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
11ant schrieb:
Carpet. Good point. Preferably in the living room, but better not in the kitchen.Years ago, I viewed an apartment that had white carpet installed right up to the kitchen units. It was brand new, and the landlord praised the new flooring enthusiastically. Crazy.
C
chand198617 Jul 2017 22:39The playful back-and-forth between fans of open and closed kitchen layouts may not be very helpful for the original poster.
I recommend focusing on personal habits regarding meal preparation and entertaining guests.
- Do you cook together with friends or not?
- Are cooking smells generally perceived as a nuisance in the living area or not?
- Do you want to invest in a kitchen design that matches the living space aesthetic or not?
- How much time do you typically spend in the kitchen?
Depending on the answers to these questions, different kitchen types may be suitable. Since the average response tends to favor open kitchens, this trend is more than just a fad; it represents a functional evolution of living spaces.
If a closed kitchen is more appealing, that’s perfectly fine.
I’d like to add my personal view because I found myself pausing at times while reading this thread.
For me, the kitchen is not just a functional room but, if not the social hub, then definitely an integral and open part of the living area.
Anyone who claims you can’t have functional furniture that complements the rest of the decor either hasn’t explored design options or has very specific furniture choices in the living space.
I don’t understand the issue with cooking odors from experience. As an enthusiastic frequent cook, I can say: In our open kitchen, I’ve even fried green herring—and the apartment barely smells, and any lingering odors disappear quickly. Admittedly, I also invested in a good range hood, which effectively removes all odors.
My advice to the original poster is to plan based on their own needs, regardless of whether one option is considered just a trend or the other old-fashioned by others.
Personally, I prefer open kitchens and reject the idea that this is simply a style trend. It’s thoughtful planning based on prioritized needs.
I recommend focusing on personal habits regarding meal preparation and entertaining guests.
- Do you cook together with friends or not?
- Are cooking smells generally perceived as a nuisance in the living area or not?
- Do you want to invest in a kitchen design that matches the living space aesthetic or not?
- How much time do you typically spend in the kitchen?
Depending on the answers to these questions, different kitchen types may be suitable. Since the average response tends to favor open kitchens, this trend is more than just a fad; it represents a functional evolution of living spaces.
If a closed kitchen is more appealing, that’s perfectly fine.
I’d like to add my personal view because I found myself pausing at times while reading this thread.
For me, the kitchen is not just a functional room but, if not the social hub, then definitely an integral and open part of the living area.
Anyone who claims you can’t have functional furniture that complements the rest of the decor either hasn’t explored design options or has very specific furniture choices in the living space.
I don’t understand the issue with cooking odors from experience. As an enthusiastic frequent cook, I can say: In our open kitchen, I’ve even fried green herring—and the apartment barely smells, and any lingering odors disappear quickly. Admittedly, I also invested in a good range hood, which effectively removes all odors.
My advice to the original poster is to plan based on their own needs, regardless of whether one option is considered just a trend or the other old-fashioned by others.
Personally, I prefer open kitchens and reject the idea that this is simply a style trend. It’s thoughtful planning based on prioritized needs.
T
Traumfaenger17 Jul 2017 22:4511ant schrieb:
An open kitchen clearly means, in my opinion: two dishwashers. So you can load one without having to wait for the first to finish....I had that before in a holiday home, very practical. But you also need to have the space for it. An alternative is a dishwasher with a "party mode," 20-30 minutes wash time depending on the manufacturer.
chand1986 schrieb:
The playful back-and-forth between fans of open and closed kitchen designs might not be very helpful for the original poster.
I recommend focusing on personal habits regarding meal preparation and entertaining guests.
- Do you cook together with friends or not?
- Are cooking odors generally considered bothersome in the living area or not?
- Do you want to invest in kitchen aesthetics so that it matches the living space or not?
- How much time do you typically spend in the kitchen?
Depending on the answers, a different kitchen type may be more suitable. Since on average the answers tend to favor open kitchens, the trend is more than a hype—it is a functional development in living design.
If a closed kitchen suits you better, that’s perfectly fine.
I want to add a personal perspective here, because reading through the thread sometimes left me puzzled.
For me personally, the kitchen is not just a functional room but rather the social center, if not THE social center, and therefore should naturally be integrated openly into the living area.
Anyone who claims you can’t place functional furniture that fits with the rest of the décor either hasn’t explored design possibilities or has very unusual furniture in their living room.
From experience, I don’t quite understand the concern about cooking odors. As a passionate frequent cook, I can say: in our open kitchen I can fry green herring—and the apartment smells very little, and any odors dissipate quickly. This is also because I invested in a good extractor hood, which really removes everything.
My advice to the original poster is to plan based on their own needs, regardless of whether one option is considered just a fad or the other old-fashioned by others.
I support open kitchens and reject the notion that this is merely a trend. It is the result of thoughtful planning based on prioritized needs.You’ve summarized it nicely
... says someone who can see the kitchen island as soon as they enter the house because everything is open, and delights when the smell of garlic or cumin fills the home, because good food awakens all the senses and brings a home to life!
chand1986 schrieb:
Since most responses tend to favor an open kitchen, the trend is more than just a hype—it represents a functional evolution in living spaces. I didn’t know that. Is the average really more in favor of open kitchens? If I had to guess the current housing situation, I would say more people live with a separated kitchen. I haven’t seen any recent data on the distribution in new builds. What about you?
chand1986 schrieb:
D
dragonfreak18 Jul 2017 08:32kaho674 schrieb:
I didn’t know that. Is the average really more in favor of open kitchens? If I had to guess the current living situation, I would say that more people live with a separate kitchen. I haven’t seen any data on the distribution in new builds yet. Have you?We were asked at every provider what we preferred, so it seems we are not the only ones who didn’t want an open kitchen.Similar topics