Good To Know: Entertaining with a Traditional Floor Plan

Dining space for the adults, with doors that can be closed for extra privacy.

The banquette where we eat most of our meals is perfect for the kids table.

Since the mid-1900’s, when Frank Lloyd Wright began developing large, modern living spaces, open concept homes have been growing in popularity. These homes, where a combination of the kitchen, dining, and living spaces are in one room have basically been the norm for new construction projects since the 1990’s. Due to their widespread popularity, some have said that open plan homes are one of the biggest architectural movements of the last 30 years.

There are a lot of reasons to love an open concept home. They can make your home feel larger and more open, they can provide an easy traffic flow, spaces can be multifunctional, and they can make it easier to keep an eye on small children.

However, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, homeowners are starting to see the value of a traditional, or closed, floor plan. Where we’re all spending so much time at home together, it makes sense that people have started to feel the need for more privacy. Because of this, the Wall Street Journal has predicted that traditional floor plans will be a huge design trend over the next decade. They predict that having more defined spaces for work and play will help as we continue to work, learn, and live at home.

The music/craft room can easily double as extra dining, and is perfect for older kids and teenagers.

However, the main draw of open concept homes for many home buyers continues to be home entertaining. Many people think that, if home entertainment is important to you, you have to choose open concept layout. This is not true!

I chose a traditional floor plan for my house because I want to entertain people here. I want to talk about why a closed or traditional floor plan is just as good for entertaining as an open floor plan, and why it might actually be better for your needs!

First, let’s talk about the things that are good about home entertaining in an open concept house. Because so many of the living spaces are combined, you essentially have one large entertaining space. This means that the kitchen quickly becomes the center of entertaining activity, and you can socialize with your guests while you finish food preparations.

The problem with entertaining in an open concept home is that all of the kitchen mess is on display. In addition to that, things like sound management can easily get out of hand with every person being in the same space. This can make a party in an open concept home feel loud and overwhelming.

With a traditional floor plan, you probably won’t be able to host as many guests as could fit in a large open concept home. However, the kitchen mess is more hidden, and the walls between each space help make sure that sounds and smells don’t permeate the entirety of the party. Additionally, you can have designated spaces for people to eat, which helps make sure that no one is eating on their laps, and that your furniture is more protected from accidental spills. I am excited to entertain in my traditional format house, because I think that inviting fewer people will actually lead to better conversations, and a more enjoyable party overall.

The purpose of this blog post is not to say that traditional floor plans are better than open concepts, but to let you know that both are great. If you love a traditional floor plan, but have been nervous about the idea of hosting a party in it, think about what we talked about here. You have to decide which layout is better for your family based on your needs and lifestyle. If you have a smaller home, very small children, or if you have friends and family that use mobility aids, an open concept home might be the better choice for you. Above all, we want to encourage you to not make design decisions from trends, but based on what is really the best choice for you and the people you live with!

All images by Lucy Call.