Do you like houses with lots of open space?

[rissole]

I am not a big fan of houses with huge multi-rooms and/or ceilings, but it seems most people are. In my sister's house, for instance, three-quarters of the upstairs is basically just one big room, with no real separation between the kitchen and the family area. Her house also has cathedral ceilings. This whole style seems to be a modern trend that is very popular, but I don't really like it. Of course, I don't like tiny, cramped rooms either, but I do like houses that seem *cozy*, and IMO houses with lots of open space lack that homey, cozy feeling. Anyway, that's my opinion.

[aggie94]

Love 'em. DH, in fact, has talked about knocking down most of the walls in our house to make one big open space. :eek: I don't think it'd be very good for resale value. :rolleyes:

[wallycat]

I voted "other" :rolleyes:

I love the way the homes LOOK, but as in my case, an open concept makes the home not conducive for noise reduction. I voted other because I thought maybe I'm just clueless about the best way to decorate/deal with that sort of space but do like the look.

[rissole]

Originally posted by wallycat
I love the way the homes LOOK, but as in my case, an open concept makes the home not conducive for noise reduction.

I can agree that they're *pretty*, but I don't like living in houses like this. :)

[LaraW]

I like the look of houses where the space is open and is one big space, but I don't know that it would be that practical for me.

Our house has an open feel, I think mainly due to the living room having a vaulted ceiling and 2 skylights in the ceiling. We get a lot of natural light in that way. The other rooms have some separation between them, but it still has an open "feel".

[Jill123]

I really like them, but that's probably apparent the first time you see our house.

And I don't think it necessarily makes them less cozy -- you just have to know how to decorate them. Which means you can't paint every wall off-white and be done with it. We've used dark reds, denim blues, sage greens to really cozy it up -- and IMO, it looks really cozy, comfortable and lived in.

[RebeccaT]

Our house is like this. We live in a townhome, and the second floor (the main level) is pretty much one big room. There are "dividers," I guess you'd say... two steps from the dining room to the living room to give it a "sunken" look, and a counter/bar area dividing the kitchen from the dining room. But there aren't any walls. I like this for the way we live right now - it's great for entertaining, I can talk to people in the living or dining room while I am cooking, and it definitely is great for parties as people don't cram into one room, but are more inclined to spread out. But we didn't go seeking this floorplan. I love many of our friends houses that have a more clear delineation of space, and we know some folks who have done amazing renovations that give a more open feel while still retaining that cozy feeling. So I guess I don't feel strongly about it in general, but for us, right now, I really enjoy it. :)

[rissole]

Originally posted by Jill123
And I don't think it necessarily makes them less cozy -- you just have to know how to decorate them.

I guess "cozy" means different things to different people. If I can see dozens of feet into other rooms while I'm still in one room, I won't feel cozy. :)

[Cafe Latte]

I love open houses. Rooms that are too small make me clausterphobic. To each his own though. For example, I like modern furniture and hate the country look, but I don't care if someone chooses the country look for themselves.

[Jill123]

I'm sure "cozy" does mean something different to everyone.

I don't think all rooms have to necessarily be 8x10" to be cozy. To me, cozy is more about emotion, not dimension.

[rissole]

Originally posted by Jill123
I'm sure "cozy" does mean something different to everyone.

I don't think all rooms have to necessarily be 8x10" to be cozy. To me, cozy is more about emotion, not dimension.

I don't necessarily like 8'x10' rooms either--I just don't like 35'x45' multi-rooms. :)

[lhall]

I love open houses, but I grew up in one. The only doors in our upstairs were to the hallway and the bedrooms. A good 2/3 of upstairs was open. Downstairs was 3/4 open with door only to a bathroom, office, and a storage room.

Leigh

[sunberst]

i do not care for huge open rooms, but i like a minimalist look in smaller rooms, thus creating a more open feel. not cluttered. if this makes any sense.

am not a fan of new housing what-so-ever. i would prefer a little old farm house or small unique apartment in the city.

large rooms just mean more money to heat & air condition! and they do not seem as cozy to me.

[kwormann]

LOVE it!

