Need Help: To open or not to open? How much?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

We need to remodel the kitchen in the house we recently bought. We can't decide if we want to take part of the wall down between the kitchen and living room down or not.

This is the worst kitchen design I've ever seen. It's got to go. Our plan is to stretch it down into the dining room area and use what I assume was supposed to be a nook (where I'm standing in the first picture) as the dining area. I think my wife and I would both like to take down the wall between the two rooms, or at least open it up. Our problem is we're not sure how well it would it work or how good it would look to have the couch up against a bar height wall with the kitchen counter on the other side. I think she's afraid you'd splash people on the head if you're working in the kitchen. The living room isn't really conducive to a different layout than what's shown.

Have you seen any precedent for something like this? Any suggestions or advice? This project needs to start but we're hesitant about how to really fix this space.

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PRO
CLARICE SMYTH DESIGN
7 years ago
You need to have a contractor look at your kitchen wall and see if removing any portion of it is possible. The wall appears to have a lot of electrical within it and can also be load bearing. If the wall is load bearing it could require a structural beam be added to carry the load.

A few things to consider is,

If you can create a knee wall, you will lose a large portion of your cabinets, microwave, and possibly stove vent - if it is a feature of the microwave and not built into the range.

Electrician will be needed to reroute wiring.

You will have to address the ceiling between the two spaces where the wall is removed.

If the living room is not large enough to change the seating arrangement it will make for a very awkward layout and can negatively impact the resale value.

There will be no visual barrier to hide messes while cooking.

It would be advisable to have a designer redesign and project manage your kitchen remodel or at least pay them for a design consultation if you intend to do it yourself.

Mistakes can cost a lot. You will save more at the end of the remodel by using professionals.

Good luck
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