Just a few decades ago, the typical home had separate rooms for distinct purposes, including dining, cooking, lounging, and sleeping. The idea was the more rooms a home had, the more compartmentalized and functional it was. However, designers soon realized they could create the same functionality with open-floor plans (few or no dividing walls between rooms) while providing a more spacious area. Thus began tearing down the walls and the "great room" (an integration of dining room, kitchen, and living room) was created.
The cook, who was once an outsider trapped between walls and cabinets, is suddenly able to actively engage in the rest of the home's happenings without being trapped or secluded by walls. The kitchen is the heart of the home, after all - it just makes sense to have it accessible to the entire home. Below are a few of the main advantages to the open-plan kitchen for the design that has become an internationally popular lifestyle choice.
Social Interaction. Tearing down the walls between rooms provides fluid social interaction from anywhere in the main living area. The cook is no longer restricted to 4 walls, being forced to move in and out to keep up with the happenings within the home. The open-plan kitchen allows you to gab with dinner guests while preparing appetizers or catch up on your favorite TV show while loading the dishwasher.
Creates Space. Although walls don't take up much square footage, they do limit a room's potential. They force where you place furniture and decorations while limiting accessibility and your view. Removing the kitchen walls eliminates these limitations while adding flow and fluidity throughout the home. Since walls block out light, the open-floor plan allows more natural lighting via other light sources from other rooms and light will always help a room feel much larger.
Family Friendly. Whether you have a toddler or a teenager, you will find benefits to the open-plan kitchen. Keep an eye on your sneaky toddler in living room while preparing lunch, help your child finish homework while you make the final touches to tonight's dinner, or monitor your napping your infant from the other room without having to move him and risk waking him up. The open-plan design also stimulates children's interest in cooking, a valuable skill to have throughout development.
What's your favorite thing about the open-plan kitchen? Next week we'll cover a few of the disadvantages to the open-plan kitchen. So looks like we get to leave you with this: To Be Continued...
