Should I tear down this wall?

9 years ago

What should we do with this room?

We recently purchased a 40 year old home from the original owners who built the home, and also hadn't updated the interior since 1985... We're remodeling every room, but I'm struggling with what to do with the room directly in front of the entry, which is 16'x14'. They used it as a dining room, and there is a small door that leads to the kitchen, a set of french doors that goes to the patio, and a doorway with a pocket door that leads to the stairwell and the kitchen. The french doors are the only exit to the back patio and will have a great view out to the pool once we cut down some trees. We plan to order a large four panel unit set of sliding doors to showcase the view. We are also demoing the wall with the pocket door to enlarge the room, and adding a corridor that leads to a wet bar on the other side of the stairs.

We will be installing new hardwoods throughout, even in the kitchen, so we have thought about taking down the wall separating the two rooms. We are going for a modern, contemporary look for the house, but even after taking down the wall, it's not big enough to be a modern "great room". And with losing another wall, I'm even more at a loss as to how to arrange the furniture.

Should tear down the wall separating the room from the kitchen? If we made this into a TV room, where does the TV and sofa go? Should I close off the small doorway to the kitchen and just rely on the opening by the stairs (my husband says no because he plans to be grilling on the patio and says a shorter distance is better. I'm also open to any other ideas!

Thanks for your help, Houzzers!

Featured Answer

PRO

Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I am attaching two photos of one of our projects with a view from the entry way .......all the way through the kitchen to the back yard, without revealing too much of the kitchen.

We opened up the wall between the kitchen and the dining room but most of the kitchen is not exposed.

You can see from the second photo that we now have direct access to the back yard with french doors without opening up the house too much....

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

Fori
9 years ago
I think you want that wall between the entry and kitchen. i realize most people keep their kitchen nicer than I do mine, but it still shouldn't be the main show when entering a house. Can you sketch up the floor plan?
PRO
JAN MOYER
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My first thought was Yes, "Tear down this wall!", Mr. Gorbachev..........tear down this wall........" lol

Don't do that yet Mrs Gorbachev, ( uh Caroline ) . Not enough info in the illustration, and impossible to "furnish" based on the little info. If you have the original plans, post the first floor layout ( that plan) with a good photo of this entire area as well
Related Professionals
Fort Worth Interior Designers & Decorators · Sacramento Interior Designers & Decorators · Selma Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Vicksburg Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Kankakee Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Manchester Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Jacksonville Furniture & Accessories · Enid Furniture & Accessories · Aiken Interior Designers & Decorators · Fayetteville Architects & Building Designers · Ocala Architects & Building Designers · Winston-Salem Architects & Building Designers · Keene Architects & Building Designers · Athens Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Fargo Kitchen & Bathroom Designers
rockybird
9 years ago
I think it would help to see a layout of the rooms.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years ago
Some times you can simply open the top of the wall to help to open up a space. Maybe don't take down the wall, but do get rid of any framed openings.
H&R
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here is a very roughly sketched up floorplan using the surveyer's drawing. Hopefully this helps? We're thinking by knocking down the pantry and removing the pocket door, it will make the room bigger, and the new hallway will link it to the rest of the house. (Don't worry - I'm building a new pantry outside the wall opposite the utility room!)
H&R
Original Author
9 years ago
Lampert Dias Architects: What a great design! I love it! I would feel a lot more comfortable opening it up that way. But I'm still at a loss as to how I would furnish it. Would it be okay to put a couch in front of the new patio doors and hang a TV on the opposite wall?
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
9 years ago
I did not see any mention of whether this wall can safely be removed w/o compromising the structure. Can it?
ckink9135
9 years ago
Well, now that I've seen the layout I have a few thoughts. My first, is I'd tear the wall down and enlarge my kitchen into that room and design an island and a hearth room or a dining area within the kitchen space. If you must have a formal dining room, I'd think about using the formal Living Room as the Dining Room.

The most used rooms in a house are the kitchen and FR. I'd like to have the openness of that large sliding door to a larger area of the house. That wall makes your kitchen so narrow and it seems like it would be dark with only one window.

I agree that having your foyer open right up to the kitchen might not be the optimal, but that foyer is quite large, it's not like you're walking directly into a kitchen. Also, you can take into consideration the kitchen design and make that island area more furniture like.

The other thing is - how often do you come in the front door? I would do the option that gives you the ability to use the most square footage of your house. I have an older home too and a third of my house we use twice a year.
H&R thanked ckink9135
H&R
Original Author
9 years ago
The wall is a load bearing wall. However, we've had it evaluated by a structural engineer and it can be safely removed and the opening reenforced for a relatively reasonable cost...

We are going to preserve one of the rooms for a dining room, just keep flip flopping on whether it should be the room currently marked as the family room or the formal living. I think you're right, Ckink9135, that the formal living makes the most sense as a new dining room. My husband just thinks it would be weird to make it so far away from the kitchen. Then again, I need to remind him we'd likely only use it twice a year too!

Thanks for the feedback!