Welcome!

If that was the family room, I'd say 'go for it,' but I'm more hesitant if it's the more formal living space and it's the first thing people see when they come in. A lot of people are happy with that, but I lived in a house in which guests saw right into our busy kitchen as soon as they came home and I didn't like it. But I had a big, young family and you don't...I assume you're in control of your house's condition more than I was! If you have any concern about resale, you could ask a local realtor, since some things can be a bigger issue in different areas.

I could definitely envision a more lodgy, casual (but still pretty and elegant) look with a nice, grand island to replace the wall and peninsula. Could you do without the nice storage unit you have on that wall on the kitchen side?

Here is a rendering I did long ago for another forum member. Not the colors you want, and not quite your floor plan, as you can see...but just an example of grand island type feature taking place of a wall.

Hello! You've already got one of the premier layout helpers involved here - Rhome and a bunch of others are fabulous with the kitchen plans. I'm good at support, as are a TON of other people here, too. Look forward to seeing what you do.
Lisa

My DH and I have a raised ranch that we had built in 1978 on land we owned. We designed our house with the help of our builder and we have a similar layout to yours. When we walk in the front door there is the foyer and 6 steps up. There is a wall there also. We even have wrought iron/wood railing in LR and on the right side of the stairs going up. To the left of the stairs is the LR, then the DR exactly like yours and to the right of the DR is the kitchen. My peninsula is on that wall opposite where you have yours. The long hallway leads to the BRs and bathrooms. Our wall is a load bearing wall so we did not change it. I like having the wall there so personally, I wouldn't tear it down even if it wasn't load bearing but that's just my opinion. The kitchen opens to the DR and LR so the space feels open enough. We replaced our carpeting in LR, DR, and hall with hardwood just like you intend to do. We did not do the hardwood all the way into the kitchen. We are putting in tile but there are days when we think maybe we should have continued into the kitchen with the hardwood. Will be looking forward to hearing about your progress and looking at your pictures. You will get great advice from the people here!!

Rhome...Thanks so much for your help! This is our "un-formal living room??? We have a family room downstairs but everyone tends to hang out upstairs when we entertain. We live in a 70's split foyer, not my dream home but it works well for us.I've always wished for a turn of the century home with all the beautiful woodwork and moldings...but alas it was not meant to be.

My thoughts were if we were to take down the wall, a bi-level island set on a diagonal my be a good way to open up the space a bit more and add more seating. I really dislike the peninsula and the cabinets above. I can't tell you how many times I've wacked my head on it while putting away dishes. We have four stools at the counter but it's not a comfortable fit.

The hutch is in the "dining room". We only use the dining room table for holidays or as a buffet table for entertaining. I could possibly move the hutch downstairs tothe family room. We had the table made a few years ago to match the hutch....cant it be re-purposed as an island I'd be open to any suggestions as to how better utilize the dining space.

I am working with a kitchen designer and hope to see some plans soon. Our kitchen is 13"x 11"...dining room is 10"8" x 11. I also want to remove the bulkhead and extend the cabinets to the ceiling with some crown molding.

As for resale, we already have a buyer when we are ready to sale...Our neighbors have expressed interest.

Hope this link works better for photos!

Here is a link that might be useful: Before Remodel

Westiemom, I have the very same kitchen layout as yours, I even have the same kind of dog as yours (westie).My style is more contemporary.
I thought of taking down the wall that you are considering, but I don't want people to see my kitchen as soon as they get up the steps(Especially if it is messy) and I don't want to lose the cabinets on the other side of the wall. I don't have the cabinets above the peninsula, but I do like my peninsula.I have the soffit that I can't wait to get rid of. I have a vaulted ceiling so my cabinets will not be going up to the ceiling.Keep us posted on what your plans are...

The best thing I can say is to take a look at the not-so-big remodeling book. The author's got some ways to add shape and character to rooms that might be attractive and achievable.

Is the desk wall structural? I'm wondering if part of it can be removed?

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon

Chris - Do you have photos that you could share?

