[sdm]

> why have kitchens traditionally been separated from dining areas in the first place?

Smell. To keep the smells of cooking from overwhelming the rest of the house. In the process of building a new house and it will be a separate kitchen. Well, technically, a wet kitchen that is closed off and a small dry kitchen connected to the dining area for dealing with things that aren't strong smelling. This setup is pretty standard in here in Asia.

[WirelessGigabit]

Having lived in multiple apartments and now back into a house I am amazed that US apartments (at least the ones where I lived) did not have a range hood that blew stuff to the outside. All they did was recirculate air through a grease filter. In other words, useless.

Now back in a house with a connection to the outside. Actually does something.

Although I try to cook outside, because cooking inside means I have to pay for more AC.