craftykitten
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,304
Jun 26, 2014 7:39:32 GMT
|
Post by craftykitten on Oct 11, 2015 18:58:57 GMT
I love looking through listings for houses, even on the other side of the world to me!
One thing I have noticed is that open plan seems very common. Do you guys not have separate rooms? Most houses here in the UK that I am familiar with have separate living rooms/dining rooms/kitchens. You might get one that combines the two like living/dining, or dining/kitchen, but that's it.
And most of the gardens seem to be very open as well. We have a 6 foot fence between us and the neighbours and I like it that way, lol.
Tell me about your house!
|
|
|
Post by papersilly on Oct 11, 2015 19:04:36 GMT
the yards depend on what area you are looking at. the more urban the space, the less yard space and more fences you will see.
I think lots of houses still have separate rooms and spaces. the open concept has been popular for many years but lots of people still prefer designated rooms.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 1:36:06 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2015 19:06:57 GMT
new homes: open old homes, HGTV tears down walls and makes them open, but in reality that is very expensive.
"Gardens" (we call them yards).. in my area of the country, most everyone has a fence.
|
|
perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
|
Post by perumbula on Oct 11, 2015 19:10:50 GMT
Open plans started being very popular in the 90s, so most homes built over the last 25 years are that style and many remodels have been done to make a home open concept. Americans like things big and open concept makes our homes feel bigger than they are. It's also why we love high ceilings. You'll see the effect while watching home shows and hearing someone say "it's so spacious!" People are looking for that when they want open concept homes.
I think you'll find that a great proportion of homes in the US have 6' fences in the back yard. We don't have as involved of gardens though. Flower beds are mostly just a few shrubs and some mulch to make it look pretty. I've seen a lot of yards in my job and I'm shocked at the number of them that have no flower beds at all.
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Oct 11, 2015 19:14:23 GMT
An open concept floor plan has been popular for at least a decade. Probably closer to 20 years. So newer homes will have fewer defined rooms with walls and feel more open. And older homes are often renovated to get that look. As our living style has changed, older homes will have additions--often a Great Room that is the family room and often off the kitchen. But the thing is that America is a big place and styles vary widely by both region and price. It would be unusual to see a tan stucco home with large eaves and a red tile roof in New York, but they are very popular in the Southwest. And you won't see a colonial style home in Arizona. We're military and have lived in 14 homes in 25 years. We've had big kitchens with tons of cupboards, small kitchens that seemed to be an afterthought, pantries, mud rooms, etc. or not. It's more expensive to engineer those great rooms, as they need large beams for support and don't have structural walls or supports in the center of the house. It's expensive to renovate and it's expensive to live in big urban areas. So all of that will determine what kind of house you live in. So your answer is that it just depends.
|
|
calgal08
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,519
Jun 27, 2014 15:43:46 GMT
|
Post by calgal08 on Oct 11, 2015 19:37:50 GMT
Having lived in both UK homes where every room is separated and US open plan homes, I now much prefer the open plan style (although it took a lot of getting used to. I had the hardest time being able to see my dining table and kitchen from the living room. Now I can't imagine separate rooms, especially when you entertain. I love to have guests all hanging out together while we cook. Our yard isn't the norm for Silicon Valley. We have a large unfenced property
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Oct 11, 2015 19:40:37 GMT
we have a 1920's house..all rooms separate. our kitchen used to have 4 doors into it (one to dining room, one to breakfast room, one to hallway, one to backyard --but couldn't see it). so we remodeled the kitchen to make the breakfast room and kitchen one room...and closed off doorway to dining room. and opened up back wall so we have windows and door to backyard. so we still have doors between kitchen/dining and living room.
many of the old victorians in town are being gutted..so victorian facade and totally modern interior...they look awful. but I live in an urban area.
|
|
scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
|
Post by scrapaddie on Oct 11, 2015 19:44:11 GMT
I live in the country in middle America (Ohio). My house was built in the late 90s so it has separate rooms. I have a large yard, almost 2 acres, with no fence. People in my area would have to be very wealthy to be able to fence their yards. No one in my immediate area has a fence
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Oct 11, 2015 19:45:27 GMT
definitely varies by area.
I have a doublewide mobile home - it's a little more open plan than I prefer - kitchen, dining room, family room are all in a row with no walls between them - there is a wall between the dining room and living room but no doors.