My LR and Kit and eat-in are all one room! It was a requirement of mine when looking for my new house! We were talking today about another place we LOVED that was in a wooded area, but the living room was separate from the kitchen, so this one won....:)

Here are pics if anyone wants to see
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/kwormann/lst?.dir=/New+House&.src=ph&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/kwormann/vwp%3f.dir=/New%2bHouse%26.dnm=LR.jpg%26.src=ph&.view=t

[mbrogier]

My house is semi-open. It was built in 1946. The living room is long and narrow with original vaulted ceiling and stone fireplace. There is an arched double doorway to the dining room. Since the floor plan is more open, I was able to paint the dining room a sweet potato pie color. The living room was a mess with rough hewn paneling below the chair rail. It had been painted country blue:eek: We tore it out and put up dry wall and a 6" wood chair rail moulding. Above that is original plaster. The bottom is painted the same color as the dining room. The trim is white--as are the ceiling beams (they had been painted dark blue) The plaster is painted a camel color. I have a single french door leading from the dining room to the kitchen. The kitchen was remodeled in the late 90s. The laundry room was torn out and moved to the garage (unique to Michigan). The ceilings are vaulted with two load bearing beams running the length of the kitchen. The countertops are Corian, appliances Viking, and there is an eating penninsula and area for breakfast seating. Two skylights give lots of light. I love the fact that I can close off the kitchen (no having to scrub the kitchen during dinner parties). It also helps with noise. Large "great rooms" with completely open kitchens are frustrating because of noise and also because you have to look at the kitchen during dinner.

[HejazSunKat]

Living in New England, where we just had one of the worst winters in recent memory, my biggest concern if I were looking at one of these houses (especially if it had cathedral ceilings) would be: How much does it cost to heat?

[Peggy C.]

I voted that I like houses like this. I've never lived in one and I'm sure that if I stayed in one for any amount of time, my opinion could change. (either way)

I like the way they look and the ability to socialize while entertaining, like rebecca said, but linda has good points about heating it.

My house is small, but has only a few rooms that are pretty large with wide open door ways in between rooms and high ceilings...so I feel like I have the best of both worlds to a certain degree.

[Beth]

I'm tall and I love high ceilings. Our new home has 10 foot ceilings down and 9 foot up. The ceiling in the breakfast and family area is probably 14 feet or so. That area is open to the kitchen. My last house had the same open kitchen breakfast family area, and I love it both for everyday living and entertaining. In this climate, the question is more about cooling, so you make sure the room is well insulated, has window coverings and ceiling fans.

If you talk about even more open designs, like lofts, I usually like the look, but I don't know that I would know how to deal with them. I also like the cozy cottage look, but there needs to be a sense of space and a flow for a home to work for me.

DH and I were talking about a home we didn't buy 5 years ago -- it had great rooms and spaces, more square footage and a larger yard. It needed a lot of work, mostly heavy cosmetics (we could handle that), but the master bedroom was behind the kitchen (ok) and off the utility room and entrance to the garage (not okay). While that might have been convenient to some degree, it made us feel like the master bedroom was an after thought or servants quarters. We looked at ways to dress up that hall/entry, but made an offer on another home. When we talked about it again, I remembered the big kitchen, yard and all the work -- DH reminded me of the one thing we couldn't get past -- the master bedroom behind the utility room and garage entry. BTW, it also had an open kitchen, breakfast and family areea -- they call it a great room down here.

[beejayw1]

Having lived with it for about fifteen years, I don't care for the 'open' concept where living room, dining room and kitchen and entryway are all one big room. First of all, it actually makes the space seem 'smaller' (sort of like the way rooms look smaller when there is no furniture in them). It makes it difficult to arrange the furniture and, if you happen to be a Kitchen Clutter Queen like me, it isn't too good to look at.

I do happen to like high ceilings (at least in summer), and I like the idea of a balcony overlooking the living room, but I do prefer to have space cut up a little.

One thing that I never liked about the very 'open' concept is the fact that someone standing at your front door can look right into your living room and kitchen and see who's where. Not good for security.

[Beth]

See, I have separate formal living and dining areas and you don't see the kitchen from the entry in either house. You see the formal living area and the back yard from the entry in both cases -- all nice, nice. ;)

[beejayw1]

Originally posted by Beth
See, I have separate formal living and dining areas and you don't see the kitchen from the entry in either house. You see the formal living area and the back yard from the entry in both cases -- all nice, nice. ;)

First of all, your house sounds beautiful! And the objections to the first house you didn't put the offer on are definitely valid.

Secondly, can you see right into the living area from the front door? So that if someone you don't like the looks of when you open the door is able to look inside and see who's there and where things are? That's my objection, and why I want to either put up a 4' section of wall between the front door and the living room or else get a nice screen to sit there.

