, but regarding the previous statement, I immediately felt compelled to stand up for equality.
C
Caidori
21 Aug 2018 08:12
Well, I can understand Bookstar's point.
And that definitely has nothing to do with the fact that I don't love my husband and the boys.
M
Müllerin
21 Aug 2018 16:53
The main thing is that there is a door between the living area and the staircase… so when I’m just lounging on the sofa, my daughter and her boyfriend/girlfriend can quietly go to her room without having to pass through my space.
KingSong21 Aug 2018 22:16
This is also possible without a door between the living area and the staircase....