More People Closing Off The Kitchen

For years the concept of a grand room with an open kitchen has been all the rage. As a result, countless walls have been knocked down and it’s rare to find newer houses without open kitchens.

But is the tide turning? Are we returning to days when the kitchen was an isolated room where smells were trapped and messes hidden?

Increasingly, home builders are hearing requests from customers for a closed-off kitchen, and remodeling companies are being asked to put the walls back.

Perhaps it's a matter of the grass being greener on the other side...if you've lived your life with a closed-off kitchen, maybe you want an open space. And if you've lived your life with an open floor plan, maybe the novelty of a closed-off kitchen is appealing.

This is a natural cultural shift. If you look at homes from the 1920's, bathrooms were seldom put inside a master bedroom, kitchens were almost always isolated, and garages weren’t attached. By contrast, homes built in the last 20 years have attached garages, large master baths, and open kitchens.

But there’s a shift taking place among builders, who take their cues from the market. People are starting to ask for smaller homes and cozier spaces, pushed in part by high property costs and in part by a desire for simplification.

Ultimately, the footprint of homes over the next several decades will depend on the cultural preferences of people who live in an area, since we tend to take our housing cues from others in our community.