Having the kitchen and lounge in the same room

boliston

I much prefer a living room with a kitchen area at one end. It means that if a pan boils over I can see it whilst sitting on my comfortable sofa. It is also space saving so more living area for a specific property size.

nixnix87

*newbie*, apologies in advance

It seems to be the thing a lot of new developments have today. Probably selling the glossy image of socialising whilst continuing with the task of cooking and it being a big fun thing to do with everyone more 'involved'.

I'm now 3 weeks into living somewhere like this (for the first time) and it's taking some getting used to, especially with noise interference between the kitchen/tv/communicating (which is now more frustrated shouting).

A solution we have found is some ikea storage units placed between the 'kitchen' and lounge/diner area. It doesn't stop the noise problem but it makes the room more divided and gives the feel of a more separate kitchen. It doubles up as extra storage space too which is a must as the kitchen has limited cupboard space due to lack of walls and surfaces.

It's not for everyone but if you find yourself in this kind of space you can make it work.

One plus is being able to watch the bakeoff-inspired goodies rising (or rather, not rising...) in the oven from your sofa

Andrew_Ryan_89

Grenage wrote: »

Shut up, Dan. Shouldn't you be repairing a car, chopping down a tree, or off hunting in the woods for dinner?

I know you weren't addressing me but I do fix the car, have chopped down a tree and though I have hunted, I had to fish a dead animal out of our pond! :rotfl:

niboronline

We selected our house on the basis that we'd get the load bearing wall professionally removed. By removing the separation between kitchen and lounge the ground floor feels a lot larger and when either my wife or I cook its more inclusive.

The extra space allowed us to install a large island kitchen with a breakfast bar while still having a dinning table and lounge area which works well when its jus two of us or for the odd social get together we've hosted.

Zola.

lewishardwick wrote: »

The developers are selling a lifestyle. The glossy brochure showing someone cooking while a (small) group of friends are nearby, chatting, drinking wine all having a wonderful time!

Then 5 minutes after all is finished in the kitchen, the group are constantly !!!!ed off with the noise of the dishwasher (if you're lucky enough to have room for one!) and the smell of the pots and pans left to be washed up.

Basically they've gained an extra few square meters per flat, just enough to squeeze another one bed onto each floor to sell at an over-inflated price.

Also, if you're in a city centre, there's the argument many people don't cook at home often so there's no need for a separate kitchen.

You sir have hit the nail on the head! :beer:

ellie27

I would need a dining table in the kitchen, or would be happy with a separate dining room if its a galley kitchen (what we have).

If I could have a kitchen/dining area with somewhere to have a table and keep living room separate then that would be my preference.

I do not like kitchen/living open plan with no separate lounge. That is acceptable for a 1 or 2 bed flat, but certainly not a 3 bed + house.

mishkanorman

We've just added a kitchen/lounge and love it ! Everything is so much easier, we only wish we had done it years ago.

Dragonqueen

We bought our home because it has a nice, big kitchen / dining space, so we can eat and chat - but I love my cozy sitting room - as that is exactly what it is - a sitting room. Nice & snug, with a roaring fire, watching the garden in comfort. Don't like open plan all the way through.

oystercatcher

Kitchen with a table/ kitchen diner is wonderful when you have small children as you can keep an eye on them while you are cooking etc. baby can sit in high chair with a few toys, small children around table with drawing / playdough etc. Also I used to love the table to have the newspaper spread out to sit and read for a few moments between chopping , stirring etc. These days it would be my laptop I guess !

I used to hate it when we had a small kitchen, couldn't see the children and no where for me to sit between stirring pots etc.

I do think it is important to have another living room to go to between though to leave the mess etc behind, especially with visitors and so the 'small people' can free range safely.

However space costs money and you have to live where you can afford to, now we are looking for a bungalow for retirement and the ones with one big kitchen / living room and two tiny bedrooms get a definite thumbs down from us , but we can't afford the bigger ones either

nirajn123

Over the years living in different cities, we mainly had separate kitchens in rented flats, but the last one we moved out of three years ago was an open plan. My wife is a big TV buff and loved the fact that she can keep an eye on our son who was three at the time and also have one eye on TV while cooking (we both cook btw). She likes to keep kitchen tidy but also had an added incentive to keep it cleaner when it was open plan for when friends come around. I don't mind either set-up, open plan works well for a small family though.

When we brought a house 3 years ago - an Edwardian terrace with a large open plan kitchen diner and a separate reception room, she misses not having TV right in front of her when she is cooking and general chatter if I am to sit and watch TV in the other room. She would happily go back to previous place.