There’s been a fair amount of chatter from journalists, design professionals, architects, and homeowners that the open-concept kitchen is fading in popularity. It’s certainly been a huge trend in kitchen design since the 80s. It’s driven home building, changes in architectural elements like windows, flooring, doorways and more. The open-concept kitchen has transformed how homeowners live, dine and cook in the home. It shows no signs of slowing down.
Below: Open Concept Kitchen Project In Progress (Rendering)
So, where is the open-concept kitchen in 2024? I consult with, and do design work for, homeowners all around the country. I speak to them at length about their lifestyle needs and wants. They want to figure out how to distribute the space they have to accommodate their lifestyle needs and wants now and for the foreseeable future. Here are some of the questions I ask them:
How long will you be in the home?
Do you have children? What are their ages?
How often do you have gatherings in the home?
What is your budget?
Do you have rooms to go to other than the bedrooms if you want privacy?
Will your design concept be casual, transitional or more formal?
Do you wish to conceal all or part (or none) of the kitchen from surrounding spaces?
Is there a separate dining room in the home for more formal dining or just one within the proposed great room?
These are important preliminary questions that allow my clients to focus in on both aesthetic and functional choices that affect the design.
Below: One of Numerous Open Kitchen Plans For This Client by Susan Serra, CKD
What I’m NOT hearing is that my clients want a closed-off kitchen. They want the opposite, in almost all cases. The exception is if a client’s lifestyle and home is formal in nature and design. In that case, the kitchen may not be part of a living area. My clients are interested in larger windows, a longer line of sight within the home, a less utilitarian look for the kitchen and the ability of the kitchen to be much more social.
But, what about the noise and visual mess and clutter that an open-concept kitchen brings with it? Here are some ideas I suggest to my clients on how to mitigate those concerns:
Regardless of the size of the kitchen (in most cases) get a large, workstation sink, 45”+ if possible, to effectively hide the mess before guests arrive or anytime
A large sink also provides room for a cutting board and strainer, allowing prep work to take place at the sink, keeping surrounding countertops more clear and clean
Quiet dishwasher, compare db son measurements
Add soft furnishings to absorb noise (kitchen rugs https://www.scandinavianmade.com , window treatments, upholstered banquette or other seating)
Home for small appliances! This can be a cabinet with retractable doors, a pull-out cart in a base cabinet among other solutions
2 or more different finishes in cabinetry to create somewhat of a furniture connotation
Same flooring throughout all areas help to remove room boundaries
Paneled appliances
Quiet vent hood
Quiet dishwasher
Simple hood built into the architecture of walls/ceiling, rather than a more traditional hood design
Less busy cabinet door styles
Larger scale decorative items including artwork
Different countertop surfaces that coordinate
Continuous backsplash such as slab material rather than tile with busy grout lines
Mid height cabinets (42-48” in height) separating kitchen from the space beyond to serve as a transition (as one solution)
I offer many more ideas to solve these common concerns.
I don’t see the open-concept kitchen going away anytime soon! I’ll have more to say about this topic soon, regarding how to divide up the dining, living and cooking areas.