I do love a good open concept space. However, i really think that when building or redesigning a home, it is a really good idea to include a second living space, where people who want to get away from everything else going on in the house can go to retreat besides a bedroom.

As a retired realtor and having sold both the open and the living/family room concepts, I heard a lot of folks, especially in the last 10 years, wanting open concept, until they actually lived in it. One room to do all the living would seem okay, until you might have a party and a few folks want to meander to a more quieter space for talking, ie, the living room. I personally love to open a front door and see a beautiful living space with my piano in one corner and my bookcase on another, mine feels a bit like a dreamy library. I’ve heard in the past, “oh the living room is wasted space, a place no one ever uses because it’s all dressed up.” However, this can be another space to actually use and enjoy. Well, that’s my take, and I’m sticking to it! 😉

New subscriber 👋 I don't like open concept at all, antique homes with a good flow of individual rooms is what I really love.

Open concept isn't my favourite layout because kitchens are just busy areas meant to be functional for every day use and unless you're constantly putting away things like small appliances, you will see them and they just aren't the most beautiful things to look at. Besides, if they were visually stunning, you'd see them on display in show suites, but you'll see a fake fruit basket or cupcake tier before you ever see a toaster displayed. Nobody is displaying cupcakes every day but most of us probably do use a coffee maker or toaster. Beyond that, if anyone is using the kitchen while you're trying to watch a movie in the living room, you can just forget the movie. Halfway through a movie when your teenager emerges from their room, hungry and on the hunt for a snack. Don't even get me started on the dishes you can see left beside the sink.

I currently live in an open concept house and love it. I lived in one about 15 years ago and hated it. I think I understand now how to better use design techniques to decorate it. You had many good points and always do!

Love and only buy open concept houses. I feel the need to see around me and the need of not feeling cluttered is life to me. thank you for this wonderful video Design Daddy!👌💕🥰🙏🏼

I started watching your you tube a month ago….love,love them..please keep giving us all these informative design ideas…hoping your numbers grow you deserve it…Pam

I just bought a 1980 house that is definitely not open concept and I really like it. I also love that black blazer!!

Open concept works for me. Australia only has 2 - 3 cold months a year. The outdoor/indoor livability just works with open concept. Continuity of floor at least in colour form from inside out increases the visual spacial flow especially with open plan. It just works with our cimate.

Prob my favorite video you've ever done. Love how you simply explained 60-30-10 and the value of consistent flooring and lighting + focal points to draw the eye. I incorporated all of these principles in my great room. I think a lot of folks are calling open concept "outdated" but open concept is timeless to me and a matter of personal preference.

I am moving to my new house in a month and it is open concept which I do like. Your points are very helpful as I think about how to furnish the living area. so far I have only ordered my dining furniture from RH. Planning to live in the space a bit before I decide rest of the great room furnishing. Thank you..

I do like a modified open concept. I’ve seen house flippers gut an older home to make it open concept and it just doesn’t work. I don’t want to live in a space that looks like a lodge hall. I do want openness but some separation as well

I love open concept space, however, it is nice to have a second family room for younger kids including nieces nephews to have fun whenever family gathering. I do really enjoy my open space when we get together flow through the patio outdoor seating and dining as well, perfect to entertain everyone as once.

I, for one, like to keep the kitchen separate because I'm the type of cook who fills and needs to run the dishwasher after getting a glass of water. Translate that to mean I'm a messy cook - very messy cook. No guest wants to see the disaster I've created in my kitchen when sitting down to dine or talk after in the living room area. This is also why I like a galley kitchen that has limited visual access to the dining areas.

I love open concept!!! I was waiting for this video, love it!! ❤

I like a hybrid open concept space, where there are conversation spaces or potential work spaces. I'm a Realtor and sometimes when I look at homes presented on the market, so many look like Grand Central Station that are not inviting. I've learned a great deal from your channel ;)

Against!! It's like living inside a Studio Flat looking at your washing machine & kitchen all day!

For me consistant flooring throughout (exception the lobby and powder room) is a personal must for me.

I'm Pro open concept. When I entertain my range faces out and I am still part of the action. I also have a sitting room for a separate conversation area.

