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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Nov 5, 2017 0:25:40 GMT
I will say, I'm loving the trend away from a formal dining room. And I will never not want a huge formal dining room. I like to have big dinner parties and wish my dining room was twice as big as it is. My table seats eight-to-ten, but I'd love one of those huge banquet tables that would seat twice as many. For chaosisapony - if the open floor plan bothers you, is there another option for a place? If not, then you might want to get creative with carving the space up using your furniture and accessories to give yourself the illusion of separate areas. Do you try to create "rooms" with tables and accessories or do you embrace the large open space and keep your stuff on walls? Don't push everything up against the walls. Let some furniture "float" out into the space. It will be much more appealing that way.
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Post by Zee on Nov 5, 2017 0:27:23 GMT
I prefer semi-open.
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Nanner
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Jun 25, 2014 23:13:23 GMT
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Post by Nanner on Nov 5, 2017 0:28:06 GMT
It would never have worked when the kids were still at home. But it's just DH and I, and we love our new house which is somewhat open. The kitchen, livingroom and diningroom are all open to each other, but we have a separate TV room at the front of the house, as well as a finished basement. So we do have three "living spaces".
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Post by crazy4scraps on Nov 5, 2017 0:37:27 GMT
I used to think I wanted an open concept house, but now that we have the house we do I’m glad it has walls. My kid is freaking LOUD. All.The.Time. I’m sure once she gets older and starts having friends over more often she/they will be even louder. So walls are good. I like walls!
The only thing I’m not crazy about with our house is that it has a formal living room that never ever gets used. I would love to move the short wall at the back of it forward about 6’ to make our first floor office big enough to be a main floor bedroom if it ends up being needed some day, and converting what’s left of the formal living room into a smaller but cozy library/office with built in floor to ceiling shelving along the remaining three walls. Then I would have somewhere to put all of my books.
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Post by gale w on Nov 5, 2017 1:00:55 GMT
our house has walls between the living room and the kids' rooms. It's just open between the kitchen, dining area, and living room. We don't have a 2nd living room or family room or anything. That got turned into my craft room. It has walls too.
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Post by chaosisapony on Nov 5, 2017 1:01:34 GMT
I definitely can see the drawbacks where a family is concerned. It'll just be me in this condo and it's only about 1000 sq ft. So noise isn't really a concern as I'll be the one making it. Good point on the dishwasher though, I may have to look into a quiet model. I will say, I'm loving the trend away from a formal dining room. In the early days of being married, I thought it was the greatest, but once I had one I quickly realized that for us, they are a complete waste of space. I've set up my studio in the formal dining room in the last 2 houses and I really like it. The more I think on it the less I'm concerned about a "dining room" per se. Since I live alone I generally eat at the kitchen counter or on the couch. My dining room table holds mail and crap I need to take care of. It's a junk collector. So maybe I'd be better off without one anyway.
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scrappinmama
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Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Nov 5, 2017 1:10:57 GMT
I love ours! During the holidays while my husband I are cooking, we can have the tv on. I also like to watch the news as I'm cooking dinner. We have a formal dining room in a separate room and we never use it. We eat meals in the breakfast nook in the main area.
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Post by aljack on Nov 5, 2017 1:36:19 GMT
Yep, I like open. I had a smaller home that had a den and kitchen combo with a big bay window for a table. I could cook, wash dishes, and still see TV. We didn’t watch TV at dinner. For family gatherings, everyone always hangs out in the kitchen so we opted for a home with a huge great room, Morning room, and kitchen combined. Love it except, we have hardwood floors that echo. I don’t have to hang a bunch of pictures because I have lots of windows for light. I also don’t have to clean all those baseboards no pain all,those extra walls. Bonus for me. The noise is the only factor I see as a challenge. It’s two of us and puppy, so not a huge concern. I will say with small kids, this house is great because you can see them at all times. In my area, this is wildly popular. I think it depends on the lifestyle you have. Choose what’s a good fit for you.
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Anita
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Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Nov 5, 2017 1:42:41 GMT
I hate them, and that's all we could find in this area. Seriously, bring back walls.
