My poor husband has had enough. I keep changing my mind. At the moment we have a kitchen and a dining/office/family room. Both of these are two separate rooms.
Kitchen is 2.3m wide from wall to wall and 3.6 long. The other room is 3.1 long and 3.3 wide.
I like the idea of having the kitchen separate so you can’t see the mess and I can have more storage space but then again I like the idea of having it open to give a better feeling of space.
If you were me and money was no object what would you do?Only stupid people don’t ask questions
Hey
As an owner of a new building company in WA, i have found that open plan homes are very popular and create an excellnt living area for all the family to relax etc.
Personally i think that open plan living cant be beat, but maybe you should go see display homes in your local area and check the homes section in your local paper to see whats being offered by all the building companies around. They generally give the public exactly what they want, as they spend endless hours researching!
It depends really whether you want to sell or not also, as maybe potential buyers in general might be after something totally different to you.
Hope this helps… good luck with whatever you do!!
cheers
Lyndon
Why not have a bet each way. Open the wall between kitchen and living but leave a 12 inch “hob” wall to hide the kitchen mess. It still gives an great open feel without having to look at the mess (at least, MY kitchen is usually messy).
Wylie
Is a “hob” like a mini wall above the end of the kitchen bench? If so that is a great idea as we won’t be using the bench as a breakfast bar. My husband is 184cm and hates the idea.
Only stupid people don’t ask questions
Yes. A hob wall is a low wall backing onto the bench just as you have described. It does mean you cannot use the bench for a breakfast bar, but I don’t like them anyway, and we have used a hob wall in each family home we have lived in. It means you can still be part of anything going on without your family or guests see you sticking your fingers into their food LOL.
We top our hob walls with a six inch plank of timber, usually the same as the benchtop timber, or painted to match the architrave. It gives you somewhere to show off something nice, or somewhere to place plates on their way to the table.
Cheers, Wylie.
I designed a half hob for my open plan living area and it works fantastic. Comes out from the wall 1100 x 1200 and I can put the toaster, kettle coffee making behind it and it leave the rest o fthe bench free for stools if you want. Incidentally as open plan it works fabtastic. My girlfriend poopoohed(?) the idea and said she wanted a “proper” seperation of areas (i.e. old fashioned layout) but I just love being part of everything that happens, it is fantastic with guests over. I wouldn’t design or live in anything else in future.
Fern
I designed a half hob for my kitchen as it is visible from the lounge room and it works fantastic. Comes out from the wall about 1100 x 1200H. All the toaster, kettle, coffee making stayes behind it and the rest of the bench is free for stools, Love being part of everything when guests come over and I am making coffee for them. Wouldnt design or live in anything else from now on.
Fern
We went to look at displays during the week to get ideas on colours and noticed that a lot of the houses had hobs in the kitchen. Must be making a comeback.
Only stupid people don’t ask questions
Some thoughts.
We use our breakfast bar every morning for brekky and also whenever we are giving the kids a quick feed before sports etc. All other meals are taken as a family in the dining room.
I do mos of the cooking and would be hate to be shut off from the family in a seperate room.
Have a think if you are selling the house then a breakfast bar can have great appeal to a family – esp a busy one.
I love open plan myself but do find it expensive to heat in winter. If I lived in a cool climate I would probably have more small rooms that can be easily shut off and heated.
Cheers,
Simon Macks
Residential and Commercial Finance Broker
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I’ve lived in open plan set ups in three different homes for the past 14 years. Love it! It is noisier but great for family living. It also trains you to keep the kitchen a little neater but best of all it really means the kitchen is the hub and who ever does the cooking is not shut out of the action. The hob works well but then so does a bench. Even when its not used to eat at. Its an extra preparation area, homework space and sometimes dumping ground. [biggrin]
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