We're on 4 acres of land - there is field fencing along most of the boundaries (our neighbours own the fencing and it's not all intact) but our property is ringed with trees (the middle two acres are cleared, the outer two are wooded) so it doesn't matter - we can't see the fencing or the neighbours.
|
|
georgiapea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,846
Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
|
Post by georgiapea on Oct 11, 2015 19:46:22 GMT
Crafty Kitten, I love to tell people about my house and you can see it on line. Just plug in 182 W Reynolds St Ozark AL 36360 and both Zillow and Trulia will provide photos. Picture 1 is the exterior and we also own the door to the right of the main building. Photo 2 is up the street showing the County Courthouse where I worked till the end of Sept. Photos 3 and 4 became our living room and we kept the built in shelving. Photo 5 became our kitchen, a galley style, 18 feet long. Photo 6 is now our dining room, and trust me, that hidious green paint is GONE. Same for photo 7, my craft room, which is no longer garish orange. Photo 8 is now our home office, where I'm sitting at the moment. Number 9 was the powder room and it's still a half bath. Photo 10 became our utility room and now there's a door out to a deck. Photos 11, 12, and 13 show the balcony. That ladder is from when it was a hardware store, being used to pull merchandise from high shelves. Photo 14 is now the guest room. Photo 15 shows what is now our master bedroom and the door to the now master bath.
We worked on the building for about a year before moving in and I still don't have good photos of the completed work. There's a full basement underneath and the outdoor courtyard which is my plant area. We added a deck, level with the main living area with a grill and seating area, cutting through 13 inch brick walls for the door access.
|
|
craftykitten
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,304
Jun 26, 2014 7:39:32 GMT
|
Post by craftykitten on Oct 11, 2015 19:56:37 GMT
OF COURSE I should have said - I realise it varies by area! And I guess it does here, perhaps not to the same extent. And I guess by price, but I don't know anyone who lives in a big posh house georgiapea, your house is amazing! I love that balcony. And the main room with the big windows looks really light and beautiful. I can imagine it is really beautiful all refurbished. Do you still get people who think it's a hardware store?
|
|
kate
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,517
Location: The city that doesn't sleep
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 3:30:05 GMT
|
Post by kate on Oct 11, 2015 19:57:46 GMT
My place was built in the 1920's and it is all rooms with doors. How I love my doors - especially when it's music practice time! I can't imagine an "open concept" home working with our lifestyle.
|
|
|
Post by anxiousmom on Oct 11, 2015 20:01:47 GMT
I'm another one who lives in a 1920's cottage and the rooms are all separate. I added a teeny bit to the house and the only 'open' part is a small hearth room type space that adjoins the kitchen. All the other room spaces are clearly delineated. The front door opens directly into the living room, and the dining room is separated by an arch. There is no dedicated entryway.
I prefer the separate room thing. I like knowing that one of us can be in one space and have privacy. If we want to gather together, we can. The tv is in the space that is open to the kitchen, along with a couch and a chair. It isn't a big space, but it works for us. I can see the tv while I am cooking, I can talk to the boy(s) or guests while in the kitchen, and there is ample space at the bar (really a table top size bar) that people can sit around. When I designed the addition, I figured that since everyone hangs out in the kitchen, I would make it easy for everyone to do so. It is the only space in the addition that is a little out of character for the house, but it isn't terribly obvious.
|
|
|
Post by Zee on Oct 11, 2015 20:02:37 GMT
My last home was built in 1920 and all the rooms had doors, which I really liked. My current home is only about 4 years old and it's more open, but not just one big open concept like I see on TV some times, so newer homes are being built with a bit more traditional plan.
Fences can be very common where you live, or not at all. Some neighborhoods have every yard enclosed with a tall privacy fence but in my last two homes, there have been no fences in any of the yards at all. I like that particularly in this house because all our yards back into a wooded area and fences would spoil that.
|
|
QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
|
Post by QueenoftheSloths on Oct 11, 2015 20:14:41 GMT
DH wants a more open floor plan in the "five year plan" house. I think it might be nice too, more room for the cats to chase each other around, but right now we have smaller separate rooms and I like the cozy feel.
|
|
|
Post by moveablefeast on Oct 11, 2015 20:23:03 GMT
I live in a small townhouse and the only room on the main level with a door is the bathroom. Upstairs the bedrooms have doors, obviously. But the main level is open. The spaces are separated by half walls for the most part. Living room, eat in kitchen, dining room on the main level. Given that it is a very small house, I think being able to see from the front door straight through to the back door makes it feel big where it could otherwise feel quite tiny. I think it would be hard to lay out a small and narrow space like mine with separate rooms with doors and not have it feel really cramped.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 1:36:06 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2015 20:23:55 GMT
First house - built in the 1920s. Smaller rooms, divided and defined. Small hallway, tiny closets IF there is a closet. There was a larger doorway from the living room into the dining room but the shape of it is more 50's than 20's so I think at some point it was opened up.
