Apologies, the previous post didn't seem to have the pictures. Here goes again:

Currently we are upgrading our counter tops. Trying to decide between granite and quartz. The current layout in our house has a closed off kitchen, breakfast area and family room.

We have always wanted an open floor plan. Without spending big $$$ on the remodel, we want to evaluate our options to open up the kitchen and surrounding area. Should we remove the wall between the kitchen and family room?? The current layout and proposed plan are shown below. If we remove the wall, the fridge will have be moved to the corner. We don't want to remove or move the current counter tops, as much as possible. There is also a breakfast area but we don't know how best to utilize the space. Currently the wall next to the fridge has cabinets, which provides us lots of storage - we will miss this space. Can we incorporate an island in this layout - to get some cabinets below the island?

Finally, the opening on either side of family room has dry wall approx. 1 ft. from the top of the door to ceiling. Inside the kitchen there is beam about 1 ft from the ceiling. We wonder if we should keep this as a divider or remove it completely.

Current layout:

Kitchen is roughly 10'x 13'
breakfast area is 9' x 11'
wall between family room and kitchen is 7' (behind the loveseat).

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proposed layout
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Any thoughts or advise you can provide?

Do you know if the wall is load bearing or not? That will greatly affect the price of removing it. Also, is the beam just decorative or does it extend to the ceiling and hold weight? Personally, as a mommy I like an open plan. I think it makes parenting and cooking easier. The fridge at the end of the cabinets in the new plan doesn't bother me. If you switch your cooktop and sink you would have a triangle similar to mine, which I like. The decision between quartz and granite is a personal one. Which one do you *love*? My experience is that the price isn't significantly different so it's really a matter of personal taste.

I think it might be worth building out the wall some and putting the frig on the end of the sink run. You could then extend the run with some cabinets to the right of the stove where you put the frig in the proposed layout. You'd gain at least 3' more of cabinets.

You do need to determine if it's a load bearing wall. There was a recent thread where there were some pics of support columns with archways that looked really nice. You gain the openess but don't lose the support.

Thanks so much for the replies. We are really new at this and have just started evaluating contractors for this work. Will determine if it is a load bearing wall.

Some more information that may be useful:

There are cabinets above the counter top and above the refrigerator as well. The cabinet above the refrigerator will have to be moved.

We are novices at this and were wondering what would be the cost for a remodel like this if we want to knock down a wall and move cabinet(s) + perhaps add an island or like remodelfa suggested put the fridge on the end of the sink run and put cabinets to the right of stove.

The primary use of the kitchen is for cooking (cooktop) and meal prep on a daily basis (one or maybe two cooks at a time, husband and myself). We definitely need a good amount of storage space, so don't want to lose storage. We have a 3 yr old and having an open floor plan would also allow us to watch her from the kitchen, while she is in the family room (agree with you nkkp). We also entertain occasionally and think that the open plan would be better in that respect as well.

I am not normally a fan of islands, but your space would be great with one. If you tore out that wall and put an island there instead, you would not lose much cabinet space and you could have a work area that faces the family area instead of working with your back to the family area. Or you could come off the end of the counter on the left with an angled peninsula. That would also let you have the open look and feel but still allow you to be facing towards the family area while you are working in the kitchen.

CCoombs, thanks for your response. I was wondering where you would suggest putting the island. I don't have the dimensions detailed in the layout.

All, any idea about how much this type of remodeling/upgrade costs?

I'd put it on a 45°, sort of right where that wall is now. Picture this....pick a center point of that wall of cabinets and rotate it 45°. Or come right off that end of counters on the left with a peninsula. Either of those options would give you more cabinet space and allow you to face the living room while you work in the kitchen.

It's going to be difficult for anyone here to give you cost ideas without knowing all the variables. if it's a load-bearing wall, that is going to cost a lot more. If you move plumbing and electrical fixtures, it'll cost more as well.

Are you able/willing to do any of this yourself? if you had a contractor determine whether the wall is load bearing or not (you can do this yourself, too, especially if it's a 1-story house and you can get into the attic above) and it's NOT load bearing, you and your friends might consider doing the demo yourselves to save money. It's actually pretty fun to sling a sledge hammer at your walls!

I think you need to make a couple of sketches of the options you're considering, and then get at least 3 or 4 contractors to come take a look and give you prices on both options. Then you'll be in a much better position to make choices.

As far as the layout, I definitely vote for an island if your dimensions allow one. Can you post a current plan with measurements?

StaceyNeil, Thanks for the input.

We are trying to determine if the wall is loadbearing or not. We dont know how to determine that for sure. The house has a basement. The first floor is where the kitchen is and the second floor has the bedrooms.

The electrical and plumbing for the fridge will have to be moved, if we decide to break the wall and move the fridge.

Will post the current plan with measurements.