[Groxx]

Hard disagree, having used both I exclusively want everything as open as possible. The only exceptions are for bathrooms and maybe bedrooms (but honestly I like open lofts better).

Open is wildly more useful and more flexible. If you crave a room, put up a couple bookshelves. And I agree with zdragnar: every space is a social/community space in my house, so the easier the access and movement is, the better. And it's not for parties (I'm really not a fan of parties), it's just for normal living.

E.g. my house right now has a wide open upstairs bedroom and we've just divided it up to add an office. Which we've adjusted several times to make it just like we want it to be. Because we can, there aren't walls and doors to limit either space, and it's fantastic.

[RHSeeger]

> Open is wildly more useful and more flexible.

It's very much a matter of personal preference. I prefer individual rooms

- Kitchen and living/family room together means that someone doing the dishes (or the dishwasher running, depending on your model) can make enough noise that using the living/family room (for something like watching tv, but also reading) can be difficult

- Bedrooms without doors lack privacy

- Office without a door lacks the ability to block out noise when on calls (or just trying to focus)

- Office and bedroom together (without a wall) makes it harder for someone to sleep while someone else is working

Clearly, open works for some people, but it's definitely not for everyone.