Second house - built in 1997. Big massive open space. Kitchen was opened into the dining space which was also a large living room space. The way it was set up, it was hard to create defined areas. The basement was also one big large space. Sometimes I miss it. Sometimes I don't.
Current house - built in the 30s or 40s. Again, defined spaces. Bedrooms are all upstairs as is the bathroom. Living room and dining room are two separate rooms but you can tell the doorway between the two was smaller. Now it's one of those big open entryways that you cannot put up doors. I wish it was smaller so that it'd be easier to place furniture.
|
|
Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,770
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
|
Post by Kerri W on Oct 11, 2015 20:32:08 GMT
Our home was built in 2002 and while it's more open, it still has defined rooms. There is a large doorway between the kitchen/dining area and the living room but no door. It's enough separation to cut down on noise but still allows a lot of light. It is not common in the city I live in to have fences. There are some here or there but none of the subdivisions have fences as a norm. Privacy fencing is very uncommon. Miles of horse fence is a whole different matter but that's generally not around a person's yard.
|
|
GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,294
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
|
Post by GiantsFan on Oct 11, 2015 20:32:47 GMT
Our house is a 1960's ranch. It has a separate kitchen, but the dining, "lounge" and living room are one big room, 40'x20'. Our previous house, built in 1974, had a combined dining and kitchen. All my other houses had separate rooms.
And regarding the yard or garden, I'm a firm believer in "good fences make good neighbors".
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 1:36:06 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2015 20:37:40 GMT
I have a tri-level house built in the late 1990's. There's a 1/2 wall between the kitchen and living room. You can see the family room from the kitchen. I don't care for it because it's not a big house. The TV playing in the living room or family room can be heard from any of these rooms. I do like it a little because the home feels a bit more open with the vaulted ceilings in the kitchen and living room.
Beyond that, the rest of the house is not open concept. 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on the upper floor. 1/2 of the basement is a finished family room. There is a door to the other 1/2 where there is a bedroom and a place plumbed for a bathroom. There is one lower level that is not finished.
There was no fence when we moved into this house. They didn't take care of the garden (yard) very well. It took forever to get it looking decent. Most homes in my neighborhood have a variety of fencing (vinyl, wood, chain link, chain link with slats).
Our garden (back yard) is very basic. No flowers or vegetable garden. My son would destroy them. Most people around here have flowers out front and a vegetable garden in the back.
|
|
|
Post by cindyupnorth on Oct 11, 2015 20:44:28 GMT
Our house is almost a hundred yrs old. It had all the separate rooms. We have done a lot of remodeling though, and opened up the kitchen to the parlor, by putting in a squared arch, similar to what is original to the house. It does have high ceilings to begin with, but not the vaulted ones all the Mcmansions have these days. We do not have a fence, but we live in the woods, and our yard/lawn is about 5 mowed acres.
|
|
NoWomanNoCry
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,856
Jun 25, 2014 21:53:42 GMT
|
Post by NoWomanNoCry on Oct 11, 2015 20:48:36 GMT
Our house is almost a hundred yrs old. It had all the separate rooms. We have done a lot of remodeling though, and opened up the kitchen to the parlor, by putting in a squared arch, similar to what is original to the house. It does have high ceilings to begin with, but not the vaulted ones all the Mcmansions have these days. We do not have a fence, but we live in the woods, and our yard/lawn is about 5 mowed acres. I have to say when the Peas start chatting about homes I always look for you to pop in because I love hearing you describe your farm house. I love older homes and I love farm homes even more! I can only imagine the beauty in your home
|
|
stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,580
Location: In the leaves and rain.
Jun 25, 2014 19:57:33 GMT
|
Post by stittsygirl on Oct 11, 2015 20:56:23 GMT
Our living/dining/kitchen all flow together, no walls fully separating them. Our living room is two stories tall with huge windows all the way up that look out over the backyard. There is a fireplace that partially separates the living and dining rooms, but you can still see into the kitchen from most places in the living room. The master is on the main level, with an office/extra bedroom, and then there are three bedrooms upstairs and an open loft that looks out over the living room downstairs. We do have a fence that runs the entire perimeter of the yard, but it is covered by trees and foliage in most places. My backyard looks like an open meadow in a tall forest. You wouldn't know there are homes to either side and in back of us, except for all their noisy dogs .
