Definitely True!

I am not a believer in grazing. I grew up in a family where food outside of mealtime was stricly verboten- the result of that policy was we could eat pretty much anything we wanted at mealtimes and have no problems with weight. Of course dessert was fruit or yogurt usually, and the meal was heavy on meat and vegetables. I had no idea such a small amount of calories could add up in such an ugly way.

That does not surprise me. My own kitchen is pretty much a separate room, but the previous owners removed the swinging door and added another one next to it to make access to the dining room easier. Our dining room mostly separate, but it is part of a larger room that we use as an art studio that has access to the back yard. Still the dining table is in a very defined space with three walls. I really dislike completely open floor plans that remind me of lofts. I had enough of that style when I was in my 20s, and it reminds me of communes in San Francisco from the early 1970s. We eat breakfast, brunch, and dinner in our dining room or else in the pergola outdoors. My main complaint about my kitchen is that the laundry is in there, and if I could move that, I could have a nice pantry instead, which would be more practical. My current pantry is tiny, and I also need more upper cabinets.

I hate almost all open kitchen plans that I see, partly because they have only minimal upper cabinets, but if they have a walk-in pantry, that would make them more bearable. I cook a lot, and I do not want to see the kitchen when I am not using it.

Maybe we should return to having the kitchen in an attached building or at least in the basement.

The study is interesting because they actually manipulated the environment and then observed how much more people ate in an easily accessible, open kitchen.But then, farmhouses or apartments in Europe had a kitchen/LR ("Living Kitchen") which was basically for cooking and lounging. The formal living room --- if there was one -- was only for important guests.

Indeed, open plan living has always reminded me of a step backwards in terms of architecture. It's not that I am looking for formal spaces (though they are my preference.) It's that I think the kitchen should be its own place. Not some bejewelled spot beckoning everyone to open its cupboards and taste its wares at all hours- preferably while mindlessly watching tv or surfing the internet so as to become oblivious to what you are actually ingesting.