well, no not if it lets it flow better for you.

I love your new condo! Congratulations. The arches and the moldings are gorgeous- and those widows have such lovely proportions too. I have no help to offer though on your questions, though. For me, when I want to make things a bit more modern, I add a few pieces of sleek furniture to contrast with the fabulous details a space like yours. I would probably change out the kitchen cupboards to a painted type, but that's all I would personally do.

It seems the kitchen was already "modernized" a few years ago-'80's cabinets, vertical blinds, ceiling fans. When you go in it how does it make you feel--relative to the rest of the rooms? Do you think THAT worked? I would be sure what I want before I began. You could end up with a home with its history gone and yet its future doesn't really FIT.

Couldn't agree more about keeping history, arcy_gw. I intend to keep the moulding and add thicker crown and baseboards. That said, the kitchen feels 'tight' and I was thinking opening it into the dining room with a peninsula wouldn't take away too much of the character I love.

And that ceiling fan is going!

Rita - I was definitely going to go with painted cabinets. I love 50s and 70s furniture in bold fabrics so those pieces should definitely modernize the place.

ok, so are we going to open rooms up?

With the exception of the kitchen your condo is drop dead gorgeous. I can't get a sense from your photos about the flow of the space exactly. Can you get an architect on board to help you?

That sunroon entrance area is beautiful. Love the whole space. What year is your building?

I honestly would live with it for a while before taking down walls or making big changes. It's a really lovely space.

For a quick kitchen fix, I would paint the cabinets and replace the hardware right away. I suspect the color and the grain make things feel worse in there. White cabinets may make the space feel good to you and you won't feel the need to open it up. After a trial run with white cabinets and a closed kitchen, if you like the space, you can replace the cabinets with something nicer.

If you still don't like the kitchen space after living with white cabinets for a bit then I would explore making floor plan changes.

I think you liked the space with its vintage floorplan. I think you do need to do some things to update (kitchen!!) but I think if you do all that, you'll take the charm out of it.

do you have a schematic on how the rooms connect? You'd prob get some great advice if you had that.

Good luck and congrats on your new space!

I would live there for a while first ... you need to know if the kitchen just "feels tight" or is actually unworkable for you. The full-height cabinets are probably making it feel smaller than it is,so removing a couple of the upper doors and painting the insides a bright color or white, painting the uppers pale.

It's great the way it is - snug little sunroom/office space. Very open feeling.

I dont think the question needs to be framed in terms of "modernization" - but whatpurpose would it serve to remove walls in a space that is already rather open, light and airy? Walls can be a good thing - to define spaces, giving you places to logically place furniture and art. Your large windows and wide openings already are giving you plenty of "openness" but without being too cavernous Agree totally with lazy gardens - live in the space for at least a year before making changes, see how the light is, from which direction, how you live in the space, there should be some benefit to you personally of opening up the kitchen that you can articulate - not just some notion that you want it more "modern." Would the light really be better - thats something youll know by observing it over time..

Agree you should live in it for awhile to see what works and what doesn't. With the exception of the kitchen entry, all the other entries are wide with beautiful curved arches and I wouldn't touch them. If you open up the kitchen I would mimic the same arch style and definitely keep a vintage vibe in there....marble or marble like counters, farmhouse sink, etc. What a beautiful place!

It's a wonderful apt! Is it a NYC pre-War? It reminds me of my DD's apt in NYC only yours is larger.

DO NOT mess with those walls! It's already a very light, airy apt with good flow. The only thing that is truly off-putting is that kitchen. It's just so not in keeping with the age of the apt. Paint those cabinets if they're decent one. If they're not, spend your money on a gorgeous new kitchen that is in keeping with the apt. There are SO many possibilities for it.

Walls need not come tumbling down to "modernize" what is a vintage apt in the first place. You can do that with furniture, art, rugs. A fabulous rug and an Eames chair would be a great start.

Wow, love your condo!

As others have said, it's already very open, except for the kitchen/dining room. However, I don't quite see completely opening up the kitchen and adding a peninsula --- it would mess with your dining room IMO. So perhaps just widen the kitchen entry. Would you have enough wall space then?

