Open-plan kitchens – surely here to stay?

1. Kitchen, bathroom and interior designer Natalie Du Bois, Du Bois Design

They are extremely practical in today’s world. With demanding jobs, people have less and less time to spend with family.

So having a kitchen area that is open, where you can multitask, check on kids doing homework nearby, or even catch up on the news is a positive. 

We also love entertaining in New Zealand, and we like our guests to be with us when we prepare food. 

Gone are the days of the mother cooking in a hidden-away small utilitarian space not big enough to swing a cat in.

2. Morgan Cronin, Cronin Kitchens

Really, there's no choice – open-plan kitchen and open-plan home living is definitely, I think, with us forever. 

Obviously, we've got sculleries and those sort of things, which gives the client the alternative to have the open-plan ultimate kitchen, but with a scullery in the background.

But definitely, open-plan kitchens are here to stay.

3. Kirsty Davis, KD Kitchen Design

I do believe they are here to stay – I still get a number of clients on a daily basis wanting an open-plan kitchen.

Even in a renovation situation, people are trying to achieve that open plan – potentially by removing walls.

I just think it works so well with our lifestyle here in New Zealand where you are trying to create that indoor outdoor flow.

4. Shane George, Shane George Design

Yes, I think they are and I think that's because really a kitchen is a hub for the home – it's a social area, it's where everyone likes to connect when they're working. 

It’s connecting with the rest of the family; knowing what's going on – it’s eating, it’s entertaining. 

So I do think open plan is here to stay.

5. Leonie Hamill, Cube Dentro

 Yes they are here to stay, open-plan kitchens.

 We've gone through the phase of having separate rooms and open plan has been with us for quite some time now. 

And it is going to be staying with us, especially in New Zealand.

It's the way we live and interact with people. We are very social and so I don't see any movement away from that. 

I feel personally that open plan is going to be extended even further, inside/outside.

So it looks like it's a professional consensus, open-plan is here to stay, with mess and clutter hidden away in the scullery or behind closed pocket doors – better get ready for that widely coordinated interior!

Story by: Trendsideas