The thing I would watch for in open concept homes - esp the new, Studio McGee inspired ones - is the tendency for seating to be the dominant factor. It starts looking like a food court quick. A row of stools at the kitchen island, 3 feet behind it, two rows of bland chairs around the dining table, which is the same rectangular shape as the island next to it, then a living room with more generic seating and very little decor. I'd say try to take the emphasis off the number of seats by using attractive colors, unique chair shapes, and decorative pieces. Love your sofa console idea for this purpose, for example.

I prefer open concept especially in smaller houses because it makes it easier for the whole family to be in the same room. Although it's much harder to keep it clean and tidy, I think it's cosy... I hate open concept in huge houses where you need binoculars to see the other side of the room. Somehow it creates the exact opposite feeling to me..

His jacket is so pretty and modern😮😮

I personally prefer open concept. It's just me and my partner, so it works well for us but I can understand why a family might prefer separate rooms (at least a kids area). I like the idea of a private office, though. I appreciate all of your design tips for open concept. Spot on, Daddy! 👏👏👏

I love your design ideas 👌🏼

I think open concept works great in smaller spaces. My apartment is 68 m², almost two thirds of that (40 m²) being my living room/kitchen. Noise isn't a problem, since I live alone, but the fact, that it smells like what you cooked the last time, can be annoying.

For open concept, I'm on the fence with that. Some look gorgeous with the decor, and others look dreadful.

We just moved into a home built in 94 and my wife wants to remove the wall separating the living room and kitchen despite the living room having large vaulted ceilings and the kitchen does not.

I always look forward to your videos. They are very informative and helpful! I'm not a fan of open concepts, but I've no choice as I have to live with it since I'm still renting. I still take in your ideas into my home using with what I've and can afford 😊

After purchasing our semi custom forever home 3 yrs ago, at that time, I wanted the open concept home. And you are right, as always, that they are very hard to decorate and at times I regret what I so desperately thought I wanted. But I am making it work, so yes, I am 50/50 .

Like your taste and ideas. Thanks. Slowly, I'm putting some of your advice into plans for a 17 x20 room that must function as 4 or 5 work and living space. Watching and listening to you and a few others. Need this boiled down like you are doing. Thanks to the crew, too

Thank you very much! It was a very useful presentation!❤❤❤❤❤

Excellent video! I think open concept can be beautiful, but it is not functional for how we live, so I've had no interest in ever living in that kind of space. However, I still found your video very informative.

Other than the fact that my kitchen is a little small, I absolutely love my open concept home.

As a parent, it’s just much easier to see what my kids are up to while I’m doing chores 😂

I am definately all in for the open concept.😊

I have an open concept home, and I love it!

I hate open concept kitchens. These are for people who don't cook. You can have your dining table in the kitchen, sure (although I question the point of having a dining table just next to a sitting island / breakfast nook if they're both going to have just as many seats). But the rest of your home should be separate from the kitchen, regardless of how advanced your ventilation system is. It's just common sense imo. The only exception are Malaysian dry kitchens, but the wet kichens that these are paired with are always separate so this supports my point.

I live in a House with an open concept in the ground floor and I love not having any corridors. To me the problem with open concept is pretending to make It work in 300sq2 so the kitchen is too close to everything else You can kind of separe some spaces with see through furnitures if you need It.

Wonderful ideas here in this video. As always!

THE design daddy legend. I really appreciate your openness and the detailed explanation for your advice. Everything you share is so helpful and eye opening. ❤❤❤❤❤❤ .

Thank you for your easily understood explanation with pictures. I struggle with this and I always buy what I think will work and it doesn’t. Especially now. I’m building a little home that I hope I’ve age proofed. But I got told it would be dark in the open area so I need to go light and bright to bounce light 🤯

Every time I see that Tom Ford book I want to scream,, it's so over played at this point,, every designer uses it, it's become a cliche. 😮‍💨

No, I’m not an open concept fan only because I like to watch my little TV in the kitchen when I am cooking and it’s very hard to do that when someone in the main living room is watching a different TV show. I lived in an open concept house many years ago and that was my biggest problem. my current house does not have that and I enjoy it this way.

Maybe it depends on the family. I knew a woman who had eight children, and she loved the open house because she could see them all and know what they were doing. My husband and I, who are retired, enjoying having separate living, dining and kitchen rooms, especially the kitchen, which is full of dirty pots by dinnertime.

