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That's an aggressive reading of that article. She lays out her argument, maybe makes a snarky comment here and there, but it's hardly a rant. Her argument flow

by trgn 7y ago

That's an aggressive reading of that article. She lays out her argument, maybe makes a snarky comment here and there, but it's hardly a rant. Her argument flows pretty naturally imo. Identify a problem. Open concepts are a fad with bad externalities for its occupants and the environment. She points a wagging finger at the normies who bought into the fad, condescending only if you choose to read it that way, but really all in all good natured. More than a fad, perhaps open floor plans are a historical mistake by ideologues who were unable to anticipate its unintended consequences. She draws attention to the richer people escaping to their man caves and sculleries, they wouldn't need to do that if their house wasn't a cacophony of noise and smell to begin with. Her solution is simple and elegant. Just close up that kitchen again instead of holding on to that collective aesthetic obsession with large spaces. She underestimates that people actually value the aesthetics and branding of an open floor plan more than any of its drawbacks. Open floor plans make your small house look big and are ideal for the perfect family, where everybody always gets along, and the loss of privacy is secondary. And who doesn't want to live in a big house, and not have a perfect family? No going back. The open floor plan coincides with the decline of cooking and the replacement of hosting with entertaining. Kitchens are fake anyway. Of the families who I know who actually cook meals, who host their friends and relatives as if they were honored guest to be waited upon, none of those prefer an open kitchen. Those who don't, mine included, for who a kitchen is a place with a fridge and a microwave primarily, maybe a large tabletop for all the crap their kids bring back form school, the people who's idea of cooking is making casseroles and pasta that need to last for days, who's idea of a party is a potluck, they do prefer open floor plans. It's a value shift in what it means to prepare meals, she prefers the old fashioned values, most people no longer do.

rconti 7y ago
The only real problem she identifies is "noise". (I'm not sure what the "bad externalities for the environment" you point to are). You trade the inconvenience of noise (noise when you don't want it) for the convenience of noise (ability to hear/see/be involved with what's going on outside of the kitchen). That's one unintended consequence (or was it intended?) >She draws attention to the richer people escaping to their man caves and sculleries, they wouldn't need to do that if their house wasn't a cacophony of noise and smell to begin with. I don't buy this. All homes have private spaces. Man caves would not go away if we all just closed off our kitchens. It implies that the "man cave" only exists because of the open concept, but for that to be true, it would have to mean that it's replacing the living room, which I think you can hardly conclude from the available evidence. When was an "enclosed" living room a paragon of privacy? It seems so utterly bizarre to go from "combine kitchen and dining and living room" to "complete and total loss of privacy". Again, we still have private bedrooms and offices, those with more space in their homes have still more separate spaces. There are implications here that we had to build bigger houses to replace the lost 'private' space, but I hardly see the evidence. The closed-off houses of yore, with their formal dining rooms and walled-off kitchens, were hardly tiny. >The open floor plan coincides with the decline of cooking and the replacement of hosting with entertaining. Kitchens are fake anyway. Of the families who I know who actually cook meals, who host their friends and relatives as if they were honored guest to be waited upon, none of those prefer an open kitchen. Again, thin. Plenty of folks have chimed in here who prefer an open concept, and plenty of folks who prefer a closed-off one. Like my own household, we cook every single night, and prefer the open space. >It's a value shift in what it means to prepare meals, she prefers the old fashioned values, most people no longer do. This is an unsupported conclusion. Again, it's a quasi-pejorative that making your own meals means you prefer a closed off kitchen. That's just not the case. Different people have different preferences, but this condescending attitude that real people who really cook hate all this new fangled nonsense is just not based in fact.

by trgn 7y ago

rconti 7y ago

The only real problem she identifies is "noise". (I'm not sure what the "bad externalities for the environment" you point to are). You trade the inconvenience of noise (noise when you don't want it) for the convenience of noise (ability to hear/see/be involved with what's going on outside of the kitchen). That's one unintended consequence (or was it intended?) >She draws attention to the richer people escaping to their man caves and sculleries, they wouldn't need to do that if their house wasn't a cacophony of noise and smell to begin with. I don't buy this. All homes have private spaces. Man caves would not go away if we all just closed off our kitchens. It implies that the "man cave" only exists because of the open concept, but for that to be true, it would have to mean that it's replacing the living room, which I think you can hardly conclude from the available evidence. When was an "enclosed" living room a paragon of privacy? It seems so utterly bizarre to go from "combine kitchen and dining and living room" to "complete and total loss of privacy". Again, we still have private bedrooms and offices, those with more space in their homes have still more separate spaces. There are implications here that we had to build bigger houses to replace the lost 'private' space, but I hardly see the evidence. The closed-off houses of yore, with their formal dining rooms and walled-off kitchens, were hardly tiny. >The open floor plan coincides with the decline of cooking and the replacement of hosting with entertaining. Kitchens are fake anyway. Of the families who I know who actually cook meals, who host their friends and relatives as if they were honored guest to be waited upon, none of those prefer an open kitchen. Again, thin. Plenty of folks have chimed in here who prefer an open concept, and plenty of folks who prefer a closed-off one. Like my own household, we cook every single night, and prefer the open space. >It's a value shift in what it means to prepare meals, she prefers the old fashioned values, most people no longer do. This is an unsupported conclusion. Again, it's a quasi-pejorative that making your own meals means you prefer a closed off kitchen. That's just not the case. Different people have different preferences, but this condescending attitude that real people who really cook hate all this new fangled nonsense is just not based in fact.