We love us a good open-concept kitchen—it’s bright, airy and stunning to look at. But it’s sadly not always practical, particularly if you do a lot of cooking and don’t fancy your whole living area smelling like smoke.

If you love the open-concept kitchen look but still want some separation, here are five brilliant ideas for a semi-open kitchen design.

A half-clear door

Design by Studio FortyFour

This lovely pastel home by Studio FortyFour sports an adorable kitchen entrance that grants the homeowners some privacy while cooking without compromising on natural light. The placement of the door also ensures that visitors only see the upper cabinets of the kitchen and can’t take a peek at dirty dishes or a messy service yard at the back.

A window to the dining area

Image courtesy of Mesh Werk Studio

This semi-open kitchen design has a large window overlooking the dining table, allowing the homeowners to keep an eye on kids, friends or elderly family members while they go about their meal prep. It also facilitates communication between the guests and the hosts should the visitors need anything while having dinner.

A half-wall

Image courtesy of MUJI

If you’re feeling a little bolder, consider this almost entirely open kitchen layout. The half-wall behind the dining table ensures some separation between dinner guests and cooking smoke, while the larger opening at the right allows for plenty of cool air to stream into the kitchen. The large window above the dining area is a nice touch for some additional natural light.

A sliding glass door

Design by akiHAUS

A classic in the realm of semi-open kitchen designs, the sliding glass door offers the best of both worlds. Just open up the kitchen when you want some fresh air and a sense of spaciousness, then slide the doors close when you want to contain all that cooking smoke. Our favourite part? Because the doors are entirely clear, you’ll never be short of natural light!

A separate dry and wet kitchen

Design by Bowerman Interior

This creative kitchen layout separates the dry and wet areas with an almost imperceptible glass door, which seamlessly turns the corner and transforms into a window overlooking the living room. While you’ll be exposing dirty dishes and any mess you make in the kitchen with this layout, you get an abundance of natural light and get to keep the non-smoky side of the kitchen entirely open.