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The Case for Rooms

citylab.com

161–165 of 165 posts

Re: The Case for Rooms

#161
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. I used to be 12 years old kid who was cooking his lunch and dinner while a 3 years old brother and 5 years old sister were in the room, with zero problems. Do you have a really tiny kitchen or what's the problem?

I wouldn't trust 12-year old me with a knife or a frying pan. And 40+ year old me has cut and burnt himself enough times. And I know of enough terrifying accidents to be wary. Also, yes, those of us living in apartments often have small kitchens.

I also lived in a small-ish apartment (65 sqm for a family)

Re: The Case for Rooms

#162
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't trust 12-year old me with a knife or a frying pan. And 40+ year old me has cut and burnt himself enough times. And I know of enough terrifying accidents to be wary. Also, yes, those of us living in apartments often have small kitchens.

I also lived in a small-ish apartment (65 sqm for a family)

You were more skillful than me then, or less prone to accidents, or knew of fewer kitchen related accidents (I know a woman who had her face scarred for life when her mother accidentally splashed her with scalding water).

I know I wouldn't let 12 year old me handle a sharp knife or a frying pan.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#163
post #31
post #3

It has to be a mix. Fully open isn’t great because you can’t make your space your own. You have to consider the entire rest of the floor or building. Give everyone private rooms and everyone works in isolation. This might look productive but I would argue it’s not: everyone has a physical barrier around themselves, they don’t even need to set boundaries any more. But if you can give your teams a group space to themse…

My mistake... I made the classic mistake of reading the headline, the parent comment, and not the content. This is usually called a conversation. Enjoy your free downvotes down the thread.

> My mistake. /EOF

ftfy

Re: The Case for Rooms

#164
post #83
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've lived in a fairly wide range of housing (although all in the US) over the years, with a wide range of kitchen layouts. I've never lived in (nor come to think of it can I recall ever encountering ) a kitchen with a door.

Right, I live in South America and since childhood kitchens with doors were the norm. Only in relatively recent years has the "open floor plan" become fashionable, and open kitchens have become trendy. They are a selling point for trendy young people, and I do agree open kitchens look nice. Many come to regret it when they want to grill a steak and end up smoking up the house.

Re: The Case for Rooms

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You want them away from boiling water, dropped knives, and dangerously hot ovens. This sort of stuff is exactly why the separate kitchen doesn't work at our house. The kids want to be where they can see us, and, with the way our kitchen is set up, there's no way for them to do that without being underfoot. At the same time, we want to be able to keep at least a vague eye on them, and that's not not really possible…

That's the unwritten rule of house parties. Unless something absolutely amazing is happening in the living room, the smokers will be out back, a pair of introverts will be in the hallway, and everyone else will slowly gravitate towards the kitchen until everyone is in the way.

Has been this way at every family party for at least 60 years, 40 odd ones of which i have been a part of. Eventually, everyone ends in the kitchen.
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