I think ceiling detail, different heights too are vital for open concepts.

I love your video and all you tip most I already incorporate in my condo. It still nice to get many of my design decisions reenforced.

Thank you for this! I've been struggling to make my great room look just right. going to put the colour method into place. I think i have too many.

So glad I found your channel.

open concept RULES!

Loved this video! I have downsized and now have a "small" open concept area. Can you help with this? Also have gray, white, and black. It gets boring. I would love to see more videos on accessory decorating.

❤open concept 😊

Since I live alone, and have done both, I can say I prefer open concept. For a couple, I think closed would be better, so you can get away from each other easily. For a young family that likes to entertain, open is better.

Open design concept it comes down to place and space. If you are single and do not entertain 24/7 it might seem like a godless void, if you have loads going on and live in a warm climate it will work. If you live in a studio then this is you small time, open concept wears differently in different areas but be sure that you have somewhere to hide other than your bedroom

Ooo I’ve been waiting for this topic

I am new to your channel, but I have watched a lot your videos recently. Lots of good information! I am fine with the open concept, I like to link that kitchen next to dinning room, and living room is near by too. But I do find that I need an office and a second living room or sun room so that we can work and enjoy some me time, or just being with family or next friends. They don’t have to be huge but I just need that separation.

SO against it but it just so happens that the only cute house for rent (in the short time we had to move) is open concept. The cute kitchen and floors made up for it. Now this video has me excited to decorate it. Thanks xo

I am for. Thanks❤

Open concept is such a challenging and flexible home style at the same time. I think this concept won't be over anytime soon. 😉

I don't like the open concept. However, if the place is small then it's probably best to have open concept. If it's a studio apt, I'd still prefer to have a dedicated bedroom area - maybe via use of bookshelves or dividers.

God, I hope so. As much as I love light, bright, open rooms, walls are awfully nice. They keep things like kitchen smells (and grease) where they belong.

I'm fine with open concept in WARM climates, in Northern areas its stupid....I'm in Canada and my parents home is really difficult to regulate the temperature throughout most likely because the three entrances create drafts that are connected on the main floor and there are no physical buffers for any of the common areas (besides bathrooms) so all the hot air just moves to the rafters. Also I hate having open concept kitchens next to living/TV rooms in multi person homes. If you want to watch TV while cooking, fine, then put a TV in the kitchen. One of my pet peeves is having someone talk to me from 20ft away while they are sitting in front of a blaring tv and I have to turn off the kettle or stop chopping to make out their words.

I prefer separate rooms...they give more walls to hang art and decorate!!

I have never agreed with so.eone so much on everything!!!!! And yes have had been through all these things and all ended up in the same junk yard. However I have had a made to measure sofa bed which although super comfy to sit on I have an extra mattress to triple the density and give a good night sleep but yes just for like 3 nights max....and please no more barn doors ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hate Open Concept, Subway Tiles, farmhouse anything. The original open concept I think came from Sarah Susanka and her jewel box homes. But she stressed a mixed of ceiling heights, dividers etc. The current open concept I believe was created by Real Estate Developers that saved money on walls and gave a wow factor of space to a home buyer walking in it for the first time. They r just big open boxes that r cheap to make. They seem to be in every new home built and I am SO bored of them . I don’t know when we all agreed to allow home builders to become architect designers, but I hope it will end soon. Yes it shows a dirty kitchen or a great view of subway tiles from your front room. Yes, waste energy. Plus parents, u don’t have to be ALWAYS watching your kids. Karen park the helicopter and let them play out of eye sight sometimes. So 😂 my vote is NO to the mass produced open concept house.

I don't mind the open concept It isn't hard for me to decorate the space though and I have a small family so I think that may play a large part in my liking them still That being said, I also have an appreciation for traditional designated rooms. Especially when they are well designed/decorated.

I am for open concept. My condo is one. It looks bigger and wider.

Open concept is a curse. Even if you have the skill and budget to make it visually appealing - there is always a noise problem. I wish I had a nice quiet place to read while my husband watches TV or has his friends over for a drink. There is no privacy - no place for "me time".

Unless you’re living alone or as a couple I feel like my biggest problem with open concept is the noise from multiple people using different parts of the space.

