Would it work in the pantry as a pocket door?

Post your pantry and kitchen floor plan and maybe we can get something to work.

This is the area I am working with

We don't want to give up the bar area on the S of the pantry - it is in the best spot for the rest of the house and already as small as it can be. Might be able to scoot the broom cupboard over slightly, but entrance is fixed and I don't want it to feel crowded.

thanks!

What if you framed it as a door to nowhere on the wall across from the drop zone? Just build it into the wall. It would still be there to look at but not in the way. And if someone ever wanted to close off the kitchen again, they would have the original door.

I have two swing doors in my kitchen, 1920s house aswell. One to the dining room and another at the end of the entrance hall into the kitchen. do you have a door way into your kitchen from any other room where it could be housed? My hall/kitchen door is very useful for the first owners placed a fire alarm right in front of the kitchen entrance and closing the door keeps it from going off if I burn toast:)

Do you really need to open the kitchen to the dining room when you're also doubling its size? It's a bit of a shame to lose a formal dining room.

Hi Fori - Yes, we've had all of these thoughts and I fought hardest and longest to keep it all separate. Every other member of my family and every person who's been in our house has convinced me this will be a good change for our today lives. We have lived here 16 yrs and plan to stay here forever so we need to enjoy it. Now that I've conceded, I am working hard to at least keep definition between the spaces. They are shaped like an L so it is not totally open.

Trying to figure out if I can use it as a pocket door even if it can't slide open all of the way.

Have your family/friends considered that open plan isn't necessarily forever and that destroying the floor plan of an older house often compromises its value? Just asking, because you should keep both those things in mind when making this decision.

Well this is the old house forum & not remodelling! So with that in mind it should be noted that thereve been a number of articles of late about enclosed kitchens making a comeback and drawbacks and difficulties of having to decorate and live in one large cavernous space (eg smells, noise of dishwasher while people are trying to have a conversation etc). Im not sure what aspects of your "today" lifestyle requires walls between rooms to be removed but for me the value of being able to put off cleaning up a kitchen mess for a few hours (or another day) is priceless! A big kitchen will have enought room for gathering space without having to open up to other rooms - often get togethers will have 2 or 3 conversations going so it serves no benefit for everyone to see/hear everyone else.

And as noted the more an old house is futzed with, the value in $ can be diminished - although of course if your house has already been drastically altered then perhaps the ship has sailed and extensive out-of-character remodeling may not have the same negative impact as it would in one that is in pristine condition and a good specimen of its era and workmanship. It's all simple economics reallly- law of supply and demand.

if your house has already been drastically altered then perhaps the ship has sailed and extensive out-of-character remodeling may not have the same negative impact as it would in one that is in pristine condition and a good specimen of its era and workmanship.

Yes, this is a very valid point.

Eliminate the broom cupboard entirely, use the space for the pantry and hang the brooms on the back of the door?

What about having it open to the right, instead of the left? Perhaps it would be sort of out of the way if left open

I know you don't want to hear this--you've made up your mind. But around here in a stock of 1910s-20s homes with beautiful original features one of the most common moves is to remove the wall between the dining room and kitchen and it is not a selling point for most because it immediately compromises the historic charm and yells "I've been altered to jump on the 'open concept' fad. I just renovated my 1923 kitchen and the swinging door--looks exactly like yours--is something nearly every guest comments on as lovely. (On a separate note being able to close off at least one door in the kitchen has come in very handy lately as I've had to confine a cat from the living room/dining room in his old, incontinent age.)

Sorry, obviously I'm no help in your situation. . .

And since Emory is too modest to link to her kitchen, here you go. A wonderful example of a functional 21st century kitchen that's right at home in an old house:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4506819/finished-1923-kitchen-with-breakfast-nook?n=48

Emory, great use of space in the kitchen. We, too, have openings EVERYWHERE in our old kitchen, but I am realizing if I can just carve out even an inkling of an L shaped space, it will all be fine.

As for the OP, I'm in agreement with others, this is the Old House forum and a lot of us are preservationists. However, the guys over at TOH often execute designs in old houses where the open concept is alive and well and they are well-renowned. I think most people don't want to live in a time capsule home, or try to make modern living work in one (but I do!!)

Would removing the walls give you more wall space in the kitchen? In my old house kitchen wall space was at a premium. My modifications were directed towards reclaiming two corners. The Kit. literally had no usable corners. The solution was not arrived at by opening it up to the DR.

Casey

I've kind of figured out this isn't the right forum for my question - thanks for your thoughts though. I'm at peace with my decision to open the wall - 8x10 with 2 door ways and a family of 5 just isn't working for us. We bought this house 16 yrs ago and the reason it was on the market for 9 mo with no offers was the kitchen. I am doing my best to keep the addition in the spirit of the house.

Just want to lend some moral support that it's lovely to keep old home features when possible, but often there are compromises to accommodate modern appliances and lifestyle. When I've posted questions in Kitchens, I get comments on how nice my layout would be if I removed the dining room wall, so sometimes you can't win! Best of luck with your project!

Amy and all, just thought Id mention that this old house forum originated a bunch of years ago for people taking a more preservation or restoration approach and already on the same page about things like vinyl windows and saving original plaster so we could talk about other stuff. Of course a lot of projects ,maybe even most, fall somewhere in between strict preservation and total gut job so there is bound to be some overlap.

IMHO the best renovations (and the ones that retain most value in $$$ terms) are ones that preserve the historic elements and layout as much as possible and any upgrades changes dont compromise the integrity of the house and blend in seamlessly. (A kitchen/bath addition can be a great solution because the plumbing and everything can be done w/o messing with the rest of the house.)