Our home has an open-concept floor plan with an eat-in kitchen open to the family room. One big space. We bought into the idea that it's a great set-up for entertaining, enjoying family time, etc. Fast forward 10 years. If I had the choice to do it again, I'd choose a house with a kitchen as its own separate enclosed room. I've found that the open-concept rooms only lead to louder noise. Too much competition for air space. When a group is gathered, multiple conversations simultaneously go on from one end of the room to another. At other times, the television competes with the volume of the dishwasher/microwave/exhaust fan, . . . . I've learned that I miss the days of quietly washing the dishes after dinner, enjoying some thinking time or some soft singing. I miss the coziness an enclosed kitchen can provide. If I had my druthers, we'd wall our kitchen in but I think that might not bode well for resale someday as it seems open-concept is what people want.
What do you prefer and why?