After being the “must-have” element of homes for nearly a generation, local designers say the “open floor plan,” in which kitchen falls into dining room, which falls into family room, may be going the way of the dumbwaiter.
“I do think people are turning away from homes that are one big open gallery,” said Maren Hartman, a Rye-based interior designer who leads Maren Hartman Creative. “I am seeing an uptick in clients today who are requesting ‘jewel spaces.’ They are looking for that one special room. I’m not talking about an office; those are usually already part of the package. I am talking about spaces that are more formal, like a library or a sitting room.”
She credits nostalgia for that desire.
“The pendulum is always swinging,” she said. “It’s the same way people are fed up with pajamas in airports. There is a kind of formality that people are craving again. Spaces don’t always have to have this multifunction Swiss Army knife approach. Many of my clients are looking to create a really special, elevated space.”
The open floor plan has been around since the early 1950s, as formal single-purpose rooms gradually began to disappear and interconnected living spaces opened up the home, bringing with them a more casual, modern vibe. At its peak, the open floor concept conjoined kitchens, living rooms, and dining rooms so that everything was one giant interconnected space. They had a revival in the 2000s as “midcentury modern” aesthetic caught on.
But designers today say they are seeing a return to formality and the desire for spaces that stand alone.
“I still see a lot of young families who want a more open floor plan, but as families are getting older and kids aren’t hanging out as much, people want secondary spaces,” said Shannon Murray of Shannon Murray Interiors in Rye. “And even with open floor plans, I see people adding sliding doors or French doors as they try to carve out spaces that offer a little more privacy.”
That, she said, is largely an issue of functionality.
“Homes need to function for the individual family, and when they don’t, that’s when we see people changing things up,” she said.
A quieter, more closed-off space doesn’t just offer a unique design moment, it’s also a useful way to hide what you don’t want visitors to notice. When there are walls, when you walk into a room you don’t see every mess the home has to offer.
“The open area does still kind of happen, but I have seen that it takes place mostly where the kitchen enters into the family room,” said John Mazzola of Mazzola Family Restorations, a residential home builder in Rye. “In my opinion, you don’t want a big open space. Everyone still needs a place to hide their clutter.”
If he does get a call to open up a space, he said, it is largely to make a wider pass-through and not to take down a wall.
The other benefit to separate rooms, Hartman pointed out, is it allows the homeowner more flexibility in design.
“With big open floor plans, there is a greater need for things to match, to have a more homogenous design aesthetic,” she said. That means clients can be more creative and take more risks with a space that won’t disrupt the balance of the entire home.
But, said Hartman, “all hope is not lost if you have an open floor plan. There are still ways to make open floor plans feel more defined.”
Murray agreed.
“The best way to divide a space is, naturally, a wall,” she said. “However, if you do not want to add anything permanent, a folding screen, a two-sided open shelving unit or a sofa can be used to help divide spaces.”
Mazzola, Hartman, and Murray agreed you should not feel “walled in” by any trend.
Functionality is key to designing a home that works for you. If you love to entertain, perhaps an intimate dining space is what you need. But if you have little kids and want to keep an eye on them while you cook dinner, a kitchen that opens into a living area can make more sense.
“Trends really only make sense when they work for you,” said Murray.