[lindrusso]

I guess I like a combination of open and cozy, so I voted "other".

We now live in a house that is divided into lots of small rooms (and it is a small house to begin with) and I wouldn't want a house like this again. It's the type of house that has no big rooms at all and everyone tends to congregate in one place and it gets too crowded. We did expand our family room so that we can have people over and have more than 5 people in one room comfortably at a time. :rolleyes:

I would like to have an open kitchen/living area plan so that I could visit with my guests as I prepare dinner and not be tripping over everyone who wants to be in the kitchen with me. Or maybe what I really want is just a bigger kitchen?? :)

However, I would not want everything to be open. I think you need separate rooms to wander off to to get out of the "din". My parents have a nice set-up with an open kitchen and a step down to the living room area. Their den/TV room is separate and has a door so that they can close that off if someone wants to go in there to read/watch tv/take a nap.

And yes, if floor plans are too open, it is too noisy and can carry to other parts of the house, like the bedrooms, where you want it to be quiet.

So, my perfect house would have both open and closed off spaces to accomodate both entertaining and the need for peace and quiet.

Alysha :)

[Linda in MO]

Originally posted by kwormann
LOVE it!

My LR and Kit and eat-in are all one room! It was a requirement of mine when looking for my new house! We were talking today about another place we LOVED that was in a wooded area, but the living room was separate from the kitchen, so this one won....:)

Here are pics if anyone wants to see
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/kwormann/lst?.dir=/New+House&.src=ph&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/kwormann/vwp%3f.dir=/New%2bHouse%26.dnm=LR.jpg%26.src=ph&.view=t

Kim, your house is beautiful! :)

[sneezles]

I have to agree with Beth. Not only am I tall (5'10"), I'm now the shortest one in the family. DS#1 is 6'5", DS#2 is 6'3" and DS#3 is 6'4" and still growing (he just turned 16). DH is 6'2" and glad that he still stands taller than me! :p
Our home also has 10' down and 9' up. The living room ceiling is 19' in some areas (open to the second). There is also a loft (where my computer is)that opens over the living room. The kitchen and breakfast area are open to each other and there's no real door from that to the living room. The is a formal dining room that has a sliding door to the kitchen) and DH's office is across the entryway from there (it has French doors). The family room is 20'X 20' and areas are dilineated by the furniture. We also have 8 sets of French doors to enter the house anywhere from the porches. The rooms are not noisey, the furniture is arranged to compliment a conversation and they are large pieces that fit the area.

[Jill123]

Like sneezles, our entry/living/dining areas are all in one large room, but there's a small step b/w the dining and the rest of the room, the living room furniture is arranged in nice conversation areas and face the fireplace, but it's all nice and open. I think it promotes a sense of togetherness, even when DH is sitting at the table and I'm laying on the couch, reading. We're doing different things, but we're together. And if I read something interesting, I can tell him about it without shouting or giving up my comfy spot. It's also really nice when you're entertaining and you don't have to squeeze everyone in to a smaller room, or feel like someone's getting "left out."

But all the bedrooms are down a hallway, so are quite separate from everything else. So if I want some "alone time," I can just slip into the guest room or our bedroom and be by myself.

And it's not noisy at all, at least not at our house. The acoustics are just right.

[Meg O'C]

I really like houses with an open feel inside but a traditional (as opposed to modern) look outside.

My parents are in the process of building a Yankee Barn Home - very traditional looking outside, very open inside (their design has a vaulted ceiling in great room with two lofts above; kitchen, dining area and large family/great room are all open and there is small "granary" (sunroom) off the great room that adds to the open feel as well because of its windows and skylights). However the house also has a very "warm" and cozy feeling because there are lots of exposed antique beams. Here is a link to the Yankee Barn site - they have beautiful designs and my parents have been very pleased with the company as well.

www.yankeebarnhomes.com

It's very exciting watching it go up! Can't wait to see the finished product. My dad has even created his own website to document the process - building this house is a dream of his!

[Meg O'C]

Just had to post this statement from the Yankee Barn homepage - their selling point really is a blend of open as well as intimate spaces, all with a warm feel.

From Yankee Barn website:
Do you like the look of barn architecture? The feel of barn homes? The warmth of antique wood, and the strength of timber frame? You may have a passion for large open living areas and adjoining intimate spaces framed in post and beam. Visit with us and discover more about Yankee Barn Homes. Each home is a personal statement of its owner.