HOME DESIGN

The Open Concept Home is Dead

We proved the great room isn’t great.

The kitchen-dining-living Greatroom by wikimedia commons

Our home isn’t a livable place anymore. It needs to be fixed. Start with the “great room.”

Having a “great room” was considered very modern in the 1950s. By the 1990s, it was the one thing that raised home value the most, after “location, location.”

For many years people have been updating older homes to merge rooms — join the kitchen and dining room, dining room and living room, or all three into a common living space or “great room.” In fact, TV producers want you to believe it is still a good idea.

Anyone who watches HGTV or similar programs sees sledge hammers breaking down walls, creating open areas. It makes for dramatic TV for something that is ordinarily as boring as watching golf, or chess tournaments. TV ratings rule.

But for living space, it’s been ruled out.

There are So Many Disadvantages

Expensive to heat and cool. Great rooms, especially ones with high ceilings, have energy costs. You can’t heat or cool just the space you are using. You must heat or cool the whole room. When rooms are separated by walls, each room can have its own temperature by adjusting (or closing) the vent.