Has open concept design finally run its course? Here's what we've learned

2019-03-29T12:22:00-04:00

For decades, Open Concept, and the togetherness-loving, friend-filled lifestyle it was supposed to bring, has been a home buyers’ religion, the one true way to live. Go to Houzz, the home remodeling site, type in “open concept,” and up come 221,569 photos. Over on HGTV, DeRon Jenkins, costar of the popular “Flip or Flop Nashville,” will tell you, as he recently told the Globe, that an open floor plan “allows the love to flow.” But now, experts say, people are starting to openly yearn for walls.

Uninterrupted space. This is what real estate agents, interior designers, and almost every host on HGTV have promoted for the past decade. However, design experts are saying that people are beginning to miss walls. Homeowners realize they don't want to live in this "fantasy of uninterrupted views." Perhaps having walls throughout a house can allow for the return of, dare I say, privacy. Like most design trends, open concept design grew rampant and quickly adopted by designers, architects, and anyone looking to make an impression on spatial design.

In 2018, architecture and design critic Kate Wagner shared an insightful stance on open-concept interior designs. Her article in CityLab expressed reflection and opposition to this design trend that seemed to "seduce" the globe. Wagner shared, "overall, the open concept was a reaction against years of small, low-ceilinged living, which felt restricting and stuffy to a new ...

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Has open concept design finally run its course? Here's what we've learned