Architects at Kelly Architects Say Open-Concept Minimalism Was Built for a Moment, Not to Last
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For the better part of two decades, the formula for luxury real estate was almost interchangeable from listing to listing. White walls, white kitchens, one enormous room where the kitchen bled into the dining area, which bled into the living room, which bled, eventually, into a wall of glass. According to George, the architect behind Gravitas Club and a partner at Kelly Architects, it was built for a moment, not for the long haul.
“Open concept floor plans were short-lived, as part of a heavy lean into modernism by developers,” George says. At the height of that movement, the blank room wasn’t a failure of imagination. It was the point. “The ‘what-to-do’ in those rooms felt like an unknown, an anticipatory space for new technologies to be explored; somewhere that allowed for uniqueness, large art and/or furniture, a futuristic space.”
For a certain kind of homeowner, that still holds up. “For those that love wild and loud parties, an open floor plan is still well loved, providing flexibility to bring their festive visions to life.” For most people living day to day inside that same open-concept floor plan, though, the blank room started to feel less like freedom and more like absence. That gap is driving what designers are calling white-box fatigue, and it’s changing how architects like George start a project.
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What buyers want now, versus five years ago
Five years ago, the pitch was volume: how big can the great room feel, how far can the glass go, how few walls can survive the floor plan. Today, George says, clients are asking for something closer to a zoned open plan... still connected, but no longer one undifferentiated room standing in for five different ones.
“Many of our clients still want openness, but they no longer want one giant room,” George explains. “They’re asking us to create distinct experiences within the home.”
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That shift tracks with how people relate to a home as an asset, not just a backdrop. “The continual rise of housing values over the past century has been well documented,” George says. “Understanding the impact of that purchase means frivolity is out... space has a definable cost, and today’s buyer expects specific performance from the spaces they acquire.” A home is a portfolio of experiences now. The entry that sets a tone, a quiet room to read, a kitchen built for real cooking, a spa that functions like one. “They all offer very different experiences in a home,” George says, “so why not have them all in different spaces?”
Warmth without sacrificing sophistication
What’s replacing the white box is a layered vocabulary: arches instead of oversized openings, plaster instead of drywall, natural stone instead of engineered surfaces, warm wood instead of anything that reads as disposable.
George traces the old aesthetic to something more practical than a design statement. “When looking at modernism, interior finish selections favor the simple and consistent, as in that format, all space is at once visible,” he says. “This makes white an easy option. It’s something that’s readily available, a universal base paint, I might say. In this example, the architect does not need to engage an interior designer.”
What’s taken its place is more deliberate, and more personal. “I’m seeing a shift in the buyers of the LA market, at all tiers, looking for value in all aspects of their life,” George says. “The perspective becomes more about ‘what can this house do for me and how I live my life’ and ‘can I leverage this asset down the line and maintain value.’”
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That shows up in the finishes people are choosing: hand-troweled plaster, stone with visible veining and variation, millwork that ages instead of scuffing. “For many, that means creating a unique space that reflects their distinct style,” George says. “It’s less about the trend and more about the investment in self-expression and creating value through personality.”
The architectural solutions replacing the open box
On the drafting table, warmth without total separation takes specific forms. Instead of one oversized opening connecting the kitchen to the living room, an arch frames the transition and slows the eye down. Instead of a great room trying to be a library, a den, and a media room at once, a library wall carved into one end gives a single function its own gravity. Semi-separated rooms, defined by a change in ceiling height or a half-wall of stone or wood rather than a full partition, can keep a home visually connected without forcing every activity into the same space.
Kitchens are becoming some of the most tactile rooms in the house. Stone-wrapped islands and hoods that turn a workspace into a sculptural centerpiece, rather than a bright white box with an appliance package. Custom wood detailing, a coffered ceiling, or a hand-built stair rail brings craft back into rooms that spent so much time prizing only cleanliness.
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Underneath most of these choices sits a layered lighting plan: several sources at different heights and warmth, rather than one overhead fixture flattening a room into shadowless daylight, so a space can shift mood from morning to evening.
Not all of it requires a full rebuild. For someone stuck inside a cold, open-concept home right now, George’s advice starts small: seal the drafts, layer in window treatments that soften hard light, choose a wall color that reads like something out of nature rather than off a swatch card.
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Bring in rugs with real pad underneath them, furniture built to be lived on rather than looked at... leather sofas, vintage wood pieces. And hang the art, the photos, the keepsakes. “Whatever is important to you,” George says, “get them up there.”
Gravitas Club as the case study
“Rather than embracing a traditional open-plan white box, we created a collection of distinct spaces, each with its own unique atmosphere and purpose,” George says. Every room earns its own identity through material choice. “Each room has its own identity while remaining connected through a cohesive design language.”
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That flexibility is also, George argues, what a well-designed communal space can offer that even the best private home can’t. “Gravitas offers something a private home cannot,” he says, “a beautifully designed environment where people can come together over life’s most universal rituals... sharing exceptional food, drinks, and memorable experiences. The architecture supports those moments by creating spaces that feel both elevated and deeply personal.”
For years, luxury meant a room that could be anything, which often meant it was nothing in particular. The spaces replacing it have a job to do, and they look like someone lives in them