Parts - Have you started your remodel yet? We love our Westie (Lili), we also have a Cairn Terrier mix but Lili is the Queen of the house!

bmorepanic - Thanks for the link...I am going to order it today! The desk wall is structural. We have had a contractor look at it and it has the needed support if we do choose to take it down.

With all the great suggestions I have gotten, I think we are leaning toward NOT tearing the wall down.

I'm working on a basic layout of the kitchen, dining room and living room. I haven't got any plans back from the KD yet with the specific dimensions.

Keep the ideas coming!

Sandy

Have you seen "Sarah's House" on TV? I love this designer, and this show that is currently on is all about a 60's Backsplit (similar to a split level) that she is re-doing. Now, I understand that your budget and hers might not be the same, but I really like the way she is able to bring that style/age house into this century.

Check it out if you can.

And by the way, Welcome! We always need new faces and ideas around here, especially since I probably will be posting about my backsplash again and I'm sure that I've been blacklisted and nobody will respond to me any longer! So, keep your eyes open and please offer your opinion!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah's House

Sandy-here are a few pics as requested. Disregard the spots in the picture-we're having a snowstorm here and I had to take the pic from outside. The kitchen pic is a "before" pic-we're halfway done. LR an DR with the new hardwood which replaced the forest green carpeting which is still on the stairs going up from the front foyer. Hope this helps!

OMG!...I have the SAME Hunter Green carpeting downstairs. It matches the 70's cheap brown paneling...and the gold bathtub and toilet! lol...dh likes "The Dungeon" just the way it is and see's no need to update it! It's only taken 18 yrs to get him to agree to redo the upstairs!

Your kitchen cabinets are the same as mine too!...I painted them white years ago and now they're a sage green. I really like how it lightened the kitchen. What kind of cabinets are you using?

Thanks for the photos!...The hardwood floors look beautiful! What type of wood did you use? I really like the color! Where do you live? It's snowing like crazy here again too.

We live in the snow belt-south of Buffalo, NY. I was stunned when I saw your pictures as so many similarities to my home. And here I thought I was getting something"original". Our house was a custom build designed by our builder and myself-LOL!!!!!

Original cabinets are solid oak-the golden oak of the late 70s/early 80s. My husband wanted to keep them so he cleaned them with dirtex, sanded them, restained them provincial-medium/dark brown-and then a finish coat. New hardware. I like the way they turned out.

The floors are Bellawood-white oak. Never thought I would be glad to give up the carpeting. DH got his way and the hardwood is so great-no more vacuuming that green carpet every day.

Can't wait to see what you will be doing with your spaces. You will find an amazing amount of support/ideas/advice here. Wish I had found this site earlier as I would have changed some things with our kitchen redo before the new granite was in place. Now I'm just trying to make the kitchen as functional as I can for the two of us.

Keep us posted on your progress. Warm wishes for no bumps in the road to your dream redo.

beekeeperswife - Thank you so much for the kind welcome! I have not seen "Sarah's House" but will be sure to check it out. How far along are you on your remodel? When we finally decided to take the plunge I thought this would be simple. But there are sooooooooo many choices out there, my head is spinning!

Chris - I saw a bit of your counter on you last photo...it looks really nice with your cabinets. What would you have done differently before the marble was set?

I feel so blessed to have found this forum. The wealth of knowledge is Amazing!

Sandy

The granite I fell in love with has really been the burr under my butt. After it was installed I realized my appliance colors didn't work, my floor was too busy, and from a small refresh to the kitchen we ended up doing so much more than we had planned. I would have totally rearranged all the cabinets so instead of peninsula would have an island, mainly for prep. I would have moved stove space over to the left so I would have had larger landing areas on both sides of my stove. The refrigerator space would be to the left of the dishwasher on the sink wall. What I will eventually end up with will be ok but it could have been so much better.

There are some on this site that can come up with amazing layouts. If you have a tentative layout post it here and you will get tons of feedback as to what works, what doesn't and why it doesn't along with suggestions for a good layout for your space.

From this site I got help/ideas for backsplash, recessed lighting, a super single silgranit sink, and a pullout faucet.