open kitchen: yes or no?

[socca]

The kitchen in my house is going to need a total redo at some point: new cabinets, countertops, sink, and appliances. The question is whether I should consider going further and converting from an L-shaped galley kitchen to an open kitchen (probably big bucks involved - removing walls, etc.) There are lots of interesting articles on this topic on the web, and opinions are mixed.

The current kitchen isn't totally closed: it opens to a dining area via a window and to a living area via a doorway. However, like most '70s homes a completely open kitchen wasn't on the original agenda. The house is in a solidly middle-class area and really doesn't need any upper-class touches.

Does anyone love their open kitchen and consider it a must-have for any new home they might purchase?

P.S. The cute 900 sq. ft. Sears home I owned in the Chicago area back in the '90s had a straight galley kitchen. Trying to convert that kitchen to an open plan would have been difficult/impossible. Hopefully no one would ever even try.

 

[hopefullyoneday]

I love my open kitchen just makes everything look bigger and easier to climate control evenly with rest of house. Also it seams to be the trend nowadays so it might help when selling. I have a 1000 sq ft vacation future retirement condo I will be converting to a open concept kitchen

 

[MRG]

We have an open gallery kitchen. It does make the area appear larger. Make sure your appliances are quiet, especially the dishwasher. Many times these things scream and it isn't pleasant.

 

[Gumby]

We have a large, high end kitchen. But it is entirely separate from the dining room, and we like it that way. We don't want to see the all messy pots and pans and such while we eat.

 

[arch57]

We moved 4 years ago from a Colonial with our kitchen that opened to an eating area that was a great arrangement. The family room was off on it’s own away from the kitchen area. Our new Ranch house has the family room adjacent to the kitchen with no separation. We thought that was great when we were viewing the house. Now after living with it I can’t stand the two areas being so close. Any attempt to watch TV when anyone is doing anything in the kitchen is frustrating. Running water, prepping food, cleaning dishes are suddenly very loud when trying to listen to a show on TV. Oh well you never know until you live it.

 

[davebarnes]

We like open. Would not have any other design.

Of course, your dishwasher needs to quiet. That is why the Germans created Bosch.

We even nuked the south wall after 6 years and did a major renovation.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

A matter of personal taste, obviously, and go with what pleases you.

We've been looking for that "perfect" house for several years, and one thing we do not want is a kitchen open to the main living area, although that seems to be the trend nowadays especially in new construction. Our agent is of the opinion that is partly because omitting interior walls saves on construction cost.

Besides, it makes me feel like I'm in an efficiency apartment.

I wouldn't mind a kitchen with a breakfast area, and open to a small den or sitting area. But when one of us is trying to watch the news when the other is clanking around loading the dishwasher, etc., it's just a giant Pet Peeve of the Day.

 

[timo2]

We moved into a house with an open concept kitchen 2 years ago. An open concept kitchen means it is now part of your living space. If the kitchen is not always clean, that is a problem. Between the smell of dirty dishes and the grease that well used kitchens normally produce, the odors get throughout the whole house. Also everyone can see the kitchen with the dirty dishes. If you keep a clean kitchen or never cook, then an open concept kitchen is great. People love to congregate in the kitchen. But no one wants to congregate in a dirty kitchen.

 

[Dtail]

We like open. Would not have any other design.

Of course, your dishwasher needs to quiet. That is why the Germans created Bosch.

We even nuked the south wall after 6 years and did a major renovation.

Absolutely beautiful.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Open Kitchen - Yes ............... It's where everyone 'Hangs' at Dinner Parties... A closed off Kitchen is as outdated as an Outhouse, IMNSHO.

 

[timo2]

Open Kitchen - Yes ............... It's where everyone 'Hangs' at Dinner Parties... A closed off Kitchen is as outdated as an Outhouse, IMNSHO.

Except after dinner when all the dirty pots and pans are there. Maybe a screen to open when the kitchen is not in use and to close when the kitchen is in use

 

[Katsmeow]

I loved my open kitchen at my last house and it was one of the things I really, really, really wanted when we moved. But -- we bought a house built in the mid-1980s so the kitchen isn't open. The kitchen has a fairly large opening to the formal dining room and also has a breakfast area (we are using it as a sitting area as we don't need 2 dining areas). A prior owner had apparently cut a window type opening into the family room (which is my office) so I can see from the kitchen into that room. And there is a large opening from the breakfast area to the family room.

So -- this kitchen is not open at all to the living area. At first I thought about how to open it up. Prior owners to us were planning to open it to the family room (at a cost of about $50k). Opening it to the living area though would be astronomically higher and would require redoing a lot of stuff.

I've decided that as much as I like having an open kitchen it just isn't worth that much money to do it. In some houses you can open up at fairly low cost but this house isn't one of them. I don't really "need" the open kitchen. We don't often have a lot of guests and don't entertain. I like the open kitchen more for the aesthetics of it than anything else. I have found that my kitchen works fine for DH and I the way it is and I would rather spend the remodeling money on other more important functional things.

So - I thought the open kitchen was a must have, but it turns out that not having it is fine. We had so many other things we loved about this house and its location that it was a trade off we decided to make.

 

[hopefullyoneday]

We like open. Would not have any other design.

Of course, your dishwasher needs to quiet. That is why the Germans created Bosch.

