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Is the Open Concept Layout Done For?

Is the Open Concept Layout Done For?

By Chris Petry

Walls. Door. Outside walls are, of course, crucial. Their weight provides much needed stability to your house’s frame and, in concert with the roof and doors, they exist to insure the outside stays outside. Inside walls too have a dual purpose. First, they hide load bearing supports and second, you can hang your signed sports jersey or family photo collage on them. Yep, that’s totally all they’re good for. Insert whistling sound here. Oh, wait! No, no, no. That’s not all they’re good for. Walls also provide this thing called privacy. Privacy, yes, I adore thee. Don’t forget the humble door whose incredible ability to block the sights and sounds beyond its threshold, when closed, isn’t given the credit it deserves.
 


Privacy has become something of a prized commodity in recent years. With social media, surveillance cameras on every corner and a general societal shift toward living in the open, privacy has taken a major hit. Perhaps that’s why, for the first time in a decade or so, open concept living appears to be taking a little bit of a backseat. Surprise, walls and doors are in again!
 
Maybe because isolation on the other side of our doors has become next to impossible, people are beginning to reassess the value of that solitude at home. Think about it. All day long, everything you do is open to evaluation, or worse, scrutiny. From the time you leave your driveway, big brother is on the prowl. There’s a camera on the traffic light at the end of your street. While it can certainly be useful in examining traffic incidents, it’s also a reminder you’re not alone, even while the passenger seat is decidedly empty. When you pull into the gas station to fuel up and grab your coffee… surprise, you’re on camera. At work, there are cameras in every corner to deter burglars. Sometimes, you’ll even be shocked to notice a camera several miles into the woods while hiking at a state park. Not to stoke paranoia but anyone walking past you can be filming or photographing you at any time with their phone. The lack of control we have in regards to our privacy in public makes us nostalgic for it at home.
 
This article from Better Homes and Gardens points out that this shift probably began during the pandemic. When people working at home learned the true meaning of privacy. They were forced to remind their children they were on a Zoom or explain to the cat he couldn’t lay on the keyboard one too many times. The answer? They put up walls and a door. Which definitely stopped the kids but the cat had no use for rules so he just dug at the threshold until you let him in anyway.
 
As more and more property ads started marketing home offices as a standout feature, it became more and more obvious that private retreats were sorely missed in the modern home. Finally, homeowners began to question if Room A really needed to be open to Room B. Do you need a good peak at the cat litter box from the kitchen?


 
For a long time, kitchens that overlooked Great Rooms or Family Rooms became the norm. Now, people seem to want to be able to congregate in their Family Room and watch a carefully-curated piece of cinematic drivel without an eyeline to the kitchen or the possible activity that might be occurring there. Who wants to hear the microwave or the clanging of oversized bowls while they’re heavily-invested in The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies? R.I.P. Ray Dennis Steckler.
 
This is fertile ground for a phenomenon known as atmospheric spillover. This is when the function or utility of a space is hindered by the sights, smells, actions or vibes of another because of their close proximity. Effectively rendering the purpose or effectively of the other null and void. You might, for instance, associate the laundry room with the smell of Woolite Dark (maybe that’s just me). You don’t want your office to smell that way. That makes the office less comfy because it just reminds you of the work you need to do AFTER work. Each room serves a unique purpose and has its own atmosphere which influences both your mood and the actions you take in that room. The only time you want spillover is when the smell of bacon and coffee wafts its way into the bedroom or shower in the morning. No one’s opposing that gloriousness.
 
Putting up walls, or putting back up walls where they once were, can go a long way into making each space in your house more distinct, more special. If there’s one story in residential real estate for 2025, the reality of the long-speculated decline of open layouts just might be it.