open concept
/ˈoʊ.pən ˈkɒn.sɛpt/
Very CommonA floor plan where walls between main living areas are removed to create one large shared space.
Used sincerely in renovation content and sarcastically in trend discourse. The open concept backlash is real on design TikTok, where people argue it creates noise and removes character.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | we knocked down the wall between the kitchen and living room and i will never go back | The speaker opened up the floor plan and loves the result. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 02 | open concept houses are great until your kitchen smells are living in the bedroom | The lack of walls between spaces creates sensory problems. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | i don't want open concept. i want walls. i want a door i can close. | The speaker prefers defined rooms over an open floor plan. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | open concept kitchen was my biggest regret. every meal smells in the whole house for hours. | Removing the kitchen wall caused an unexpected quality of life problem. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Describing a floor plan without walls between living areas.
- Discussing renovation plans to remove walls.
- Critiquing or praising the design trend.
Do not use it when
- The space has defined rooms with walls.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
Open-concept layouts rose to dominance in American home design through HGTV programming in the 2000s and 2010s. Hosts like Chip and Joanna Gaines popularized the style. Online discourse has increasingly questioned the trend since the early 2020s.
- First seen
- 1990s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/open-conceptUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0