We even nuked the south wall after 6 years and did a major renovation.

Beautiful! I cant afford a bosch dw so I just turn mine on when I go to bed.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Except after dinner when all the dirty pots and pans are there. Maybe a screen to open when the kitchen is not in use and to close when the kitchen is in use

Not a Problem.... Dinner takes place in the same Great Room about 20 feet away... Lights are off, Candles are lit... Cognacs on the Deck.... No need to further hide the Kitchen with correct lighting.

 

[Aerides]

When I first started dating DH, I saw his kitchen and thought "oh no..." because it ruined the house. Tiny, with a dropped ceiling hiding the lighting, and cabinets all around it top and bottom. The bones were wrong.

After we were married and I moved in, we agreed to a complete remodel instead of selling both and moving. With the help of a skilled designer, opening the kitchen on one side wasn't THAT big of a change.

We took out about a 4 foot wall that served no purpose, and then took out the top of one side of cabinets converting what was basically a poky pass-thru into a counter level divider. By going custom on the lower cabinets, and giving them less depth, we were also able to move the counter out about 8" giving an extra few square feet to the space.

I would never have had that idea myself. But in my case the kitchen was wrong for the house. It's not a yes/no thing so much as what feels right for you and for the space, and how long you plan to live there.

 

[Midpack]

Open concept is way more popular now, so it’s a good idea for resale. But if you plan to stay in the house and you’re OK with the current layout, I wouldn’t change it. You’ll never get the $ back when you sell, it would just make it easier to sell when the time comes. Obviously people get along fine with closed kitchens still, and there’s a minority that still prefers lots of separate rooms. We have a pass through to the family room, a precursor to open concept, it’s OK.

 

[Gumby]

This is part of our kitchen. That island is just shy of 9 feet long and 4 feet wide.

 

[tulak]

+1 for an open kitchen.

I’d also recommend an LG dishwasher. Very quiet, at least as good as the Bosch that we replaced, if not better.

 

[Sue J]

Our house is from the 50's and our kitchen has a nice breakfast room on one end and connects to the dining room on the other end. It's separate from the living room.

Kitchens are noisy and messy. In our home we have a tv in the living room (serves as the family room). We also have a tv in the breakfast room which I use while cooking and also if I'm eating breakfast or lunch by myself and want to catch up on the news or whatever. DH has the kitchen tv on when he's cleaning up after dinner. Sometimes he listens to the radio or a bluetooth speaker.

Besides the tv or radio a kitchen has noisy appliances, chopping sounds, pots and pans clattering and cupboard doors closing. Our old ones are noisy, I know newer kitchens have solved this!

Anyway, I don't think I'd ever want an open kitchen even though it's just DH and I now. For a family with kids I think an open kitchen would allow better views for the parents but I still think it would be noisy for those in the non kitchen areas.

 

[Midpack]

+1 for an open kitchen.

I’d also recommend an LG dishwasher. Very quiet, at least as good as the Bosch that we replaced, if not better.

Bosch led the way, but most dishwashers are relatively quiet these days. Our basic GE is MUCH quieter than the old dishwasher we replaced.

 

[W2R]

Does anyone love their open kitchen and consider it a must-have for any new home they might purchase?

I prefer having an open kitchen, and have one right now that is just perfect for me. My kitchen is separated from the den by a counter with barstools.

For me an open kitchen is not a must-have, but it would be a plus if I was looking for a new home.

 

[pb4uski]

We renovated our kitchen last summer and opened it up in the process and are so glad that we did. There was previously a pocket door from the hallway and a pass through above the sink to the dining area. We took out the wall from the far side of the pass through all the way around the corner and replaced cabinets, countertops, etc. We are very happy with the result.

After and before.

 

[jazz4cash]

We moved 4 years ago from a Colonial with our kitchen that opened to an eating area that was a great arrangement. The family room was off on it’s own away from the kitchen area. Our new Ranch house has the family room adjacent to the kitchen with no separation. We thought that was great when we were viewing the house. Now after living with it I can’t stand the two areas being so close. Any attempt to watch TV when anyone is doing anything in the kitchen is frustrating. Running water, prepping food, cleaning dishes are suddenly very loud when trying to listen to a show on TV. Oh well you never know until you live it.

^^^This, but.....DW loves the open floorplan, so that is all that really matters!

 

[pb4uski]

Except after dinner when all the dirty pots and pans are there. Maybe a screen to open when the kitchen is not in use and to close when the kitchen is in use

That is why we have one big deep sink... everything can go in there until our guests have left and then we reorganize. Besides, for us rooms were meant to be lived in and not monuments to neatness... also our family and friends know we are messies anyway.

Alternatively some of our friends keep the open look but have a serving counter that is about 8" higher than the sink counter and that hides all the sink area clutter from view from the dining area and living room.

 

[MarieIG]

My dream kitchen is a large, well-lit, eat-in kitchen with lots of cabinets, large fridge and freezer, high end appliances, counter space, storage, a pantry, gas stove, double oven and a large island. I want easy to open and close windows, and a nice view to a pretty yard. While it is roomy, it is not open to the rest of the house.

I have no desire to entertain the entire neighborhood while I'm cooking like a Benihana chef. And when I finish cooking and eating, I want to relax for a bit before cleaning up without looking at the dirty pots and pans. Ok so DH does most of the cooking, but it's the point.