In the meantime, I'd paint the kitchen a lighter color and maybe add some glass inserts or open shelves (can you remove some upper doors and see how that feels?

Check out set for "The Intern"

I'll echo others. It's amazing, they don't build it like that anymore, and I wouldn't mess with these walls, wouldn't touch them(except for maybe-maybe- enlarding/rounding the opening for the kitchen)

wouldn't do peninsula-will take off that feeling of space.

would(if the cabinets are sound and they do seem sound) paint them either soft white, or a bolder color that you love, say blue or green. would change countertop, maybe sink, and the faucet. don't know whether you'll have space for microwave if you replace it with the hood? is there any other storage in the kitchen? do we see the full pic?

this is one of the examples where the house asks for painted cabinets

or you can fully remodel it of course, but to live with it for a while first is a great idea

I also agree with others that this place can take a lot of modern in how it's decorated..think lights, art, furniture..it's so noble it can easily support things of different provenance.

The "permanent" elements like kitchen or bath should repeat the style of a house

the furnishings don't have to

that's actually a potentially great combo..traditional architecture plus modern elements. I have plenty of pictures saved that illustrate this approach, so tell me if you'd like to see a couple

I'm intrigued by your idea for a fireplace. Where would it go, and which walls would you remove?

I can't imagine how you would open the sunroom up any more than it is. It's nice to have that space slightly separated...if only so you don't come back here asking how to decorate a space that is too open to its neighboring spaces lol.

I'm also intrigued by opening up the kitchen. It certainly is tiny with no view to the front, probably just to an alley, right? Maybe a side yard if your lucky? Does it have a door to the outside? And you look right into it when you enter the front door?

I prefer your ideas to "modernize" with fabric, non-permanent changes, and hope you don't mean to put in an MCM kitchen.

What a beautiful space!! I'll echo what the others have said, live here a bit before making decisions. I feel that taking down walls will completely erase what makes this house special. It's so airy and light, while having defined spaces. I would agree that eventually creating a kitchen that is more appropriate to the age of the condo would be the way to go, but for the time being paint the cabinets a lighter color. You could remodel in the spirit of the era while using more modern materials.

Bring modern in with your furnishings and fabrics, and all of the permanent features call up the era of the home.

As others have said, live there for a year before you start thinking about removing walls. Once plaster is gone, you won't get it back...and it's the absolute best for soundproofing!

if I had that condo, I would definitely be thinking about real color on those walls!

What fun and such a gorgeous place! Please stick around and share your Before and After pcs with us.

I just want to second all the votes to like with it for a while and see what works or doesn't work for you!

Also, what a lovely space!

I'm guessing the house is 1920s, the kitchen is 1970s with another modernization of can lighting in the 2000s. Part of the disaster in the kitchen is that there is no refrigerator. So I suspect we're not getting the entire picture. The other part of the disaster in the kitchen is not enough counter space for much more than a toaster and coffee pot. Again, I suspect there is more to this kitchen than you have in the pictures. I would keep the ceiling height cabinets. I've never said, "These kitchen cabinets are too spacious."

What happened to the flooring (or walls)? The walls don't go all the way to the floor. In the kitchen, the door frame does not go all the way to the floor, and there is a step up to get to the other room.

As an alternative to recessed lighting, Home Depot sells a light fixture that attaches to any 4-inch electric box and extends about 3/4-inch down. It has a bright LED light and gives the appearance of a can light. We installed can lights in our current house. Ten cans cost $1,200 with parts and labor or $120 each. We installed the HD low profile LEDs in a condo and love them. We happened to have the boxes already in the ceiling, so the labor cost was minimal. Total cost each, parts and labor, was more like $40 each. We'll never do cans again. I thought I had a picture of the new lights, but can't find it. One bad thing about the low profile lights is that the light is the fixture, so you can't just change a bulb when it goes out. I've been 100% LED for 3 years, now, and have not had a bulb blow yet. That's at least 75 bulbs and fixtures.

Thank you, everyone, for the sound advice.

I decide I will not open up the sunroom...that can be a nice, cozy place to curl up.

The kitchen is tight. So tight. It could be enlarged by expanding into the pantry behind it (will take and upload pics later)...but that might be out of my budget. The kitchen has a door tgat opens up onto a small, private porch. Will take and post pics later.