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 1:36:06 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2015 21:05:07 GMT
Our house is almost a hundred yrs old. It had all the separate rooms. We have done a lot of remodeling though, and opened up the kitchen to the parlor, by putting in a squared arch, similar to what is original to the house. It does have high ceilings to begin with, but not the vaulted ones all the Mcmansions have these days. We do not have a fence, but we live in the woods, and our yard/lawn is about 5 mowed acres. My house is probably 2000 square feet. 500 of that is unfinished. They are in small homes as well.
|
|
georgiapea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,846
Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
|
Post by georgiapea on Oct 11, 2015 21:06:03 GMT
Crafty Kitten, glad you like it. Everybody loves the balcony. It was a hardware store in 1909 and I don't know how long that lasted. It's been home to a dance studio and an artist. The artist panted wonderful murals but they were covered up by the time we bought it, at which time it was a disability attorney office. Which seems strange considering that the entrance is small and fairly steep. No wheelchair clients could gain access.
|
|
|
Post by shinyhappytina on Oct 11, 2015 21:07:17 GMT
Hi! My house is 8 years old and is open concept. From our front door, you can see my living room, library, dining room and kitchen, it's a big space with a couple of columns that mark the spaces for the various rooms. I have loved this house because I enjoy having big groups of people over and we have plenty of room to seat 20 or 25 people to eat. We live on a street that used to be a 40 acre farm and there are 8 houses, so we all have really big yards and no one has a fence. Most of us have an electric fence to keep our dogs in our yard. This neighborhood is the most spread out neighborhood that I've ever lived in, but I know my neighbors better and really like all of them.
We are thinking about selling our house in the next year or two because my oldest finishes college this year and my younger daughter leaves for college next fall, so there will only be three of us left and this house is way too big for three people, so we want to downsize. I've been looking at old houses in the city (we live in the suburbs now), which would take us back to a smaller house with smaller rooms and a much less yard.
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Oct 11, 2015 21:11:02 GMT
I love looking through listings for houses, even on the other side of the world to me! One thing I have noticed is that open plan seems very common. Do you guys not have separate rooms? Most houses here in the UK that I am familiar with have separate living rooms/dining rooms/kitchens. You might get one that combines the two like living/dining, or dining/kitchen, but that's it. And most of the gardens seem to be very open as well. We have a 6 foot fence between us and the neighbours and I like it that way, lol. Tell me about your house! I'm with you, I prefer a definite separation of yards and a fence is even better. The house I lived in as a child had a living fence of sorts, with different plants making up the border on all 3 sides of the yards. That worked very well also. It was a private back yard and we kids knew to stay inside our boundaries. I also prefer a home without a great room. I don't like the very high ceilings or columns and I prefer separate rooms. My personal favorites are old homes with double pocket doors, because then you can create or take away large openings between rooms as you see fit. But barring those, just wide doorways are good for me.
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Oct 11, 2015 21:16:38 GMT
Right now I live in a rural area, so there are few fences because yards are so large. Multiple acres are the norm, and sometimes it is 100 acres or more. Ours is only 2 acres. People with horses, cows, or goats will fence in a portion of their yard to contain the animals, but otherwise only pools are fenced in typically around here. In town fences are more common.
Our home was built in the late 80s, so we have separate rooms with a wide doorway between the kitchen & living room/family room.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 1:36:06 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2015 22:43:03 GMT
Our old house is a government ranch. A big front room , two small bedrooms , one even smaller bedroom. A tiny kitchen, the utility room was bigger than the kitchen and bathroom ( 1 tiny bath). Garages were an add on.
All the yards are fenced and are nice size for a city lot. Our son should be moving back into this winter.
Our new house, is one big room with kitchen , three bedrooms around a common area. Our bath is narrow , but we have a huuuuuge shower . And I have a huge pantry.
|
|
Sue
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,234
Location: SE of Portland, Oregon
Jun 26, 2014 18:42:33 GMT
|
Post by Sue on Oct 11, 2015 23:07:21 GMT
I live in a smallish (1,500+ sq. ft.) one and a half story bungalow with a full basement. Our house was built in 1913 and additions were added on three sides in the 1930's. We changed our interior somewhat after we bought in 1981 but left all load-bearing walls in place so all but the kitchen and dining area are separate rooms, which is my preference. We have two bedrooms upstairs and two down, all quite small in size, and only one bathroom. Our area is more rural than suburb but we're still only 15 minutes from the nearest hospital and good-sized city. We have no close neighbors behind or on either side and don't have a fenced yard. We do have several neighbors across the street from us however. I love my little house.. it has lots of character and one of a kind charm.
|
|