What Suits Your Taste? Open Or Closed Kitchen

Kitchen is an important part of any household. With the emergence of modern architecture, the concept of modern kitchen emerged in India. A popular model in the West, open kitchens are increasingly catching up in Indian architecture and design. As modular kitchens are being designed in an open kitchen format, this has changed the stereotypical concept of a closed kitchen. MakaanIQ discusses the pros and cons of open and closed kitchens.

The Open Kitchen

The concept of an open kitchen became popular in the early 1990s. An open kitchen is one that is adjacent to other rooms of a house, usually the living or the dining room. This type of kitchen is generally open from one side or more. The

Pros

• As there are lesser walls, an open kitchen tends to get more natural light and hence is well-lit and ventilated.
• An open kitchen can keep you entertained while you are cooking. During your time in the kitchen, you can also get involved in the activities that are going on in the adjacent room such as watching TV, having conversation with your family or guests or keeping a watch on your child while she is playing in the room.
• An open kitchen adds more space to your home. It also makes your home appear more spacious and bigger.
• If you are a fan of a fancy kitchenware and crockery and like to showcase them in a glass cabinet, an open kitchen gives you a chance to do that.
• If the kitchen is closer to the dining area, serving becomes easier and faster.

The Cons

• An open kitchen has its own set of limitations. Dirty or messy kitchen is more evident in such type of kitchens. Be it dirty utensils lying in the sink or the mess on the kitchen shelf, all will be showcased in an open kitchen.
• The noise of the utensils or kitchen appliances may be distracting for those who are busy watching TV, having a chit-chat or other activities in the adjacent room.
• Another major drawback of an open kitchen is the aroma of the spices and the tadkas, which is an important part of any Indian cuisine, which can envelope the entire house.

The Closed Kitchen

As the name suggests, closed kitchen is a closed area. It is indeed a separate room in the house.

The Pros

• All the mess in the kitchen gets hidden in a closed kitchen.
• The aromas and the smell of the cooking and the food largely remains inside a closed kitchen.
• A closed kitchen has more walls which means more space for cabinets, storage and more room for appliances.
• The sound of appliances and cooking is also confined to the kitchen.
• For those who love their kitchen as their den, a closed kitchen gives them privacy while cooking.
• If you don't want your guests to disturb you while cooking or you want your dining to be formal, then a closed kitchen is an ideal choice for you.

The Cons

• A closed kitchen gets lesser natural light and air.
• While serving food, you will have to get all the dishes and crockery on the dining area which makes it very formal, even at the time when you are serving your family.

What best suits your home?

• It completely depends on an individual choice how she likes her kitchen to be. If you need privacy while cooking, opt for a closed kitchen. If you like to be social while preparing your meals, then an open kitchen is ideal for you. However, if you want you can also get a mix of both open and closed kitchen by making the following changes:
• You can have a glass partition between your kitchen and adjacent room so that you can see through.
• A pass-through window can also serve the same purpose to connect with other parts of your home.
• You can also opt for half wall, half glass option.
• In an open kitchen, you can choose an extra-deep sink to hide the messy dishes.