Kitchen - separate or combined with the living room. What's better?
Our children grow up and it becomes obvious that we need a new, more spacious apartment. My wife and I sat down to consider possible layouts. The stumbling block was the kitchen. Make it a separate isolated room or combine it with the living room?
Overcoated with design magazines. We began to weigh the possible pros and cons. Let's share the result of our discussions. Perhaps it will be useful to someone. Or maybe you can help us with your thoughts in the comments.
Benefits when combining living room and kitchen
- Expansion of space. Instead of two cramped rooms, we get a single large and bright space. But how often happens in kitchens: I took a step from the sink to the refrigerator, caught on a chair, overturned the table, turned over everything I could - we dine with dumplings.
- It is convenient to receive guests. The combined kitchen-living room can be equipped with a large dining table. If guests come, there is no need to lay out a book-table and run around the house with plates. Everything remains in place.
- Comfort, coziness, beauty. These are the associations that spacious kitchen-living rooms evoke. Still imagine layouts from American and European films? Expensive furnishings, modern design ...
Disadvantages when combining living room and kitchen
- The smell of food throughout the apartment. Yes, modern hoods are powerful enough. But once a day, gathering with your family and having dinner with the hum of a fan is not a pleasure. And if you don't turn on the hood, the smells will go all over the house. Mashed potatoes and vegetable salad can survive. But fried fish, cabbage rolls and garlic sauce can derail the most soulful evening.
- The woman finally turns into a housewife. Of course, every kitchen needs to be kept clean. But not everyone is so pedantic as not to let go of the rag. And this is exactly what will have to be done in the combined kitchen. After all, everything is always in plain sight.
- The redevelopment will have to be legalized. Such alignments of rooms are usually associated with the need for new doorways or portals. We'll have to make a project, agree on it, and if the walls are load-bearing, provide for reinforcement. All this extra time and money.
This was the end of our arguments. If you can share your experience, I'll be happy to talk in the comments. If the material was useful to you, do not forget about the "thumbs up" 👍. Subscribe to a channel here.