Super video - very informative! I feel like I have a split personality. My place is done consistently in super colorful, slightly humorous, midcentury modern and it makes me feel happy. But in my dreams, I live in a place with a Japanese vibe in indescribable colors - gold diluted with beige to an almost sparkly champagne, green diluted with greige to a pale celadon, and terra cotta diluted with beige to a pale salmon. None of these colors are really available at online stores - sigh.

Sooo many 1920s and 1930s single-family homes and duplexes in L.A. were *ruined* by open-concept renovations. HATED IT! 🤮

Granted, we never had kids, so this may color our opinion, but we do like throwing big parties, and an open concept is the best way to celebrate with a large group of people. Additionally, once you have lived in a modern open home, it's hard to go back to lots of little rooms. It's not how we generally live anymore. But, I do think you should have a dedicated separate space for an office, and bedrooms should be large enough to include a comfy chair or even a small sofa. Just my opinion.

I love having a living room separate from family room

It depends.

Enjoyed this one particularly because it’s not so amateur (…like some of the other design channels which will not be named. 🤫😂)

I am not in the Open Concept camp. It is all sixes and sevens to design for.

I prefer the old “great room” concept. The eating, visiting and lounging at the table and moving to the sofas with a nice glass of wine is more my vibe When I clear the table to a kitchen that is visible it drives me crazy to see the mess. My vote is no. Keep the kitchen separate. Who wants to see the cooking mess.

I don't know of this is due to my neuro-divergency, but I cannot exist in open concept homes. I need closed off rooms everywhere, being in a dining room and someone walking into a connected kitchen or lounge space renders me unable to continue what I'm doing. I hate it.

I’m for open concept. We have a 1600 sq feet cookie cutter house from the 80s. I guess we have a semi open concept. 😂😂

I am for open concept. However, it is more difficult for me to design the different areas to work together.

Hey Daddy, what about open plan spaces in small homes? Does everything still apply? My kitchen-dining-living area is 4 meters by 10 meters. Current plan is to go with gray, tan/brown for most thing with a few green and orange things. However white might be good for a bookshelf or plant stand.

Hate open concept. Do not like the feeling of constantly being connected to people; it impacts my concentration, particularly when cooking. Also, do not like the noise/smoke/smells carrying through everywhere. Finally, I have so few usable walls already, what with all of the glass doors, picture windows, and brick (late ‘60s house for you), most rooms have no usable spaces for art (or the tv). If I take those few walls out, I have to ditch my china cabinet, because there is nowhere else it can go. And I mean nowhere. I’d have to put the tv above the fireplace, which means the bottom of the tv must be at least 7.5 feet off the floor. (I had a designer that came through and recommended I rip out those walls to open up the space, you see…) Ultimately, different people need different spaces, and that’s fine.

Open concept is not viable in Scotland, I'm afraid but I think it looks great.

Following rules, like everything in odd numbers and 60%, 30%, and 10%, will only make your place look staid and boring. My rule is ‘break all the rules’!

You asked about open or closed spaces. I don't like open concept space.

I’ve never, EVER even liked lofts because they are open concept. 😖

Visual clutter is my repetition seems like.

I totally hate this open concept idea. I like separate rooms, I also think it’s harder to heat.

I'm more for a modified open concept space

I am doomed. I don't really like open concept, but I already bought the plan of my new house I am about to build. I guess I will have to put a Kallax bookcase between the dining room and the living room. And the noisy tv will have to go downstairs.

I think of open concept as useful in small spaces, not so much a bigger space. Even a one room loft can support room dividers

Don’t you look dapper ❤

FOR X

Should the rugs in the living area run the same way as the rug in the dinning area?

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I have no choice, mu house is an open concept😊

I like open concepts a lot in pictures and videos but I cannot mantain the kitchen as if it is never used so I prefer to close the door and hide the mess if there is. That is a distraction to see!!! So, not for me

I appreciated your styling ideas and thought you had something to say until..... Really? A Tom Ford book? Speaking of cliches. An open plan house is fine until you need to hide the mess you made while fixing dinner for guests and where do you put a misbehaving dog if you can't gate off a room or area with an easily cleaned tiled floor.

Against. Hate open concepts. It does no good for my mental health

Open concept if your home is 2000 sq ft or less. In larger homes open concept may be frankly unnecessary and also challenging to get right.