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The Case for Rooms

citylab.com

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Re: The Case for Rooms

#141

Post by lutorm »

"The closed floor plan, especially the closed kitchen, can help save energy by the simple principle of not heating and cooling rooms that are not currently in use, as well as by isolating rooms we want to keep warm or cool."

This definitely depends on where you live. Here in Hawaii, an open floor plan is crucial for the natural breezes to be able to flow through the house. Fail that part, and you're stuck with totally closing up and air conditioning your house, which at $0.35/kWh really hurts. Plus why live in Hawaii if you're going to close yourself into an air tight box?

Re: The Case for Rooms

#142

Post by luckydata »

tropo wrote: post #132
luckydata wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

that's complete insanity, sorry to hear that. Nobody should go through that on top of the injury that's likely to make them feel like shit already.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#143

Post by lutorm »

joshuaheard wrote: post #43

After just spending two months working with an architect to design the remodel our 6,000 sf house, here are my observations. We like to entertain. We usually have people over for some kind of party at least every month. During parties, people gather in the kitchen (for some reason). So we try to encourage people to get out of the kitchen. Pathways are important. Every common area should have at least two pathways, an…

With a 6000 sf house, surely you have enough space to have both open and closed off parts of the house?

Re: The Case for Rooms

#144

Post by lutorm »

bluedino wrote: post #44
pacaro wrote: post #10

My parents live in a house built in 1840 (in the UK so this isn’t too unusual) and I grew up being continually told to close doors (every room is separated from connected rooms by doors) to conserve heat and, particularly importantly for the kitchen, to stop the house smelling of cooking. All the homes I’ve lived in as an adult (mostly in the US) haven’t had the same separation and I like when my house smells of cook…

My biggest part of having an open floor plan is grease finds it's way from the kitchen to the living room to coat the TV

There's an existing solution to that: the "range hood".

Re: The Case for Rooms

#145

Post by ACow_Adonis »

batrat wrote: post #70
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 would guess this author does not cook Exactly the opposite. People with open floor plans don't cook every day, otherwise their home will smell like a cheap restaurant, unless they got used to it. My parents have an open plan, i don't. My home smells fresh every day (except kitchen) despite cooking every day, their house, smells like food in every corner because the smell impregnates in every material(especially i…

I admit I'm a little bit confused by the constant refrain of "people want to be protected from cooking smells". I'm arriving at the conclusion that "cooking smells" is actually a euphemism for badly designed/insufficiently exhausted kitchens.

Because it's a distinct minority that I've ever encountered who proclaims: "drat, is that freshly baked bread and pastries, how disgusting! and freshly ground coffee, ewww, can't stand that, and stir fry that we love, absolute vomit! citruses, again!?"

what are people doing that food smells are listed as a negative connotation?

Re: The Case for Rooms

#147

Post by mwcampbell »

Aeolun wrote: post #131
mwcampbell wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

Depends on what you're doing, I guess. If you're wearing headphones, that makes it harder for the other person to get your attention. That seems to annoy my mother sometimes when my father is wearing headphones and listening to music while sitting in their living room.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#148

Post by trgn »

rconti wrote: post #104

This article is a train-wreck of a justification for, I assume, the author's own personal taste in interior design. It builds up a total straw man for why open concepts are terrible, built on ways in which almost none of us actually live. What are the justifications for why "open concept" floor plans in which the kitchen flows into the living area? * Open floor plans are an "acoustic nightmare". Try to imagine the ho…

That's an aggressive reading of that article. She lays out her argument, maybe makes a snarky comment here and there, but it's hardly a rant.

Her argument flows pretty naturally imo. Identify a problem. Open concepts are a fad with bad externalities for its occupants and the environment. She points a wagging finger at the normies who bought into the fad, condescending only if you choose to read it that way, but really all in all good natured. More than a fad, perhaps open floor plans are a historical mistake by ideologues who were unable to anticipate its unintended consequences. She draws attention to the richer people escaping to their man caves and sculleries, they wouldn't need to do that if their house wasn't a cacophony of noise and smell to begin with. Her solution is simple and elegant. Just close up that kitchen again instead of holding on to that collective aesthetic obsession with large spaces.

She underestimates that people actually value the aesthetics and branding of an open floor plan more than any of its drawbacks. Open floor plans make your small house look big and are ideal for the perfect family, where everybody always gets along, and the loss of privacy is secondary. And who doesn't want to live in a big house, and not have a perfect family?

No going back. The open floor plan coincides with the decline of cooking and the replacement of hosting with entertaining. Kitchens are fake anyway. Of the families who I know who actually cook meals, who host their friends and relatives as if they were honored guest to be waited upon, none of those prefer an open kitchen. Those who don't, mine included, for who a kitchen is a place with a fridge and a microwave primarily, maybe a large tabletop for all the crap their kids bring back form school, the people who's idea of cooking is making casseroles and pasta that need to last for days, who's idea of a party is a potluck, they do prefer open floor plans.

It's a value shift in what it means to prepare meals, she prefers the old fashioned values, most people no longer do.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#149

Post by spaceprison »

jpm_sd wrote: post #14

The historical context portion of the article is interesting and well written, but the critique of the open-concept layout at the end seemed rushed and unconvincing. Anyone here who lives in a modern open-concept house care to comment? I currently live with my wife, 3 children and 2 dogs in a 1200 square foot split level and we all dream of a big open-concept house some day... but apparently some people are getting t…

Moved to Colorado 4 years ago and open concept was unavoidable... It sucks 88% of the time. The only win is holidays and even then with nothing to break up the sound you're one loud conversation in the other "room" away from forced participation. And then there's meal prep... A kitchen is loud heaven forbid there's a quiet moment on a show the same time someone wants some ice in a cup.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#150

Post by whenchamenia »

the_af wrote: post #60
alkonaut wrote: post #7

The open (Kitchen) floor plan to me represents the idea that cooking isn’t a chore separate from eating and socializing. I want to cook for an hour without being alone. Privacy in the kitchen would never be desireable. “Entertaining” doesn’t require guests. There is also a matter of space. A shared living/dining/cooking space can use a lot less space than three separate rooms. I couldn’t afford the separate solution…

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 see this comment all over. What are you people cooki g that you would not want to smell? Good cooking smells devine!
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