To put a door on the kitchen or not?

horseykitty

The house I am renovating has a very small kitchen 1.7m x 2.8m. The door separating it from the middle room (it's an Edwardian terrace) opens outwards into the middle room. Hubby and builder want to get rid of the door and casing and leave it open to the middle room.

They say that it will make the kitchen seem bigger. I'm not convinced, I'm thinking of cooking smells and the fact that it'll probably be cold in the winter. They counter this by saying 'you're not going to be living in it'.

What do people think?

Callie22

We rent an Edwardian terrace that sounds just like this. It has a tiny galley kitchen where the door to the living room has been removed. I can see the argument for getting rid of the door and certainly in our house there would be no room for one, but I do hate not being able to shut off the noise and smell from the kitchen. The downstairs in our house is totally open plan, so if we have the washing machine on, we have no way of shutting out the noise which is irritating, and limits the times when we can do laundry. But then again it would be terribly claustrophobic to be shut in such a small room, especially a room like a kitchen which tends to be used heavily. A half-glazed door wouldn't be so bad though.

I think it depends on the overall layout. If there is a separate 'front' room and the intention is to use the back room leading to the kitchen as a dining area, then it's not so much of a hassle if there's no door - and it might even be a bit of a hindrance. But if it's all open plan and there's only the one living room then I think a half-glazed door would make it more pleasant and convenient for daily life.

I would say though that I always hate it when stuff gets done to properties by the owners on the basis that they're not going to be living there. I'm guessing that this might be a rental property? My feeling is that if something would be uncomfortable/irritating for you, then it'll be the same for tenants - perhaps even worse, as they can't do anything structural to change it.

phill99

I did this in a customers house as part of a kitchen refurb. I agree with your husband. It does make the kitchen look bigger. Customer loves it! If you have a decent extractor, that will deal with smells.

[Deleted User]

Agree with the comments above re: smells and noise!

I like to be able to shut the kitchen off if cooking certain foods e.g. curry and when the washing machine is on. Although not an Edwardian terrace, we are in a small house, with only (a VERY small) kitchen/diner and living room downstairs. It's quite frustrating trying to read or watch TV in the living room if the washing machine is running if the door is open - would drive me crazy if I couldn't block this out by closing the door. And if we forget to close the door whilst cooking, we have to air the whole downstairs!

Practicality wins over aesthetics for me.

AlexMac

Depends on your future tenants' lifestyle and cooking habits. Open-plan is attractive, and might add a tiny bit to perceived rental value or make it easier to let but I was really pleased I had a door when I had Chinese tenants. Ideal tenants in every way, but wok cooking creates an aerosol of grease, which settles everywhere- (and I had a cooker hood with washable filters) - a bit like when their Bulgarian successors' mum visited and cooked pancakes!

So even though they cleaned the worktops, every other surface had a thick film of grease, which I was glad was contained in the kitchen. (I expect to do a deep clean and re-dec between tenants, but this was very deep!)

mummyroysof3

Having a door on gives you the choice of open or closed where having non gives you just the one option. I personally like to be able to sit in my living room and close the door if appliances are running and the noise bothers me

scottishblondie

I would not like the lack of a door. As others have said it means the rest of the house is open to all the smells and noise.

Have you considered a sliding door? By brother's old house had this, as the original door opened out into the dining area made everything a bit awkward. The sliding door went along the wall outside the kitchen (so on the wall of the dining room, and worked very well.

Edwardia

What about a stable door arrangement ?

Ralph-y

give some thought to your fire safety , make sure there is a detector out side the second room as well as the upstairs.

I have no door to my kitchen but have the extra detectors to compensate.

This will be even more important if you plan to let the property !

Ralph:cool:

VfM4meplse

Edwardia wrote: »

What about a stable door arrangement ?

Or a sliding door panel instead? The smell would really bother me - bearing in mind I always cook with the door to the living room firmly closed, and the patio door fully open, and the kitchen window open for hours after the event and the smell still lingers!

Hence I still barely cook.

Jolaaled

My cottage also has the same arrangement...small-ish kitchen with door to 'dining room' (not used as such!) and then open plan to lounge area.

We originally had the door between kitchen and dining area in place but we hardly ever used this door..it was always propped open and actually took up space itself.
A couple of years ago, i took the door off it's hinges and this has created quite a bit more useable space in the dining area as well as letting more light in too...so the door stays 'off'! I'm intending to put up a curtain that can be drawn across the old doorway to keep things snug in the winter months.

HTH