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The Case for Rooms

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Re: The Case for Rooms

#131

Post by Aeolun »

mwcampbell wrote: post #128
dkarl wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree; an open kitchen caters to the pleasure of cooking alone, or at most with family and close friends you don't being less than elegant in front of, not the pressure of entertaining. I think there's an element of class-based bravado in many modern houses. Huge windows without curtains, open floor plans, these send a message that your life doesn't have any mess that you need to hide from the world. You can live e…

> two people not speaking to each other because they're each absorbed in their own thing is a bit gross First, none of what follows is applicable for people who are absorbed in their own thing even though they're near each other because they can't afford separate rooms. In that case, you do what you have to do. But if we choose to be in the same room together, shouldn't we interact with each other rather than being a…

Because doing your own thing together is still much better than doing it on your own?

Re: The Case for Rooms

#132

Post by tropo »

luckydata wrote: post #91
humanrebar wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Different kids are different. As are parents. Some of this might be introversion versus extraversion.

Mine is a terror and so are most kids. Kitchen accidents are SUPER common for little kids because the tend to look with their hands and pull on things like boiling pots of water. IMHO having a cavalier attitude because nothing bad happened to you is not productive.

Somehow, that is a very real and serious problem. I suppose it is possible because of wobbly little stove burners or super-slippery pans.

This happened to a friend's kid. He pulled down a pot of spaghetti, severely burning his penis. While the family is struggling to deal with the medical issue, Massachusetts starts an intrusive and accusatory investigation. Because of the location of the injury, the state made the assumption that there was sexual abuse.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#133

Post by humanrebar »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #90
humanrebar wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Different kids are different. As are parents. Some of this might be introversion versus extraversion.

You might want to remember that next time you come in to a thread guns blazing in the 2nd person with the "wait til you have kids ;)" angle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you

Re: The Case for Rooms

#134

Post by romwell »

Aeolun wrote: post #129
DubiousPusher wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I want to cook for an hour without being alone. Exactly my thoughts reading this. I would guess this author does not cook. Or has not done so in a closed isolating kitchen while family or friends chat happily just around a wall out of earshot.

I wonder if this is a cultural thing. Because cooking has turned into something social somehow, people don’t want to be isolated in the kitchen any more. But in the past, someone walking into the kitchen while you were cooking would probably have been akin to them walking in on you in the toilet (“What!? No, I don’t want them to see the dinner until it’s actually done!”).

>But in the past, someone walking into the kitchen while you were cooking would probably have been akin to them walking in on you in the toilet

Depends on how far in the past, and where.

In the USSR, kitchen has always been the place where people would end up spending a long time talking about whatever.

There is even a phrase "kitchen conversations", which would mean talking politics (without regard to what the Party says).

And, of course, the Kitchen was the social hub in the communal flats (living with roommates, Soviet-style). There usually would be no common area in a communal flat other than the kitchen.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#135

Post by romwell »

Qwertystop wrote: post #64
the_af wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A disadvantage of open kitchens is that while they look cool, the smells can invade your house. Have you tried grilling something on the stove? Unless you have a powerful smoke extractor (sorry, don't know what they are called in English) you'll smoke up your living room, which is always nasty. Closing the door (plus an average smoke extractor) will help a lot.

I think the phrase you want is "exhaust hood" (also known as a "range hood" or "kitchen hood", or more colloquially just a "vent").

Naaah, I'm going to Dymo my vent "smoke extractor" and refer to it that way from now on. Sounds cooler, and is more descriptive. Thanks, parent comment!

Re: The Case for Rooms

#136

Post by bunderbunder »

tropo wrote: post #123
ycombobreaker wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then over time they graduate to moving silverware (dishwasher to tray, tray to table), washing/drying fresh produce, pouring their own water, mixing ingredients, etc. It starts with curiosity and a step stool (or "tower"). Though, some kids are easier than others to redirect.

