The kitchen is no longer in a corner in new homes and has come to have a central position, in the living room of the house: according to data from the Association of Developers of Catalonia (APCE), 70% of the homes in new construction for sale in the province of Barcelona have an open kitchen… a percentage that goes from 49% in those with four rooms to 70% in those with five or more and reaches 94% in those with only one.
The open kitchen reflects the impact on architecture of the gender perspective, says Sandra Bestraten, president of the Barcelona branch of the Col•legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya. “Now there is more co-responsibility in housework and men also cook. Gone are the families in which women spend hours locked up in the kitchen and the men who cook want to continue being in the living room, at the center of domestic life”. Collaboration in the kitchen, even with children to make sweets, has led to the fact that in many cases two cores with two burners are used, instead of the traditional four-burner plate, so that two people can cook at the same time, he points out. .
The president of the APCE, Xavier Vilajoana, points out that “buyers naturally accept the open kitchen”, partly because they tend to be young people, who already have another lifestyle. “In recent years we have had technical advances that make this possible: powerful extractor hoods, integral paneling, high-quality design and an improvement in vinyl flooring, which allows for the same flooring as in the living room.” In his experience, “the kitchen is only closed when it is so big that a table can be set up to eat there. The closed, small kitchen, which forces us to eat outside, is the one we use the least, ”he explains.
Marta Vall-llosera, president of the Higher Council of Architectural Associations of Spain, acknowledges that the open kitchen gives a greater sensation of spaciousness, and lengthens the views “and is also a good selling point” for the home, but considers that the The key is that it adapts to the lifestyle of the family that will live there.
“Today you eat out a lot. And there are many families in which nobody at home rarely eats, and they dine lightly. But an open kitchen is not good for everyone, because of the smoke and smells”. In his opinion, a balance must be found between use and aesthetics, which in many cases could be the installation of sliding doors “which allows the kitchen to be given independence when needed”.
Bestraten points out that in rehabilitation projects most clients request an open kitchen, while developers are usually open to closing it at the buyer’s request. “If the client buys off-plan, and at a very early stage of the work, we can make small changes, such as putting up a partition if the ventilation and habitability regulations can be met,” says Vilajoana, although in his opinion It is rare, because it loses useful meters.
The open kitchen, Bestraten points out, has the additional advantage of making the home more accessible. “We have to build houses in which we can spend our whole lives. The open-plan kitchen removes corridors and facilitates the mobility of a person in a wheelchair, for example. Small details also help: make square spaces, and give the bathroom a few more centimeters or put a point of light near the door to be able to install a digital opening system one day, for example”.
Changes in family life have also changed small apartments: in those with two rooms, the most frequent (60%) is that they have two bathrooms. “Buyers value it a lot. Because we take better care of ourselves and because they are houses in which 2 to 4 people will surely live, and it is a room that we all need at the same time…”, Vilajoana points out.
In promotions, he explains, one-bedroom floors have almost disappeared: they are barely 5%; even in Barcelona, ??the city where the apartments are smaller, they are only 12% “and they are mostly used for rent. Now buyers are not looking for a home to sell in a few years and move on to a larger one, but instead choose a home that fits their long-term life project”.
The new ways of life are also questioning the en-suite bathroom and making the rooms more similar in size. “Having a 12 m2 room with a bathroom and another 6 m2 reduces flexibility in the use that can be given to it. Children grow up to be in their thirties at home and they also need their space”, says Bestraten. In addition, she adds, “teleworking generates changes, and requires a new space: the architect must anticipate it and make the use of the home flexible.”