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Post by peasapie on Nov 5, 2017 1:51:19 GMT
I love mine and wouldn’t want to go back to the old school boxy look I’ve seen in many houses. However it sounds like the one you looked at is poorly designed. There should be ample space for couch and chairs and tv viewing, a good traffic flow for parties as well as daily use, and proper ventilation and noise. If you don’t have that, it’s poorly designed and I would pass on it.
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sharlag
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I like my artsy with a little bit of fartsy.
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Jun 26, 2014 12:57:48 GMT
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Post by sharlag on Nov 5, 2017 1:55:06 GMT
LOVE my great room/open floor plan in my modified A Frame. It's just me here so the noise isn't an issue. Plus the back of my house (18 foot ceilings) is all windows and I have the best view of 40 acres. Sounds wonderful!
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Post by Merge on Nov 5, 2017 2:41:59 GMT
Thinking back, I realize that I don’t remember living in any other kind of house. Even in childhood, my parents built a multi-level, mostly open plan house in 1978. All of the houses I’ve lived in with DH have been open plan. I guess we just make it work!
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Post by dewryce on Nov 5, 2017 4:02:58 GMT
It's just DH and I and we love our open floor plan, was actually one of our "must haves" when we purchased our home. I wouldn't like it if you could see the kitchen when you enter the house, but we have a good sized entry way to go through before you enter the main room with living room, dining room and then kitchen on the other side of the house. Also, we have a very tall bar that hides most of the kitchen counters. Our dishwasher is super quiet, and TV isn't on too often so that's not an issue. I would definitely want a dining room table. Even if it's just you now that may not always be the case. As for creating spaces, the long bar separates the kitchen from dining room and really long couch separates the dining room from living room. I don't like the furniture pushed against all the walls anyway. I love being able to sit in the living room and talk to DH while he is cooking or messing around in the kitchen.
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Post by birukitty on Nov 5, 2017 4:20:41 GMT
I've never lived in one so I have no experience in them. From what I've seen on shows like Fixer Upper though I'd hate the idea of living in one. I love the house we have that has walls. We've been here about 20 years but will move in around 3 years. DH wants a spot that's not next to the main road into our neighborhood. I'm really hoping we can find a house that doesn't have an open floor plan although by now it's just DH and I in the house.
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caangel
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Jun 26, 2014 16:42:12 GMT
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Post by caangel on Nov 5, 2017 5:07:32 GMT
We love ours and remodeled it to be a bigger open space. Before our entry, formal living and dining space were all one big space. Then our kitchen, nook and family room where together in a smaller space. We walled in a foyer and a dedicated dining room. It is my pretty space that is right next to the entry and is generally always nice looking. Got rid of the formal living space. Kitchen is bigger, added a small space on the side for a nook and all opens to the family room. It is a great space for us and for entertaining. The center of the kitchen is a huge island. It all works so well for our family.
We do have a second story with a loft area for the kids. Their bedrooms are off that area and not open to the space below. The downstairs bedrooms are off a hallway that seperates them from the the open area. Plenty of rooms and walls when we need them.
Our great room also has tall ceilings and skylights. I love all the light and space.
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Post by mcscrapper on Nov 5, 2017 6:30:24 GMT
SO glad to know I'm not the only one that doesn't like an open floor plan. Sometimes I feel like I NEED separation. It seems like there is an awful lot of wasted space with open floor plans. I also like to keep the noise levels down especially when entertaining.
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inkedup
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Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Nov 5, 2017 7:33:50 GMT
I love our open floor plan, though there are walls between our great room, formal dining room and living room. Our kitchen, tv room and smaller dining area are in one great room. I like the fact that I can keep an eye on my son while I cook, and that I'm not banished to a separate room if I'm cooking for a group.
I might be less enamored of this arrangement if space were an issue, though.
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Post by rahnee on Nov 5, 2017 8:39:09 GMT
I could not imagine living in a house that did not have an open floor plan. I just don't see the point of a formal dining room. We do have another separate lounge room in the house but no one uses it. Everyone uses the open living area.