They graduate to moving silverware (dishwasher to trash, table to electrical outlet), stabbing/squishing fresh produce, pouring everybody's water, mixing ingredients (rice in the milk jug), etc. Oh, that feeling of taking a drink of something opaque, and feeling unexpected solid items in your mouth...

Sounds like our kids could be great friends.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#137

Post by toothbrush »

Aeolun wrote: post #129
DubiousPusher wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I want to cook for an hour without being alone. Exactly my thoughts reading this. I would guess this author does not cook. Or has not done so in a closed isolating kitchen while family or friends chat happily just around a wall out of earshot.

I wonder if this is a cultural thing. Because cooking has turned into something social somehow, people don’t want to be isolated in the kitchen any more. But in the past, someone walking into the kitchen while you were cooking would probably have been akin to them walking in on you in the toilet (“What!? No, I don’t want them to see the dinner until it’s actually done!”).

> Because cooking has turned into something social somehow ...

This comment boggles the mind. I would wager that probably for thousands of years, cooking has been a communal (if perhaps gendered, good riddance) affair, and only with the advent of the unemployed housewife of the 50s suddenly the kitchen is seen as this private affair.

But i guess i'm the wrong person to be commenting, because generally i'm no fan of all this extreme individualism :)

Re: The Case for Rooms

#138

Post by travisp »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #61
athenot wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would guess this author does not cook. I believe you are correct: Nothing is more maddening than trying to read or watch television in the tall-ceilinged living room with someone banging pots and pans or using the food processor 10 feet away in the open kitchen. I was scratching my head while reading the article because my wife and I are looking to do the opposite and tear down the wall between the kitchen and th…

I cook almost every day for my family. I would say that half the time I wish I had a closed floor plan, and half the time I'm glad I have an open one. Here's the deal. Sometimes I want my kids to stay out from under my feet when I'm cooking, and I want to just listen to my podcasts or whatever. Other times, especially when friends are over, I'm really glad I have an open plan kitchen.

Speaking as someone with a closed kitchen and small kids: the closed kitchen doesn't keep the kids out from under my feet while cooking unless my wife is home to watch them.

Otherwise, they are under my feet because they want to be near me and talk to me and get my attention. I can't just close the kitchen door and ignore a toddler. This happens much more than in our previous open-kitchen apartment, because they could get my attention from the couch or living room floor while I was cooking.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#139

Post by ycombobreaker »

tropo wrote: post #123
ycombobreaker wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then over time they graduate to moving silverware (dishwasher to tray, tray to table), washing/drying fresh produce, pouring their own water, mixing ingredients, etc. It starts with curiosity and a step stool (or "tower"). Though, some kids are easier than others to redirect.

They graduate to moving silverware (dishwasher to trash, table to electrical outlet), stabbing/squishing fresh produce, pouring everybody's water, mixing ingredients (rice in the milk jug), etc. Oh, that feeling of taking a drink of something opaque, and feeling unexpected solid items in your mouth...

Hah! Thanks for the parody.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#140

Post by c22 »

mzs wrote: post #88
irrational wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I want to cook for an hour without being alone. I'm the opposite. Nothing drives me up the wall more than people trying to talk to me when I'm trying to work, whether on a computer coding or in the kitchen cooking/baking. I can't concentrate at all when someone tries to talk to me. I can communicate, or I can cook/code, but I can't do both at the same time.

I really liked the older home and apt I lived in as a kid that had a distinct kitchen. It could get messy and then cleaned all in one go when convenient. With a kitchen in view of an entire floor you want to keep it tidy at all times. It made much more sense to eat right after cooking and then clean at 8PM while watching something on TV. I also helped my mom aunt and grandma cook, certainly three-four people fit.

I've seen some open floorplan designs where the kitchen was still the focal point, but all the functional areas could be hidden, usually by some large sliding feature. This, I think, is the best of both worlds. You can cook and eat in the open kitchen then pile everything in the sink and slide it shut till you're ready to deal with it later.
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