Wow. A phrase I never thought to hear on HGTV.

[Liberal Veteran]

"I'm really a big fan of how the all the rooms are all sectioned off."

[handmade34]

1. wow is right...

"People in open-concept homes are realizing the walls were there for a reason" -article in the Boston Globe

[Polly Hennessey]

2. Love it.

Rooms with doors. I hate so-called great rooms or open rooms. Might have worked at medieval banquets but doesn’t work for me.

[fierywoman]

14. Apparently the open concept is going out of style.

[Chipper Chat]

3. What a novel idea!

This sarcasm comes from one who grew up in a Southern Indiana shotgun house.

[3catwoman3]

5. Confessing ignorance here.

What is a shotgun house?

[Polly Hennessey]

6. Me too.

What is a shotgun house. My visual is a house full of holes. That can’t be right.

[Lars39]

8. Not quite...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_house

[underpants]

10. Okay I learned something

I thought a shotgun house was one with the living area separated from the cooking area with a walking space in between. You could shoot a shotgun in the middle and not hit anyone.

I was wrong.

[Lars39]

13. I didn't know their history.

Glad I looked it up.

[area51]

18. "You may find yourself /

Living in a shotgun shack."

[denbot]

20. .

And you may find yourself
Living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the…

[Lars39]

7. Here ya go:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_house

[Chipper Chat]

21. Thanks Lars.

Didnt know my post would generate this much attention.

[Lars39]

22. All thanks to you, Chipper Cat, we learned a lot

by accident. I felt like a little kid reading thru the encyclopedia again.

[Chipper Chat]

23. Our shotgun house was in Madison indiana.

When you walked in the front door you could actually see the back door four rooms back. You could fire a rifle and the bullet would exit out the back door. They are misnamed because the buckshot would all dissipate into the walls before it got to the back porch.

[Lars39]

24. Hadn't thought of the buckshot scatter. :-)

[IrishEyes]

4. I hate open floor plans. I thought I was the only one.

I want a house with separate rooms.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. Me, too. I never understood the open floorplan fad.

I want separate rooms that can be closed off, especially the kitchen. I don't want guests to be able to see every inch of my house and I don't want to entertain people (not that I entertain much) with the mess from dinner sitting there in full view. Fortunately I live in a house that was built in 1885, and it has lots of interior doors.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

37. Open floor plans make sense when space is at a premium. Hallways and walls take up valuable space

That’s why most of the new or rehabbed 2 bedroom units here in Chicago move kitchens to the front great rooms. Often times we see master bedrooms in the back with access to the deck from the bedroom - I’m not a big fan of that layout but it does afford an extra 3 or 4 feet to the master bedroom.

Having two dishwashers is nice to have when entertaining.

[TeapotInATempest]

28. Me too.

[Phentex]

33. Nope. Same here. I don't want to open the front door and be in the kitchen...

I like getting away to other rooms.

[Luciferous]

38. Me too! In our current house the kitchen is open to the family room, but I don't mind

that so much because it's closed off from the rest of the main floor.

[ProudLib72]

11. So we've come full circle, and now rooms that are "sectioned off" are the new thing?

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Do you watch the renovation shows? Ever see the lengths people go to in order to have an open floor plan? They have to use massive steel I beams between supports when a load bearing wall is just too unsightly to live with. Let me tell you, it ain't easy getting a 20' I beam inside a house, putting it in position, and securing it.

[JDC]

12. I just read an article on how open concept/Great rooms are trending out

Walls and separation are making a comeback apparently.

[fierywoman]

15. Personally I can't wait for kitchen islands to go.

[Beartracks]

16. Damn. My spouse still wants that some day, along with a great room.

Some day, the thinking goes, we'll be financially able to build the house of our dreams with a big kitchen and island open to the living room -- and apparently when we finally manage to get that done, it will already be old-fashioned.

==========

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

25. Kitchen islands are OK if you have a pretty large kitchen

and could use the extra workspace. But too often, because they are fashionable, they are installed in kitchens too small to accommodate them and they're just in the way.

[fierywoman]

27. As usual, VO, I totally agree!

[Tikki]

17. The kitchen IS NOT the heart of my home.

The family room is. Or on some occasions the dining room is where we gather.

If one of us wants to go into to kitchen to make something..why would the rest of us follow them into the kitchen?

Tikki

[customerserviceguy]

19. Isn't that the channel

that tries to make me feel bad about the place I live in?

Doesn't work with me, the place we bought two years ago was owned by a lady who had stacks of HGTV magazine in a few areas in the house, and she took a lot of their suggestions.

[The Genealogist]

26. Good!

I've never understood why people like this so called open concept. I've seen so many mid century houses on the web where they have destroyed the interiors by taking out all the walls. I hope the next thing that goes is painting houses gunmetal gray. Maybe this is just a local trend, but idea seen neighborhoods where half the houses have been painted that depressing color.

[SharonClark]

29. Brass hardware is back. Glad I haven't updated from the 70's!

[Tikki]

32. I love, love Brass...Especially the polished Brass two-toned with Chrome.

Looks rich without breaking the bank.

Tikki

[Phentex]

35. I've seen this!

On many of the latest shows and in newer houses, brass is back.

Our front door hardware is brass and I've never liked it. I see it as a warm color and the house is a cool color. But it's one of those things that hasn't been a priority. It works. And I live in a tear-down.

[Croney]

30. I rented a furnished shotgun house in New Orleans in the '60s.

The parlor (front room) had a red velvet Victorian sofa and matching chairs. The next room was the bedroom, and then the kitchen, and then the bathroom, and then the small fenced back yard.

Between each room were wide pocket doors.

That house is probably long gone, even before Katrina.

[northoftheborder]

31. Pardon me, but I love my open living area/dining/kitchen.

In all my houses (5) except one, which had a "family room"/kitchen combo, the kitchen has been inadequate, small, OK for one person, but awkward for any helpers. Yes, I could close the door on the cooking mess, but that happened all the time, creating a permanently messy kitchen. When I built my new house, my kitchen was the most important area, with a huge island, beautiful counters and appliances, paint colors coordinating with adjacent areas, plenty of space between work tops for 3-4 people to operate and help me prepare food. Since it is open to view, I now keep it clean and clear since it is part of our two living areas. I love it, and so do my family and friends. Works for me! My family is casual, and I do not do "formal" entertaining.

[Liberal Veteran]

36. That's cool if you like it. My original post was poking fun at the constant refrain on HGTV...

...about having "open concept". For years now every single show has been about knocking down walls and people turning up their noses at homes that aren't "open concept" enough to the point that it's almost comical.

I don't particularly care for it myself and I was quite surprised to hear someone actually say they like rooms that were separate.

[Phentex]

34. Not sure if I believe you!

Cause all I hear is open concept.

It will be refreshing if this is the new trend.