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I love the way the "open floor plan faithful" want to argue with us about how much better the open floor plan is. No matter what you say to explain why you don't like that layout, they tell you you're wrong and that it's actually better.
No, we simply refute BS reasoning when it arises.
"I don't like cooking smells floating through the house"
That happens in a closed off house, too, like the one I'm in right now. So it's BS reason.
"I like my privacy"
So stay in the bedroom or bathroom. What are you being "private" for in your own house?
"I don't like to hear noises in the next room"
You can still hear noises in the next room in a old style closed off floorplan, too. I live in one, I know this for a fact.
But seriously YOU'RE the one acting all superior and insulting for not partaking in what you consider a fad. And looking down on ANYONE who thinks otherwise. So we're just responding to THAT asinine attitude.
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I don't understand how open floor plans became an article of religious faith.
It's not, When did chopped up houses with little closed off rooms become an article of religious faith? Hmm??? There's that insulting, "superior" attitude again, turf.
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Maybe because a lot of people are now realizing that they spent a pants load of money on a house that they don't really like, and have to justify the decision no matter what?
My house is from 1932 and closed off, so my next house won't be, because everyone gathers in the kitchen anyhow, AND when we have larger gatherings people inevitably are blocking the little doorways between rooms. There is no goddamn flow to it.
+1 for me. Open floor plans are like gosh-wow kitchens, oversized MBRs and glitzed bathrooms: sales tactics that soon become a complete PITA to live with.
One and only one person can do something involving sound in an open floor plan. Everyone else participates or dies.
I love the way the "open floor plan faithful" want to argue with us about how much better the open floor plan is. No matter what you say to explain why you don't like that layout, they tell you you're wrong and that it's actually better.
I don't understand how open floor plans became an article of religious faith. Maybe because a lot of people are now realizing that they spent a pants load of money on a house that they don't really like, and have to justify the decision no matter what?
nope, the only "article of faith" is that open floor plan fans get to like what they like, even if you don't. Your dislike is not an objective statement that open floor plans are inherently bad despite your incessant attempts to claim that
I think of my downstairs as one large rectangle that makes up the living room, then a slightly smaller rectangle built behind in that makes up the kitchen/dining area. The kitchen area of the smaller rectangle has three walls, so there's a five-foot wide wall that separates the kitchen area from the living room area.
On the dining room side of the smaller rectangle, there's a five-foot-long half-wall separating the dining area from the living room. So there's some definition, without it being completely blocked off.
To think of it this way (hitting a different corner of the downstairs as best is possible): If you stand in the kitchen area, you can see all of the dining area, and 50% of the living room area. If you stand in the dining area, you can see all of the kitchen and 90% of the living room. If you stand in the area of the living room where the front door is, you can see all of the dining area and 75% of the kitchen. If you stand in the area of the living room closest to the garage door, you can see 90% of the dining area, and you can't see the kitchen at all.
I actually like this, because I like the feeling of some definition to the house. Open floor plans tend to look a bit too 'run-together' for my taste, but they are nice if you have a lot of people over. I figure this way, I sort of have the best of both worlds. The entire downstairs isn't completely 'on display', but it's also not blocked off much either.
Last edited by Indigo Cardinal; 10-03-2018 at 11:21 AM..
Almost 100% of the new or remodeled houses I appraise these days are open floor plan. Personally, they look to me like giant studio apartments, but people certainly like them. The funny thing to me is that they are WAY cheaper to build (less framing, drywall, wiring, paint, etc) but they command a premium price because they're currently the "in" thing.
...they are nice if you have a lot of people over. ...
My experience with attending parties in large new open plan houses is actually a bit different:
With all the hard surfaces, once everyone's had a drink or two, the noise of thirty or so people all talking at the top of their lungs becomes completely insupportable, especially for someone like me with mild hearing loss. Everything just becomes a blur of indistinguishable noise, and even with my very loud voice I soon tire of having to shout to be heard. And I can't actually understand more than 50% of what people are trying to say to me.
No thanks. I say, let the 30 people divide up, some in the kitchen, some in the living room, some in the den. With walls (which have art on them), upholstered furniture, and rugs on the floors (well, not in the kitchen, obviously) and small groups of 6-10 people, you can actually have conversations rather than just standing in a crowd with a drink in your hand yelling at each other. It also gives you the option to get away from someone/ change the group you're in: just say "I think I'll get another drink" or "something to eat" and you go into the next room - done! It's kind of obvious when you cut off a conversation and move ten feet to the side in the same room. Going into the next room is not so obvious.
And the elephant in the room is the difficulty of finding a house in decent condition without the open floor plan, either from new or an older one that has fallen prey to the "knock the walls down" remodeling fad. So it is not responsive to just say "don't like it? don't buy it" when "it" is pretty much all that's available.
Anyway, let the flames begin again. Just like the people in 2006 who got so deeply upset when I suggested that housing was in a bubble. Sorry, folks, that particular emperor ain't got no clothes on.
Almost 100% of the new or remodeled houses I appraise these days are open floor plan. Personally, they look to me like giant studio apartments, but people certainly like them....
That's exactly what mine is like. It's actually a very large space, but very loft-like.
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Originally Posted by turf3
With all the hard surfaces, once everyone's had a drink or two, the noise of thirty or so people all talking at the top of their lungs becomes completely insupportable, especially for someone like me with mild hearing loss. Everything just becomes a blur of indistinguishable noise, and even with my very loud voice I soon tire of having to shout to be heard. And I can't actually understand more than 50% of what people are trying to say to me.
Yep, the noise and echoing are a huge problem for me with my hearing issues. We often host groups of 25-30 people and with one table at one end and the other 30 feet away at the other end of the space, it's all noise because it's in the same room. I've tried to temper the noise. I won't have any metal chairs or furniture in my house, only wood to help absorb the noise. And I put the largest and thickest rugs I can afford over the wood floors for the same reason. TV watching is also a pain because the audio gets lost in the big open space. I think it would be easier if the space was smaller or if there was a separate den/family room for TV-watching like in my former house. We have two large living areas but they aren't separated by walls. Hey, nobody made me buy this house. I was up for a change and really liked it for the first two years. Now I'd like a little more privacy and maybe even more carpet.
How refreshing to find other people of the wall; as in wall between the kitchen and living room.
I hope to relocate in the next year and when it comes to buying I will be very easy for the realtor to deal with, I'll just stipulate that I'm only to be shown the 2% of listings that aren't open plan.
I like the open floor plan I live in now , I'm able to see my living my fire place from the kitchen and dining area , I have a separate sun room with French doors but seems anyone using that room likes the doors open anyhow .
I like the open floor plan I live in now , I'm able to see my living my fire place from the kitchen and dining area , I have a separate sun room with French doors but seems anyone using that room likes the doors open anyhow .
A room is four walls with doors. You should get a discount for every wall and door they leave out. Also some wring, light switches, outlets, and finishing.
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Your dislike is not an objective statement that open floor plans are inherently bad despite your incessant attempts to claim that
