Esther McCarthy: Are Irish families really compatible with open-plan living?

Open-plan is an open SCAM

Esther McCarthy: Is it open-plan or open scam? Picture: iStock

I am standing alone in the kitchen/dining/sitting/messing room. It feels too big with just me in it. A terrible thought pops into my head: Is open-plan living one big scam?

The Cork-versus-Limerick match has lured the lads to the Treaty County; they are gone for the day, and because of an unusual blast of sun, even the cat and the dog are outside, for a bit of basking. I shut the back door, stand in the kitchen, and listen: Quiet; peace; stillness.