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Post by julieinsweden on Nov 5, 2017 10:03:09 GMT
The thing to realize is that a house that is designed as an open plan house can easily have walls added without doing to much damage should the next owner want to remove them. There is flexibility.
In a house with walls, particularly weight bearing walls, is a huge job to remove walls.
Myself. When we built 14 years ago I insisted upon a closed in kitchen. In addition to then noise, I hate the way smells spread. The living area and dinning space are open and I find a rug is a good way to ground "rooms". That and making sure the back of furniture is a nice finish (I.e. not IKEA).
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Deleted
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Sept 21, 2024 0:51:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2017 12:25:26 GMT
I love mine. Our kitchen, dining room and living room is open just as you described with the bar the separates the living room and kitchen. I don't feel closed in with this plan or like I have been banished to the kitchen. And when we have company, everyone is together nobody what room they are in.
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Post by lisae on Nov 5, 2017 12:28:31 GMT
When I opened this thread, I expected to be the exception and I'm happy and surprised to see that I'm not. I did an open floor plan when we built out house in 1993. It's not as open as many I've seen and there are some walls for furniture because I had a plan for where all my furniture would go when I designed the house. Of course I've rearranged but I still can accommodate a lot of furniture.
Still I don't like the concept because whatever happens in the living room, you hear in the kitchen. So if DH is watching some political show, I have to listen to it and he has to listen to what I watch. Thank goodness for Netflix. Now he goes to his office and watches TV on his computer and I can shut the door! Also, you have to keep the paint, flooring and basic color scheme consistent. I'd really like to have a change somewhere but I'm stuck. I can't repaint the dining room without doing the kitchen, living room and stairway.
If you live alone, your open floor plan might work better. You can put a sofa table behind your couch and at least one end table. A rug under all your main pieces will tie it together. Around here, condos are in such short supply, if I were in your place I'd just have to adjust to this issue if the unit met my other requirements.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Nov 5, 2017 12:29:11 GMT
It'll just be me in this condo and it's only about 1000 sq ft. In that case, I would think the more open concept style would be preferable. It'll make your space seem bigger, too.
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Deleted
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Sept 21, 2024 0:51:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2017 12:47:41 GMT
We have one big square open plan kitchen/living room and dining area, I love it. We have a large sofa and (my mind has gone blank to what you'd call it, it's like a large footstool!!) that we use to section off the space and the living area has a large rug. It feels very cosy. We're lucky to have a separate utility room, the washer and dryer are in there and there's lots of storage space for kitchen items as the actual kitchen area is small and could feel really cluttered. There's only the two of us and occasionally the neighbours cat so it works for us. We moved from a very oddly shaped flat, all the rooms were long and thin and badly planned so this is a definite improvement.
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Post by Really Red on Nov 5, 2017 12:57:50 GMT
It's so funny for me to read people like walls. I hate them!! I see their use, of course , but I feel so cooped up in little squares. I lived in an open floor plan in Colorado. Couple that with the wide-open spaces there, it was so hard to move to VA where the forest is attacking you everywhere and every house is a square with four rooms up and four rooms down. I found a lovely open floor plan and I LOVE my house. It's too big for me now, with just one left at home, but I can breathe so happily and easily here. I rearrange my furniture at whim and I love when I have parties that I'm not confined to one space. I just went to a board meeting at a neighbor's house the other day and I felt all cramped and couldn't figure out why because it was a beautiful home. It was those compartments. Ugh!
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Post by bigbundt on Nov 5, 2017 14:11:21 GMT
I'm surprised at all the open concept hate because it is all that new construction is in my area and they are selling like hotcakes. If there is a lot of new construction going on near you, visit their model homes. Tons of ideas on how to decorate open plans. We have a semi-open floor plan downstairs. Lots of wide archways into the dining room, kitchen, and even from the entryway into the actual living area. It works well for us because when we have people over, they always end up in the kitchen so it is nice to have it to open to the living room. I have not noticed noise being an issue between rooms. I had a closed off kitchen in my old house and the smells still traveled. Speaking of the old closed in kitchen, I hated it because I would be in there working and cut off from everyone in the living room. And having two small children, it is preferable to have them in eye sight when cooking dinner. The one thing I came to hate in our old house that I insisted we not have in the new house is no two story entryways or rooms. Those are echo chambers, wasted spaces, and expensive to cool and heat. And expensive to repaint since we would either have to hire it out or rent scaffolding. Our current house has all ten foot ceilings but still expansive because the rooms themselves are quite large.
