I am building a new home, and my kitchen will be, I guess, semi-open to the family room. There will be an arched, cased opening to the family room. When looking toward the kitchen from family room, you will see about 1/3 of the kitchen, which is perfect for this messy cook!

I also resisted the urgings from my architect about putting the sink and dishwasher in my island. I don't want all those dirty dishes piled up on the island! On the outer wall of the kitchen, I can corral the stuff and not have it be on display in the middle of everything!

This got me thinking. I'm not generally a cleanup-as-you go person either - at least not full cleanup (I do throw out trash, put large items away, and toss things into the cleanup sink), but when mealtime comes, I don't "see" it. I guess I subconsciously ignore it. It helps if you turn the lights out in the kitchen as well (but that doesn't work during the summer for us when it's light out until 8:30pm or later!).

[We took down the wall b/w our Kitchen and DR and have no regrets whatsoever - it has made our kitchen seem bigger than it is, has allowed us to "include" someone sitting at the table in the DR in conversation w/someone in the kitchen, etc.]

So, I wonder if it's more a question as to whether you can shut things out when you don't need to see them? Maybe being the oldest of 6 siblings and growing up in a small house has something to do with my ability to filter out things I don't need to see/hear....

I am a clean as you go cook...I don't like eating and then having to clean icky, crusty dishes. The kitchen in our new house - which we hope to be moving into by Christmas - is open to the living room/dining room/main entry. The sink is on the peninsula...The cabinets are gorgeous - rustic hickory (perfect for a log house), so hopefully any messes will be overshadowed by the cabinets! :-)

I'm another clean-as-you-go cook, since I've only had tiny NYC apartment kitchens before we bought this house. In a small kitchen with miniscule counter space, I learned to clean as I went or the meal suffered (pasta clumping into a doughy mass as I'm frantically pushing aside dirty dishes to find space for the colander...)

In our planned reno I will have the sink in the island and our main eating area close by, but it's a deep sink so I can hide most of the dishes. Most of the time, by the time the food hits the table, my prep bowls are rinsed and stacked in the sink already; it's the plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery that create bulkier mess.

My objections to open-plan spaces with the kitchen in plain sight aren't about the mess, but the noise. I don't want other-room noise breaking my cooking concentration or interfering with my cooking music; and the rest of the household doesn't want to hear my cooking music or clatter either.

In my renovated kitchen I've become a clean as you go cook. It's a bit easier for me now as the kids are all grown and out on their own. I do find it so much more conducive to my frequent mass cooking/baking marathons. Today I made 2 batches of thanksgiving muffins, an apple cake, quiche for tonight's dinner, and a big breakfast for DH. I'm relaxing now cause my kitchen is as clean as when I woke up this morning. When enjoying a full on baking day I hand wash measuring cups, mixer bowl, and attachments since I constantly need to re-use them. Once you get into the habit it gets easier. The part I dislike the most is the constant emptying of the DW. I'll run the 30 minute quick wash for bowls, cutting boards, etc. I know it's not the most economically and ecologically responsible thing to do but it makes a multi-treat day doable.

I'm not a clean as I go-er either, although I'm trying to develop that habit since our kitchen will be wide open to the LR. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Actually, here's to hoping that having an organized, well-planned GW kitchen makes it easier TO keep it clean as I go!

I'm a bit of a clean-as-I-go-er...mainly due to necessity in the current kitchen...if things like mixing bowls or other prep items are out, I have absolutely no space to continue fixing the rest of the stuff. But, at the end, when everything is all coming together and going to the table, the pots and pans sit on the range until after dinner - since it's generally just the two of us, I usually plate our dinner rather than use serving dishes and "leftovers" are typically in the pots and pans until after we finish eating. This is the way I did things when we had a semi open kitchen (which was significantly smaller than my current kitchen, but infinitely easier to work in) in our previous home and I just never paid attention to the mess until after I'm done.

I try to be a clean as you go while cooking and the kitchen looked okay just before serving; however, when taking food out of the pots and pans, those items were left over in my line of sight.

Carsonheim: I am with you, I did not want my sink in the island. The architect said he could see me washing up while the others were watching tv (I would be able to see the tv). "Not me," I said. I would consider the cook top on an island, but I ended up with both on the wall with just island tops so I can spread out. Yay!

Karen

I am definitely a clean-as-you-goer, good thing with my sink as the hub of both prep and cleanup.