For the fireplace between the living and dining room, I was thinking of something like this:

Wondering about a nicely done (expensive) cabinetry pass through from dining room to kitchen?

This is one of my fave inspiration pictures although I picture something more formal for your space...

Classic City Kitchen · More Info

Could do a nice built in china cabinet on dining room side

House in Old Greenwich · More Info

Hi Nite Owl --

Congrats on the new home; it's stunning. Lots of great advice upthread.

Robo's inspiration pics reminded me of a vintage home tour where the kitchen and DR had been connected vs a "cutout" with a FULL wall of cabs -- solid below, and double-sided glass above.

Similar to the below, but with cabs to the counter (which IMO looks much better):

Sea Cliff Hideaway · More Info

IIRC they only stored glassware and crystal there, so the distractions were minimal yet the refraction added a bit of mystery to what was on the other side.

Love these pics, robo and House Vixen.

Nite Owl, do you have a picture of the other side of the kichen?

I just want to chime in that I LOVE your new home!!! For me, I would take down all the vertical blinds, paint the kitchen cabs (I would do black or navy but then you would have to change the countertops; if need to keep counters, do white or cream), and keep everything else as is. Such beautiful moldings and character. I am not a fan of pass throughs from kitchen to dining room, nor peninsulas. I love walls! If in budget, I might redo all the floors and get walls painted (which is what I did when I moved into our new home 4 years ago) and then live in your space a good while before tackling anything major. Love your sunroom too! Enjoy!

Wonderful space! Lots of charm. Once the contractor comes out and you get some prices and maybe live there awhile, you'll be able to prioritize what's important. Were you planning to live there during the renovations?

I think what you want to do with the fireplace would be VERY costly.

Please think carefully before you begin. Every time I have rushed into projects, I realize I should have thought more carefully. I would change nothing structural and redo kitchen. It is so charming!

Looks like a beautiful, rather open layout, except for that kitchen. I took down a wall between my kitchen and dining room in my previous home which was very old and historic (even though the kitchen was a 1960s addition) and it made all the difference in the world. If you cook a lot, being in a room that is so closed off feels like being punished IMO. But I would not take down any of the beautiful arched openings to the other rooms until you've lived with them for some time. They're very open already, and if you lose the arch, you lose the charm. And plaster is awesome. The wall between the kitchen and dining, though, is not special, and it's important for history to be comfortably livable.

What an exciting project. I am a designer and have managed many construction and redevelopment projects. I agree with everyone who suggested taking some time to live in the space first to get familiar with how you will use the space. There are so many design options that you could spend a lifetime looking at images and getting input.

Retrofitting a space is always more complicated and expensive than building new - there is so much existing infrastructure to work around, a lot of time goes into problem solving.. A fireplace needs to be vented to the outside, unless it's electric or ethanol, a much less expensive option, but not nearly as cosy. as gas or wood. Changing your kitchen to open up the walls means possibly moving your gas oven. Basically moving plumbing, gas or hvac is more invasive and more expensive than moving electrical items. Supporting walls are also very expensive to remove, but a contractor will be able to tell you if the walls you want to remove will require additional support; beams or posts or both in some cases.

dchall_san_antonio did comment on the walls not going all the way to the floor - this is nothing to worry about - it looks like someone has notched out the doorway trim to lay flooring, the 'step' they mentioned appears to be the transition between the previous carpeting and the kitchen floor, a carpenter can fix these small issues very easily. I would suggest getting an architect involved. A school of architecture may even take on your project for free and students often come up with some very creative solutions.

Good luck with your project, get lots of quotes and references before choosing a contractor - they vary greatly in price, expertise, integrity and experience and there's nothing less fun than dealing with the deficiencies of poor workmanship. My contractor always helps with selecting product, making sure that the building materials are viable before he picks them up and gives guidance on finishing materials. He never up-charges on his contractor discount and lets me pay the building store directly, he also never asks for a penny for his work until the job is done, he responds to all of my calls/emails and calls me every time when he's on his way. That kind of integrity is very hard to find, but if you can find it you will appreciate it - it will save you a lot of money and wasted time in the long run.