Open Floor Plans. As people transitioned to working from home and home schooling, they took notice rather quickly just how noisy it can be without walls to separate spaces. Before you start putting up walls, try using privacy screens or large area rugs to help absorb the noise.
Another plus to having the kitchen separate from the dining and/or living room is that walls can hide a messy kitchen. If you are like me, when cooking, and especially when entertaining, I tend to use a lot of kitchen gadgets, pots and pans, etc. This can make for quite a mess in the kitchen!
