Open Kitchens Vs Closed Kitchens

It's basically what you want..it sounds like you want a closed kitchen so do it and don't worry about the future.

If you ask me, closed kitchens make the space feel smaller and disrupt the flow to the dining area. Open kitchens just opens up the entire space...the space is usually perceived as feeling a lot larger = $$$

if you can easily put up a wall, how hard would it be for a prospective buyer to take down further down the road. I think the real question is whether you're planning to stay in the apartment long enough to make to cost of wall and cabinets worth it over the time that you're going to be there.

it also depends on what (if anything) you cook. with an open kitchen, the smells, pots and pans, etc. are there for all to notice.

Maybe think about buying some furniture/fixtures that give you the space you need... also cheaper then renovating. I think open kitchens are more desired generally speaking.

In this city, where apartments are generally small, open kitchens elongate te space. Downside is that if you cook frequently, particularly in the summer months, it will heat up the livign area significantly, end result being more A/C usage and higher Con Ed bills. Closed kitchens are better suited for larger spaces and houses. Closing your kitchen off will turn off many buyers in this town. Some apartments here have "murphy" or "pullman" kitchens which aren't even kitchens but rather portions of the wall which house kitchen appliances. Tudor City comes to mind.

Well, different strokes I guess because I detest open kitchens. I like to cook or just grab a beer, then go into the living area watch my game and leave all suggestions of a kitchen behind.

also, presuming you have a modern stainless steel kitchen, it becomes a design element in an apartment. no sense hiding a beautiful kitchen behind drywall. open kitchen also allows for a dining counter which also saves space. the one thing i do hate is the half assed open kitchens, or window kitchens as i cal them where there's a rectabgular opening in the wall. very ugly and makes little sense.

Is there any way to open up a kitchen that has plumping inside the wall you'd want to tear down?

So your living room is one big kitchen? Ugh.

#11, you might be in the minority. I think most people prefer open kitchens.

Count me in as one of the "minority". Don't like to hang around kitchen appliances regardless how high end or nice looking.

go to every new condo. they're all open kitchens.

i dont like open kitchens either but agree that all those new developments are not. so i didn't buy new development and happy with the renovations i made.

I guess I'm in the minority also... and just because they're in every condo...doesn't mean it's a good idea. But OP, you even say it, you don't like them, so don't do it, you already know your answer, I say go with your gut.

#16 The OPs gut has bad taste. I mean get over it..it's a sign of the times...don't get stuck in the past the world is moving forward and if you don't move along with it you'll pay the price at time of sale. The idiot who said that upon sale prospective buyers would just have to tear down the wall is living on another planet...you'll wind paying for that rehab job in the form of a price reduction, etc.

#4 here, aka "The idiot who said that upon sale prospective buyers would just have to tear down the wall". #17, your rude tone notwithstanding, the cost of tearing down a wall OP puts up should be pretty minimal. If she's going to be there for a while, the cost of paying for that will be far outweighed by the value of having the apartment the way she wants it. Or, did you not realize that people have to live in apartments, not just sell them?

#18 is right. People should outfit their apartments the way that will make them happy, not only with an eye to re-sale. None of us has a crystal ball, and in five years open kitchens could be oh so passé.

#19 is right -- open kitchens have come into fashion and gone out of fashion a few times since WWII. That, regardless of individual preferences. And the main arguments for open vs. closed are both valid: social and spacious vs. no dirty pots, pans & clutter to see.

#18 the thing is that the OP seemed to be focused on the potential decrease in value if she put up a wall

I like open kitchens. I love to see my woman cooking for me while I sit on my fat ass watching the yankees and/or telenovelas.

Bravo! #22

#22, if you were a real Yankees fan you'd be too focused to see your woman -- and she'd still be able to hear you in a closed kitchen when you yell for another beer. Then when the game's over you could go for a walk in your Park Slope neighborhood and greet the other lesbian couples. [I don't buy that "Brooklyn is Mets territory because the Yankees are the enemies of the Dodgers crap", by the way. Nobody is a Mets fan except maybe Bostonians.]

As for value, most buyers can't visualize anything, and most don't want to have to do any renov work, even if it's minor.

#24-- you are a tool.

I think every new condo has open kitchens because the rooms in new condos are so tiny that they need to use every square inch of space as not to make it look tiny and claustrophobic. I think if you bought an apt and are thinking about open vs closed, look at the overall look of the architecture and your furniture. Old prewar apts look silly with open kitchens. Open kitchens are a more modern look. So see whether you want to go for a more modern look or transitional look.

I agree with the above poster that the new condos use it to make space larger.

Something else I have noticed and dont like with the new condos is the sometimes overwhelming size of the bathrooms. I think it is a bad use of limited space.

#26 and #27 are absolutely correct, IMO, that new condos are using open kitchens to make (often) tiny living spaces appear larger (although I think there is also the perception that open kitchens are more modern and people want them). IMO, open kitchens are great in a true loft. In some of the smaller of the new condos (think Slate, for example) it is like your kitchen is literally inside your living room. Ugh!

Also depends on your lifestyle. If you have a family and your kitchen is an eat in, keep it that way. It's a great place for them to do homework, etc.

"IMO, open kitchens are great in a true loft. In some of the smaller of the new condos (think Slate, for example) it is like your kitchen is literally inside your living room. Ugh!"

Great point. I'm usually not big on open kitchens for the reasons others have already stated, but I might be willing to tolerate one in a huge, sprawling loft.