This was just a way for home builders to save money by building fewer walls.
They convinced homebuyers and influencers that is trendy, that living in a house that feels like a Walmart supercenter was the thing to do.
I really don’t think many homebuyers asked for a toilet next to their living room.
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Nah, adding an interior wall during construction is cheap. They build open floorplans because that’s what people want. I’ve been on dozens of custom house builds and ALL of them had open floorplans. Whether or not they’re good is up for debate, though!
I see the appeal of both but lean anti-open floorplan. Like I want walls in a kitchen but prefer when it opens up to the living room or dining room. I currently have an “enclosed” kitchen and I don’t like that it feels separate
Some interior walls might actually make it cheaper to build. All that structure is still there in the open plan, the big beams are just hidden.
Most houses are narrow enough the modern trusses can span the whole width and there are no big beams. If you are in the exception (more likely they didn’t use trusses than you live in a mansion too wide) then a beam/wall is needed, but that isn’t the common case for modern construction.
I guess I’m stuck in the old house/renovation train of thought.
Yeah true, beams get REALLY expensive
Fair enough. I do see people install TVs above their fireplace of their own free will. They just see other people doing it and think “that’s what I want!”
That’s an especially funny truth to me because I did home AV and saw it all the time.
To me, the only “acceptable” way to do it is with a Samsung Frame that stays on Art Mode 99% of the time.
Open floor plans are often more expensive, because you can’t use interior walls to carry the load of upper floors/roofs.
Unless you’re talking about a really big span – and usually we’re not, since even open floor plan houses tend to be long in only one direction – it’s not that big a difference. A little bit of extra wood for beams and columns is cheap compared to the overall cost of the building.
Retrofitting an open floor plan on a building that wasn’t initially designed that way is expensive, of course, but that’s a different thing.
I like open kitchen, dining room, living room, but the bathroom should be down the hall somewhere.
I know, right? I made a typo in my post - that bathroom is right next to where the dining table would be.
Oh - I think that is what was intended with our house, a half bath next to a dining table, and do agree that is odd. I put the dining table on the other side of the kitchen and made the little “dining” space into a lounge area. That half bath also had the washer & dryer, which seemed dead unhygienic, we moved those. I do think that room ought to have been a pantry not a toilet, but the half bath has been useful.
I really do like the one big space, and defining zones and flow using furniture.
Is the door in the picture a front door or back door?
It’s the back door. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1016-Matchingham-Dr-Columbia-SC-29223/2072231592_zpid/?
I always thought putting a washer/dryer in a bathroom was more of a European thing.
Open plan is just kitchen/dining/living room? We have that now and I love it. Have never seen a toilet in a living room.
Having no walls between kitchen/dining/living works so well for us, this is the first time I have had a house with more open plan & it does look bigger and keeps everyone from crowding me in the kitchen when we have parties.
And walls don’t cost much - we moved some around when we bought this house and interior walls that are not structural are affordable (compared to other renovations).
There are pros and cons to them. I’ve lived in both. I want my kitchen to have better access to a main space because so much of living (both daily life and parties) is in the kitchen. However I also want separate rooms, my kid’s violin practice shouldn’t bother the other kids piano; different party activities should be in different rooms. If you can afford to have both that is ideal, but can you afford that large of a house or do you have to choose a compromise?
IMO, some of the popular trends are fetishization of being poor. Open floor plans ≈ small apartments. Farmhouse / country style / industrial ≈ simplicity and scraping by.
Claustrophobic building practices are worse.
Too bad there isn’t some kind of middle ground between tiny rooms and completely open concepts.
Next step: remove the bathroom walls. Shit in the open just like god intended!
It’s just a way to make small houses more pleasant.
That part I could understand. But I’ll never get the US thinking of “why yes, I want to stand smack in the middle of my living room when I come through the entry”.
I like foyers but HATE formal front rooms. Such a waste of space
Alex, what is a hallway?
I do agreee with this. Our front door is by the kitchen & I don’t like that but understand the design, there are big windows and French doors in back, so you are looking at a nice view.
When we eventually get the resources to redo the kitchen, going to give up a few feet of space to put an entry, little bench, buffer zone and direct the eye to the lounge area in front, away from the kitchen. Not a literal anteroom, don’t like that (feels like entering through the garage, sort of unfriendly) but better flow.
but… but… how else are you going to set up your ballroom?
Designing my house with a large ‘great room.’ I’ve always loved them, I like space!
Yes it’s a trend for bachelors that crave space. Try living there with a partner and 2 kids.
I’m a bachelor, and I guess it’s fun having room to walk around, play with RC cars and stuff, but it seems impractical for families.
In a decade or so, interior walls will be trendy again. Contractors are ensuring themselves a steady flow of business.
