Backlash against open kitchen design

I can get you a new kitchen in Christ Church for five hundred pounds!

Seriously though, I like the open design, but that's just the way I live.

lSo glad to find someone who agrees that "open concept" needs to fade away.

My daughter bought an older home and wants to blow out the walls to get that look. I have encouraged her to keep her living room. People want to talk without hearing pots and pans banging. And the counters get so messy. A place to have a private conversation or space to just be quiet is nice.

For me I like the idea of a breakfast nook area in the kitchen and a formal dinning room. That’s what our new house in CA will have.

breakfast nooks are nice, seems to be a thing of a bygone era. A place to drink coffee, read the paper, work a crossword puzzle.

When we remodeled the kitchen, I was hoping to be able to have space for one right in the kitchen. My house was built in the 50's, so the kitchen is a separate room. We ended up not having enough space, what with cabinets/pantry. We worked it out though. Our "dining room" is a really nice diner type corner booth, in camel leather. Behind it is a glass block window. While there is no official wall between the dining and living room, the back of the couch with storage module units behind the couch, and pillows create a good separation of living space. At the other end of the living room, we have a small library area, created by 2 small steps leading up to it, one side closed off by a wall, and waist high pedestals placed on the stairs.
I like having separation of space. Otherwise why not just live in an airplane hanger?

If you're willing to sit in your living room and look at kitchen appliances, bags of cheez doodles and coffee cups and let's not kid ourselves, dirty dishes, pots and pans, why not just knock down all the walls and put your beds in corners as well as your bathroom sinks, toilets and showers? Why not just put your washer/dryer next to the TV?

I don't want people watching me cook. I don't want them sitting around some island with glasses of wine and brie, making unwanted suggestions or distracting me from getting the meal prepared. Yeah, like everyone has friends that sit around while they cook, drinking wine and eating brie.
It just seems like a nice concept on paper, but an oogy mess in real life.

A while back, I'd been doing a lot of temp work at model homes. One time one of the builders was there, and I asked him what he'd do if someone didn't want the open kitchen. He ended up acting pretty annoyed with me, saying "this is what the customer wants" I, who had nothing to lose, replied "Is it what the customer wants, or what the trade is willing to provide at this time, making it really the only choice right now?"

In a few years, new homes will again start to be built with separate kitchens, and it'll be pushed the same way open plans are pushed today. And people will be asking themselves why in the world they would want an open kitchen in these now older homes, and will remodel when they move in, putting up walls.

Then, it will swing back again.

I'm in the process of designing my new home. It's going to be a long process... I will be putting in a large open kitchen.
Regardless, What I've seen in most of the new houses here is.. A separate, more formal living room (usually no tv) and a dining room. Kitchens aren't so much on their own but part of a big family room, with a big island, room for a small table or built in window seats and a tv/sofa area. It makes more sense for families with small kids, more than entertaining though. 'Cause the kids are there 99% of the time and guest are more infrequent. As the kids get older, they get regulated to the basement anyway. So you eventually get your peace and quiet.
The house I live in now has a cramped kitchen. I hate it. I grew up in a large family and there was never enough room in the kitchen.
I think this trend started when the whole NY loft style apartments got big. It caught on because people do seem to graduate to the kitchen. In parts of Canada, they have kitchen parties. I've been to a few, they're a blast.