If we're entertaining, I do NOT want them in the kitchen, breaking my concentration. Besides, I do most of my prep earlier, and am just finishing off or letting DH the sauce guy work his magic (and he is NOT clean-as-you-go). While we eat in the DR or retire to the LR for dessert, I don't want to look at the dishes, I don't want my guests loading the DW, I want to reeeeelax.

Remember, as Julia Child told us, what happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen. Only the food comes out to the table. (Not that I've ever dropped a chicken on the floor...)

I do like that my kitchen is big enough for a breakfast nook if someone wants to hang out, but they are not leaning over the peninsula; I like that from there double doors lead to the DR and LR, so I can keep tabs on the activity and contribute.

I have a little TV in the kitchen, so I can watch while cooking or cleaning up, and someone else can watch in the LR, and we don't disturb one another.

So count me in the "Give me walls, people" camp :)

I like walls from the noise standpoint.

Very timely. DH made dinner for the kids. It looked like my frig exploded all over every pot, pan and most of our dishes. The menu: plain noodles, carrot sticks, and a batch of scrambled egg whites. And he makes fun of me!

It's true though. I am a messy cook. I clean as I go. But, I am often just trying to keep up with myself. I don't usually end with a clean kitchen. If I bake, I clean as I go. I end with a clean kitchen.

Our general attitude is that if the food is good enough and the company entertaining enough then a little (or big) mess is easy enough to overlook for a while. I was never able to go to bed w a dirty dish in the sink. Then I had our third, just more than 3 years after the first. I have found peace with soaking things in the sink for the next day.

I don't like seeing the mess while I'm eating, even if I'm eating by myself. And when I have guests over I'm glad we can eat in the calm dining room with the walls and door between us and the kitchen. Like bpathome I don't like having the guests load the dw because I want them to enjoy the meal and companionship and not have to think about dishes. So, I like walls!

No walls and most times I clean up and wash and replace singles of equipment ready for the next user before eating.
It's pretty easy with 30yrs experience.

I'm in the clean-as-you go camp for 2 reasons. First, in my immediate family, I'm the cook and the cleaner, for various reasons.

Second, for holidays with extended family (how timely!), I've experienced all too much how a single meal can equate to:

4+ hours of prep time
1 hour of meal/family time
2+ hours of clean-up time

The above equation isn't at my home, but at my in-laws. Mind you, multiple family members are involved in prep and clean-up, and this makes for some of the fun around the holidays. But keeping it simple, including cleaning as I go, is a lesson learned in terms of how much guilt a guest may have in helping with clean-up.

I'm in the "Give me walls, people" camp too. Not that I make a big mess when I cook a regular meal, but with the labor division in our household I appreciate not having to see the kitchen after the meal is over.

My job is to put a meal on the table, and my DH is responsible for the cleanup. When we finish eating, he takes the dishes, silverware, etc. to the kitchen, and I move to the living room with a cup of tea to relax there with a magazine or book. There is no view of the kitchen from the living room.

Our kitchen is semi-open to the dining room. Besides the doorway, it has some sort of a window-like cutout with 70's style spindle inserts in it. We can see the whole kitchen from the dining table through that window. I'm thinking of replacing the spindle inserts with a textured semi-transparent glass pane. This way the kitchen would still get the light from the large windows in the dining room. At the same time, everyone in the dining room would be spared from seeing all the pots and pans.

Two DWs! It's made a huge difference!

That, and a big single sink to hide the bits not finished.

The clean up area is not visible, just the prep and cooking area can be seen, and we do mostly clean as we go, and the rest goes in the DWs or down in the sink till later.

Not a fan of the "Open Concept" type of home. I like having each room do what it is supposed to do and not flow together. I like the fact I can just close the door to the kitchen and not worry about the mess or smells. It reduces the noise factor to the other rooms also. I can listen to Christmas music(in October,lol) or the oldies in the kitchen when I cook/bake, while the other members of the family are watching TV. Having walls has worked well for this cook! NancyLouise

Not a fan of the "Open Concept" type of home. I like having each room do what it is supposed to do and not flow together. I like the fact I can just close the door to the kitchen and not worry about the mess or smells. It reduces the noise factor to the other rooms also. I can listen to Christmas music(in October,lol) or the oldies in the kitchen when I cook/bake, while the other members of the family are watching TV. Having walls has worked well for this cook! NancyLouise

Walls. Oh, dear deity, walls.

I can remember buying my first home--as a single person, I was looking at condos. My guess is that 99.999% of condos just plunk the kitchen in a corner of the living room, adding a counter/eating bar to create "separation." My agent had a hard time understanding that I wanted a kitchen that was a separate room.

