Yay...Thanks for saying it out loud! :-) I know it is personal preference but I just don't like the huge, cold, open interiors that you see in almost every home that's been built in the last 10+ years. I love for a home to have rooms, real, separate rooms. A big kitchen is great, but I don't want it open to the family room, either. When I have a party, I try (not always successful) but I try to have everything ready so my guest don't have to stand/sit in my kitchen...much rather be out on the porch in the summer, or in front of fire in the family room in the winter. Do you guys think that one day the trend will swing back to separate rooms and not such open, cavernous interiors? I think that's why I love older homes so much...espcecially the historic ones. You get large rooms, windows on multiple sides, high ceilings, deep moldings...and walls that separate the spaces...yay, walls! :-) Susan
I think the issue is design. Open and closed kitchens can suck or they can be great. A spec house doesn't get much leeway. It has to be an eye-grabber that matches the trends in the magazines and on TV. (10' ceilings, stainless, granite, gourmet, open) So we get warehouse sized rooms.
Bigness always impresses. But real warehouses often feel better.
To Susan: Renovations in our neighborhood of 60 to 90 year old homes are often tragic. Folks don't want to live in them as originally designed. So amateurs knock out walls. They make space but destroy the flow, the logic, and intimacy. The space seems good at first but you sense something wrong.
(Just so you know, ours is open, pro designed, and has felt good every day for 20 years.)
My kitchen is a small and not an open concept by design, a family room was added in the 80's, just one wall is 'missing', so I can see the kids there, but actally I would as well prefer a bigger, but closed kitchen, maybe french doors, to open when I like to...The layout is not bad, all very close by, but simply not enough counter space...and I would so love to update!!! I keep on dreaming!
Ladies, Thanks so much for mentioning my Butler's Pantry on the Skirted Roundtable. I agree that the trend is to more open rooms and we are losing the charm of some of the old house features, like the Butler's Pantry. My house was built in 1930 and I feel a tremendous responsiblity to keep the feel of the orignal design. I am so flattered (and so thrilled) you like it!!
Enjoying this new medium. Now I need to get my teenage daughter to show me how to get it on my ipod!! xx-Gina
Another great podcast. I do have to say that I agree with Terry. A kitchen open to the Family Room can be cold and cavernous, just like a closed off kitchen can feel cramped, dark and hard to fit more than one person. It really depends on how well designed and detailed the space is.
I know my family does spend most of our time in the kitchen, and we all love to cook....most often at the same time....so a large kitchen attached to a family room fits our lifestyle perfectly...especially for entertaining, which we do often. Before we remodeled, we had a 10x10 kitchen, and it was stuffed to the gills when we had people over. At least now we can fit everyone in! Maybe it is the informal entertaining style we have...but I love it! But we can close off everything from the Dining Room and Living Room, and we do have a Butler's Pantry....so go figure.;)
Love, love, love the top kitchen. One thing I would add to your kitchen design segment is accessorizing your kitchen-it does not have to be cold and stark. The top kitchen here is a great example. In my kitchen I have Brunschwig & Fils fabric on the stools, oil paintings, beautiful books, and decorative objects I love. This is a low cost way to dress up your kitchen. Oh, and oriental rugs are great in a kitchen-very popular in my area.
I just want to take a second and thank you ladies for putting this forum (The Skirted Roundtable) together, I absolutely love having access to the podcasts, perfect while working in the office! So much great information and so many relate able stories, please carry on! Thanks again.
Of course, the red lantern kitchen went into my favorites file the first time I saw it. My kitchen is separated from the family room by a pennisula with a bar height counter. I designed it that way, and I love it that way. I think that people who cook can end up feeling like the "help", closed off in the kitchen preparing dinner (even when it's just for family). I love being able to see and interact with family while I'm cooking (whether they are in my kitchen or in my family room). It would be terrible for me to have to go back to cooking in a closed off kitchen. I do have a butler's pantry, but since I have no butler, I refer to it as a china pantry, and I also think that is a fabulous idea! I designed by kitchen with only a couple of upper cabinets, so having a china pantry and a food pantry were a necessity. I agree with "ya'll"-every home should have a butler's pantry. Loved your obvious excitement in discussing kitchen designs. What a fun post this was! laurie
Sorry, me again. Just because I'm curious (and also because I have a problem with them), do you intentionally have the "word verification" feature on this site? If so, I'd love to hear an explanation some time on your S.R. discussions about the advantages of having it. laurie
Anonymous said…
I love both kitchens you had pictures of, they both looked like they were open to family rooms. I think most people with large families, that really cook, enjoy the kitchen being open. I cook except once or twice a week, so I enjoy being with my family.
Hi Anon - ooh, you're right. I do think the red/green kitchen is open to a family room space, although there does seem to be a bit of separation - hard to tell. I still not convinced about the second kitchen - there really isn't enough in the photo to determine it.
Laurie- I guess I figured that word verification would deter those robo commenters. Isn't that what it's for? I'll see what the other ladies want, we can remove it. What do you all think??
Jaime - thanks for reading...err... listening! Appreciate your compliments! You too Style Redux!
I does feel that most people prefer the open floor plan! Glad to hear all your comments and input!
Comments
My dad and mom told me that old kitchens were "out there" not because of the smell but so they didn't burn the whole house down when they caught fire.
Bigness always impresses. But real warehouses often feel better.
To Susan: Renovations in our neighborhood of 60 to 90 year old homes are often tragic. Folks don't want to live in them as originally designed. So amateurs knock out walls. They make space but destroy the flow, the logic, and intimacy. The space seems good at first but you sense something wrong.
(Just so you know, ours is open, pro designed, and has felt good every day for 20 years.)
I keep on dreaming!
Thanks so much for mentioning my Butler's Pantry on the Skirted Roundtable. I agree that the trend is to more open rooms and we are losing the charm of some of the old house features, like the Butler's Pantry. My house was built in 1930 and I feel a tremendous responsiblity to keep the feel of the orignal design. I am so flattered (and so thrilled) you like it!!
Enjoying this new medium. Now I need to get my teenage daughter to show me how to get it on my ipod!!
xx-Gina
I know my family does spend most of our time in the kitchen, and we all love to cook....most often at the same time....so a large kitchen attached to a family room fits our lifestyle perfectly...especially for entertaining, which we do often. Before we remodeled, we had a 10x10 kitchen, and it was stuffed to the gills when we had people over. At least now we can fit everyone in! Maybe it is the informal entertaining style we have...but I love it! But we can close off everything from the Dining Room and Living Room, and we do have a Butler's Pantry....so go figure.;)
Jaime
Laurie- I guess I figured that word verification would deter those robo commenters. Isn't that what it's for? I'll see what the other ladies want, we can remove it. What do you all think??
Jaime - thanks for reading...err... listening! Appreciate your compliments! You too Style Redux!
I does feel that most people prefer the open floor plan! Glad to hear all your comments and input!
xo,
cristin