Open plan v closed rooms

Sinmcg

Hi,
We are a family of 7 and live in a 4 bed house with two small reception rooms. Looking to the future we will need a bigger sitting/living room. My question is how do those of you who have an open plan living/kitchen/dining area find it? I just wonder would it be very noisy with so many of us. It's bad enough now with 5 kids shouting each other down! We can extend one living room into the kitchen and either extend kitchen/dining room out the back as a seperate room or join it to big living/dining room again extending out the back. I will probably be back on again with lots more questions. Thanks S

shel64

I had a very large lounge which had doors into the kitchen ,front door, hall to bedroom, when my kids were small it was great, when they became teenagers it was a strain on the nerves lol, you would be sitting there and kids and their friends would cross in front of you while you were talking or watching tv, you could never sit quietly and read, it was like living in Euston station,,,,we eventually put up a wall and double doors and mage an extension to the kitchen where at least those coming and going to the kitchen or bedrooms didn't have to come through the lounge,,I love my lounge now even though the front door is still off it, we changed a window to a door in the dining room and the kids come in that way now,,,
Yes it looked lovely but not practical for 3 teens and a younger one