Kitchen and living room

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1

Should they be on the same floor? Is it that different from having a closed up kitchen? what do you think?

2

Personally, I love having kitchen very near living room so the people doing food prep, cooking & clean up are near and within earshot of everyone.

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3

My opinion is that kitchen and living room (or great room) should be on the same floor.

You can have a closed kitchen either the kitchen on the same floor as other living spaces.

4

Personally, I prefer the living room near the kitchen but not open concept. But our house is small compared to many. I want the wall so that if, say, people are watching a game in the living room, the people in the kitchen can still talk and be heard. There’s a house like mine that’s been beautifully renovated. They took down the wall between the kitchen and living room, but it works, IMO, because they added another room off the dining room that acts as the TV room. The TV can blare, but the separation means everyone can be heard.

ETA: I prefer and have only lived in one-story houses. I can see the appeal of a rumpus room/man cave/whatever downstairs.

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5

Strong yes to having the living room (or family room) on the same floor as a kitchen. I saw a townhouse once that had just the kitchen and a small dining room on one floor and the living room on another. It was an immediate “no” for me. I don’t know how I’d ever entertain the way we like with that floor plan.

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6

Same floor. Carrying food/drink between floors would be a constant irritant, so you would probably want a separate kitchenette if on different floors.

Our house works well (1950’s): Large living room is adjacent to a small dining area (L-shaped). Dining table can be extended into the living area if a very large gathering needs to be seated. Dining area is open to the kitchen with double doors. Kitchen is not visible from the living area, but the flow works well when open.

7

I can’t picture any house I’ve been in that didn’t have the kitchen and either living room or family room on the same floor. That would be especially hard for me if it was a small kitchen. I find that if we’re entertaining 8 or so people, we all wind up in the kitchen until people are kicked out to get ready to eat.

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8

I’m kind of messy so prefer to have pocket doors that can close to hide my kitchen mess but open when we prefer open.

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