Open kitchen: regret or the ultimate experience?

I would probably also be in favor of option 1, but less because of the kitchen and more because I absolutely would not want to have the stairs like that in the living area. But again: matter of taste.

No, not a matter of taste... the problem with option 2 is not the open kitchen, but the open hallway. I definitely wouldn't do the latter.

Maybe option 1 with the kitchen design from option 2? The walls like option 1, but the door from the hallway to the kitchen between the two rows from option 2, and the peninsula from option 2 docked to the interior or exterior wall depending on preference. All clear now?

That's why we have an eat-in kitchen. Dining table that can also accommodate 8 people if necessary.

For me, open kitchens are "eat-in kitchens." Cooking, eating, living, all in one room. I would miss the living room.

No, not a matter of taste... the problem with option 2 is not the open kitchen, but the open hallway. I definitely wouldn’t do the latter.

Maybe option 1 with the kitchen design from option 2? The walls like option 1, but the door from the hallway to the kitchen between the two rows from option 2, and the peninsula from option 2 docked to the interior or exterior wall depending on preference. All clear now?

I'm at a loss... which peninsula from option 2 do you mean?

I really enjoy having the open kitchen. I work full-time, and in the evenings I stand at the stove. My wife sits at the dining table and the 5-year-old is busy with something. For me, cooking is a way to unwind from work; I can talk with my wife about what’s going on, how the day was, etc. The little one can show me while I’m cooking what she just painted or crafted. For me, that is "living together." As others have said, smells don’t matter; if something doesn’t smell good, it simply wouldn’t be cooked. Mess doesn’t matter either. When we sit at the table and eat, we look at our plates and into each other’s eyes because we talk. After eating, everything is cleaned up. I like it that way.

So, I am against an open kitchen. So if someone is vegan and eats yogurt followed by arugula salad in the evening, well, they can also have an open kitchen. But if mom is cooking hearty meals, the Christmas baker is busy, and traditionally everything happens in the kitchen, then the kitchen area should be kept closed.

The grease and moisture spread throughout the whole house. And not even a Bora helps with that! It always depends on the size. But nowadays people cook much less. Deliveries like Lieferando are more common.

We have about 30 sqm of closed kitchen, a large table in the middle where we also eat. The terrace is connected by two doors. In summer everyone sits on the terrace anyway. Then carrying everything through the living room is also annoying.

You also want to feel warm sometimes. In the dead of winter, it can be 25 degrees in our kitchen. I wouldn’t want to miss that. And keep one thing in mind. You get older. And the older you get, the more susceptible you are to drafts, to cold in general, etc. At 30 you don’t notice any of that. Heating the whole house to 25 degrees is just not possible technically nowadays.

I know people with open kitchens. They actually have their cooking kitchen in the basement and it’s connected to the upper kitchen by a small elevator. There you never have pots left standing around or a dirty stove.