Unpopular opinion: that open concept floor plan from 2015 is actually awful

I keep seeing people rave about tearing down walls to make everything open, but I bought a house from that era and it's a nightmare. The kitchen noise travels right into the living room so if someone's running the dishwasher you can't hear the TV at all. And the lack of a proper hallway means every room dumps into the same big space with zero privacy. After three years here I'm actually thinking about putting a wall back up between the kitchen and dining area. My buddy did the same thing to his 2016 build and said it dropped his heating bill by 40 bucks a month because the rooms actually trap heat now. Has anyone else regretted going open concept after living with it for a while?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_price9d ago

The kitchen noise traveling is the worst part. I have a friend who put up a sliding barn door between her living room and kitchen and it helped a ton with the sound. And yeah, that heating bill thing makes sense, my cousin did something similar and said it made a difference in the winter months. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels this way, because everyone I know still thinks open concept is the greatest thing ever.

nora1849d ago

@jana_price sliding barn doors are genius unless you're me and end up slamming yours into the wall every time the dog sneezes.