Open concept may be great for entertaining or if you have kids. But I am home alone a lot more than I entertain and I don't have kids.

What I want is walls to contain the noise of the dishwasher and doors to keep cooking odors contained. The idea of having the kitchen in the living room and the smells and grease getting into my nice furniture is not appealing.

And there's the dirty dishes issues, as expressed by lavender lass. There are mornings I don't have time to wash my cereal bowl before dashing out to work. There are days when I eat dinner and just want to collapse.

So while the dishes get done promptly most days, some days they don't. And I don't want to curl up in the living room to relax and have those dirty dishes staring at me from across the room, reminding me that I'm being lazy.

Walls. Oh, dear deity, walls.

I can remember buying my first home--as a single person, I was looking at condos. My guess is that 99.999% of condos just plunk the kitchen in a corner of the living room, adding a counter/eating bar to create "separation." My agent had a hard time understanding that I wanted a kitchen that was a separate room.

Open concept may be great for entertaining or if you have kids. But I am home alone a lot more than I entertain and I don't have kids.

What I want is walls to contain the noise of the dishwasher and doors to keep cooking odors contained. The idea of having the kitchen in the living room and the smells and grease getting into my nice furniture is not appealing.

And there's the dirty dishes issues, as expressed by lavender lass. There are mornings I don't have time to wash my cereal bowl before dashing out to work. There are days when I eat dinner and just want to collapse.

So while the dishes get done promptly most days, some days they don't. And I don't want to curl up in the living room to relax and have those dirty dishes staring at me from across the room, reminding me that I'm being lazy.

I'm pretty much a slob when I cook. But everything goes into the huge cleanup sink so I don't see it. (One reason a prep sink is so handy for me - I can still wash veggies or drain pasta.) When I'm cooking a lot, the mess spreads all over the counter next to the sink, but this doesn't happen when we entertain (I prep ahead!). The kitchen is in full view from the DR and FR, and partial view from the LR. But, like buehl, I'm good at selective vision. The only time my open concept layout has bothered me was a few weeks ago when I was searing bacon-wrapped venison tenderloins (yum!) while guests were hanging out at the island. I didn't put the hood on high until it was too late. When I did, it was LOUD, and the smoke and grease filled the air for a while. Not the best way to visit with guests.

LOL! You've reminded me of 7th grade Home Ec. The assignment was a breakfast of scrambled eggs and whatever. I plated the eggs and then took a moment to wash the pan and bowl as I didn't want to do it afterwards. Mrs. White "suggested" that the cooking stuff should be washed after eating. I really didn't want to eat with that task looming, so I washed first. She marked me down. You know, I've never cared for scrambled eggs with milk in them.

I guess I don't have selective vision...well, maybe I do, but not with dishes. I know I should be doing them, but there is a long list of things I need to do first, or I'm just too tired to care. Even before my husband got sick, I seemed to prefer leaving the mess until morning and cleaning up then. Maybe I function better with sunlight? :)

Oh....and another good reason I need durable countertops that can take abuse. I still want a little chunk of marble somewhere, but not in plain view of the rest of the house! LOL

I can't stand anything in the sink - yuck - If the DW is full, I pile on the counter until I can load it - but in the sink, everything is wet and slimy. So, I do a bit of both - I fill the DW until full and the leftovers are above waiting for a bath.

I am like A2 except if it's just the big stuff that doesn't fit I wash them by hand. I feel so behind if I wake up and the dishwasher is full and clean and there are dirty dishes in the sink. Definitely a bad start to the day then.

I clean as you go and love to have the prep dishes in the DW before we sit down to eat! It doesn't always happen that way but that is what I try to do. I feel like half the work is already done by the time we clear the dishes from the meal. Not sure how I came to be this way but that is how I am.

You are not alone. Our 1939 house has a swinging door that closes off the kitchen from the dining room, which I LOVE! When we sit down to dinner I do not see a mess. I see dinner set on a table, my husband, a bottle of wine and relaxation.

I too am a messy cook. And though we tend to clean as we go, there are often a number of dishes that are involved with prepping the meal right before we eat that don't get washed until after dinner. I'm glad I don't have to look at them.

It probably helps we have a small breakfast table in the kitchen where company can sit while a meal is being prepared so it's not just all kitchen with no seating. I could also see that a large deep single sink would help contain the mess.

I am perplexed by having the large family dining table in the middle of the kitchen. If you do have selective views that would probably help. In rentals of our past, the mess bugged me so I don't think I have the quality of not seeing the mess.