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paigepea
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Post by paigepea on Nov 5, 2017 14:33:01 GMT
I like some walls.
We have family room / kitchen open. My kids can go to the den if noise is an issue but I usually cook when they’re not around. I love putting on music and watching tv while I’m in the kitchen and it’s nice to not be shut off from family.
We have a wall between our living / dining / front entrance and kitchen / family rooms. I don’t want guests to see info my kitchen when they come into my house. I also don’t want to sit at the dining table for a big meal with guests and have them see into my kitchen. It’s lkke viewing the staging area during the meal. Or viewing the clean up after the meal. I often have my cleaning lady come and do dishes while I have company so I can sit and visit and we don’t all need to watch her clean.
Are you in a condo? I think that’s different than asking about an open floor plan house. In a condo it really saves space and gives you more options.
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breetheflea
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Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Nov 5, 2017 14:37:20 GMT
I have 4 kids and a DH who doesn't care that his TV show is blasting... so I like walls! Our current house has a formal living room (where we put the TV and game system), formal dining room (my craft room) then the kitchen/informal dining area and family room (where we are probably supposed to put the TV (the fireplace is also in there) are one long room. That's as open as I would ever want. I only have to turn the TV up because the kids are loud, not because the kitchen sink is loud, DH computer game in the other room is loud, or because the garbage disposal is running. I don't want anyone "gathering" in my kitchen while I'm entertaining, and I do not want to see my kitchen sink while I'm watching TV and trying to relax. I can also listen to music while DH is watching TV and I can actually hear the music
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Post by nysparkle on Nov 5, 2017 18:21:50 GMT
I too have an open floor plan and I love it! It just my dh and I and we find it really suits our needs. We like to cook together and can have the Tv on if we like too. I have tons of light in my home which I just love.I once heard a decorator say never put all your furniture up against the walls. It looks like it's "under arrest" like the the police say in the movies "up against the wall" you are under arrest. LOL You simply place the furniture where a wall would be if it were closed concept.
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seaexplore
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Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Nov 5, 2017 20:28:15 GMT
LOVE my open floor plan! DH and I designed it in 2003 and built it ourselves from the ground up. Our front door opens into the center of the house. Our "dining room" (to the right of the front door) has a pool table with a dining top on it that I use for crafting more than it gets used for playing pool. Straight ahead is the "living room" where we have 2 LONG leather couches and 2 recliners and a TV and fireplace. Directly opposite the front doors (thru the living room space) is a wall that opens completely up to the outside with 4 "doors" that are 3'widex8' tall. To the left of the front door is what is supposed to be a den. It has a 5' cased opening that we COULD put doors on if we wanted to. It's become a playroom. When the kids are grown, it will probably become a dining room or den again. The kitchen is just past the pool table. it's separated from the "dining room" and "living room" by a bar top and peninsula. The kitchen is open to all of the house as are the other rooms. Just past the kitchen is a hallway that has the kids rooms, office, bathroom, laundry room/garage access. Behind the living room wall is the master bedroom/bathroom. Our wall that opens up leads to a covered back porch that is 16' deep and runs almost the whole length of the house. It's tiled the same as our entire house. No carpet anywhere in this place! I absolutely LOVE this house even almost 14 years after moving in!
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Deleted
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Sept 21, 2024 0:51:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2017 21:37:24 GMT
My brand new townhome has an open floor plan on the main level and I love it.
I do have a very quiet dishwasher but it's only me here on a daily basis so noise isn't a factor.
Will be getting all new furniture within the next few months and do believe I have a wall large enough for a couch and a wall large enough for either a loveseat or a recliner or chair and still see the television. Want to get a smaller dining room set than what I have now, but also want to add a server as well.
For me, I've got plenty of places to put things, hang things etc...so I don't need the walls, but when I was part of a family of 5, what I have now would've never worked.
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