stevenpiziks | In Defense of the Open Kitchen

"I hate an open concept house, especially the kitchen! I don't want people to see the mess in the kitchen while I'm cooking! I don't want guests in the same room when I'm cooking with strong odors like garlic or fish! And I don't want my pets in the kitchen while I'm cooking! And I love abandoning my guests in the living room while I'm finishing dinner! Why does every new house have an open concept kitchen? I hate them sooo much!!!!!!"

Sheesh.

You know why modern houses have open-concept kitchens? Because PEOPLE LIKE THEM. If few or no people wanted them, builders wouldn't put them in.

I love an open concept. When I have people over, I want to be able to use the kitchen while still being able to visit with my guests. I don't feel comfortable abandoning them in the living room: "Have a seat on the couch. I'll be back with dinner in about half an hour."

Not only that, when I've lived in closed-concept houses, there's never been an actual door to the kitchen, just a doorway. It doesn't stop smells from migrating to the rest of the house. Besides, who cooks strong garlic or fish when company comes if they know the smell will bother the guests? It permeates the whole house, open concept or not, and they'll get a snootful. The design of the house has nothing to do with it.

And guests always wander into the kitchen anyway: "What can I do to help?" My mother, in particular, loves to sit at the island and kibbitz while I'm cooking. ("It's so nice to watch someone else cook for a change.")

And you worry about mess? Really? Like any decent cook, I clean as a I go, so there's no mess. If you don't want people to see a mess, don't make a mess.

In an open kitchen and when no one else is around, I can watch TV on the living big screen while I'm cooking. And pets? The cats have been trained to stay away while I'm working--a squirt bottle placed in prominent sight reminds them to buzz off. Took all of one squirt to train them run away when I just pick up the bottle.

If you object to open kitchens because they make you feel agoraphobic or if they feel less cozy to you or you don't want other family members in the same room with you when you're cooking because you like to cook alone, that's fine! Just acknowledge that you like a closed kitchen for emotional or psychological reasons, not because they're in some practical way superior to open kitchens.

So open up dem kitchens, builders! We love them!