My husband and I are having a tough time coming up with a design plan for the right side of our house. We turned the existing dining room into a sitting room but would like to open things up for entertaining larger crowds - yet still maintain a cozy / warm feel to our home. The wall that is circled is structural and there is a step leading down from the kitchen area to the great room. We are not in a position to take on the expense of major structural changes at the time. We paid for an Architect that presented drawings that were not desirable to us. We tweaked all he did and recently completed the left side of our house with our Contractor. We are now onto our next phase (the right side) and could use some help. We have some big pieces of furniture from our last house that we don't want to part with. I have attached the drawing of the floor plan (as is) and would greatly appreciate any design assistance with our next project.
Thank you!