For many years now, the open-plan kitchen, dining and even living area has been wildly popular. This open layout seemed to fit with our modern lifestyles and the demands of family life, as well as being a rather luxurious trend displayed in all of its covetable glory in lifestyle magazines.
Now, however, trendspotters in areas like New York’s Manhattan are reporting a shift away from this trend and a move towards the pre-war style closed kitchen. A piece in The New York Times real estate section recently said that there is increased demand for apartments that have separate cooking and entertaining spaces.
Why is the open plan kitchen falling out of fashion? There are a few reasons, starting with changes in trends often being kick-started by influential home interior writers and experts wanting something new to talk about. Secondly, more space is becoming available in the newest residential buildings in Manhattan, and more space means that it’s easier to create an enclosed kitchen. There’s no need to try to squash living, kitchen and dining into the one space.
Another possible reason why closed kitchens may be coming back into fashion is the inherent problems with the open plan design. Those who still love it do so because open plan spaces tend to be very social and great for entertaining, making the kitchen the heart of the house again. However, with one space becoming the ‘everything’ room in your house could make it cluttered, noisy (especially if you have a TV in there) and impossible to hide anything.
Open plan vs. closed kitchens – which is best for you?
If you’re weighing up whether to go open plan or enclosed, here are some things to consider:
When designing, buying and fitting your new kitchen, you could find that the enclosed kitchen is much easier to manage. You can create a standard U or L shape, fitted along lovely straight walls, and you don’t need to figure out how to divide up or ‘zone’ a big multi-purpose space without using walls or physical dividers.
If you need help or are ready to call in the kitchen fitters, A&J Kitchens will be happy to assist. Get in touch and let’s create your dream kitchen – whether it’s enclosed or open plan.
Now, however, trendspotters in areas like New York’s Manhattan are reporting a shift away from this trend and a move towards the pre-war style closed kitchen. A piece in The New York Times real estate section recently said that there is increased demand for apartments that have separate cooking and entertaining spaces.
Why is the open plan kitchen falling out of fashion? There are a few reasons, starting with changes in trends often being kick-started by influential home interior writers and experts wanting something new to talk about. Secondly, more space is becoming available in the newest residential buildings in Manhattan, and more space means that it’s easier to create an enclosed kitchen. There’s no need to try to squash living, kitchen and dining into the one space.
Another possible reason why closed kitchens may be coming back into fashion is the inherent problems with the open plan design. Those who still love it do so because open plan spaces tend to be very social and great for entertaining, making the kitchen the heart of the house again. However, with one space becoming the ‘everything’ room in your house could make it cluttered, noisy (especially if you have a TV in there) and impossible to hide anything.
Open plan vs. closed kitchens – which is best for you?
If you’re weighing up whether to go open plan or enclosed, here are some things to consider:
- Do you like peace and quiet in the kitchen? An enclosed kitchen could give you the peaceful haven you crave, while an open plan ‘all purpose’ space will nearly always have lots of people and lots of noise and clutter in it.
- Space availability. You do need to have enough space to fit in a kitchen as a separate room and have it be a decent size, but bear in mind that the extra wall space provided on both sides (both in and out of the kitchen) can give you lots more options in terms of design, storage and functionality.
- Tidiness. With an enclosed kitchen, all food and preparation is out of sight in your entertaining space, as are the dirty dishes.
When designing, buying and fitting your new kitchen, you could find that the enclosed kitchen is much easier to manage. You can create a standard U or L shape, fitted along lovely straight walls, and you don’t need to figure out how to divide up or ‘zone’ a big multi-purpose space without using walls or physical dividers.
If you need help or are ready to call in the kitchen fitters, A&J Kitchens will be happy to assist. Get in touch and let’s create your dream kitchen – whether it’s enclosed or open plan.
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