If done right, I don’t think it looks dated.

If you mean was it popular 100 years ago, the answer is yes. Its still an effective way to define spaces while allowing them to be visually open.

Looks great. Do what you want to do.

I never have enough storage so, yes, use that divider. In addition, it will make a wonderful serving surface for dinners and parties. Why does everyone think Architectural Digest sparsely furnished spaces will be useful if there are more than one person in a room?

The photo is not dated at all.

I think that's lovely. And I would regard it as a perfect spot to store table linens, etc. Doooo eeeeeet!!!

I agree a nice addition to give some separation in a big open space and very functional

I tell my clients that if they're trying to follow current trends they're already too late.

I have seen this in a few multi million dollar model homes lately with this type of separator, but not with the columns. IMO the columns date this idea.

Both beautiful and functional. Just lovely.

There is nothing dated about the columns or the divider. Just make sure the look works with your house.

I did dividers on either side of my kitchen/dining, left the middle open and mimicked craftsman style dividers.

Gorgeous and functional

We did something similar a couple years ago in a new construction.

Charming New Construction Farmhouse · More Info

Half walls help define space in a way that maintains a certain degree of connection between spaces.

following

Not dated at all, and neither are the columns as long as they fit the space. Love that look.

I just removed a half wall with columns during my remodel and my house was built in 2003. It absolutely dated my home, but I’m going more for a modern look now. The models I looked at (modern/transitional) did it as a pass through bar and storage next to the kitchen. I thought that looked more updated than how mine was. I think if you have a more traditional style house the columns would work though.

You did absolutely the right thing by removing that wall in the photo.

Karen....is the photo you just posted one of the current models you visited....it’s not your space before remodel, correct?

I think the divider is great, but I don't like the columns in the photo. They're too heavy for the rest of the architecture. Could you maybe come up with some different column ideas?

Are you kidding me? I think it's a Fantastic idea. I'd say GO FOR IT! *envious*

Scale and proportion are everything. ..................no matter what one shall do, do it well. Make sure there's flooring BENEATH it : ) Changes of heart have been known to happen.

A farmhouse with chandeliers? Perhaps you meant a manor house.

I dislike half walls.

You think a light fixture defines a house style? Interesting.

You think a light fixture defines a house style? Interesting.

I know very little about interior design (and maybe this post will prove it, lol), but this is a little bit surprising to hear from a design pro.

I honestly thought the most timeless designs were successful marriages of the exterior and interior... Consistency... So, for example, putting a Victorian light fixture in a Pueblo style house would be strange. Just like a fancy crystal-covered multi-level chandelier seems out of place in a farmhouse.

Of course, people can do whatever they want, but it's difficult to deny the incompatibility of those styles.

I might add here : I'm rather against any element that results in an " I couldn't make up my mind " feeling In a house.

Where's you house plan?

Do you need storage? Remember whether open or closed... this needs to look good on BOTH side.

Could you accomplish the same thing with a custom piece of furniture? What about beautiful open built in on the SIDES and a narrower opening ?

What of just defining the areas with rugs?

Definition to spaces can take many forms:) Explore before you leap and spend? Post your plan

I do not see any crystal-covered chandeliers in either of the photos above. Both feature wood-beaded fixtures. Having said that, whether or not one considers a light fixture to be incompatible, it doesn't negate the overall architectural style of a home.

And decor shouldn't necessarily be so literal to a design style that it renders the overall look forced or staid. A collected design is often more interesting and timeless than one that adheres too stridently to a specific theme.

Yes I agree I have a hard time commenting unless I see the full picture - plan, elevation, material selection. Any one of those elements done incorrectly will definitely ‘date’ it. In theory, yes it could work.

I do not see any crystal-covered chandeliers in either of the photos above. Both feature wood-beaded fixtures.

My mistake... They sure looked crystal-covered at first glance; now they look super-size pearl-covered to me, lol. My point still stands. It's far "too glam" for a farmhouse.

I only see one photo, too, so I might be missing something.

Having said that, whether or not one considers a light fixture to be incompatible, it doesn't negate the overall architectural style of a home.

Never said it negated the overall architectural style... I said it was strange and incompatible with the style. Making it a trendy thing and not a timeless thing.

And decor shouldn't necessarily be so literal to a design style that it renders the overall look forced or staid.

There is typically enough variation within styles that looking forced can easily be avoided.

A collected design is often more interesting and timeless than one that adheres too stridently to a specific theme.

I'm thinking we may have to agree to disagree. :-)

When I hear "collected design" and "too stridently [adhering] to a specific theme" I think, "Sure, then you get a McMansion." Again, this could be my own lack of experience in design.

I'm sure there are fine lines drawn all over the place. But at least, from this untrained eye, there are often too many elements that look thrown together seemingly without considering the overall effect, or a single sore-thumb element that stands out as if the thought was, "Well, I like this, I don't care if it fits or not."

I have to avoid that very trap, myself, at times. Otherwise, I'd have a bead curtain or two somewhere in my home. Which would definitely be incompatible with my red brick, Tudor-lite, tract house. :-D

If you believe that "collected" = "McMansion", then yes, we'll have to agree to disagree.

If you believe that "collected" = "McMansion", then yes, we'll have to agree to disagree.

I believe it can, and often does, yes. So I guess I would be a poor client for you, and you would be a poor pro for me. :-)

"Collected" doesn't in ANY way equal McMansion.

You could have a farmhouse with modern art

A mid cen home with a scattering of antique rugs.......very traditional oil paintings.

A Georgian with fabulous tiger maple antiques, juxtaposed with modern art. Or the reverse.

Don't confuse eclectic with collected. In both scenarios, there is always some unifying thread. When either is well done, no matter the shell, you'll know it. Neither one will come to be viewed as a mish mash, and neither will look anything but.......... absolutely intentional. Both are harder than they look, to achieve.

Don't confuse eclectic with collected. In both scenarios, there is always some unifying thread. When either is well done, no matter the shell, you'll know it.

I don't think I've ever seen examples of 2 polar-opposite styles looking good together. It very well could be me.

It comes up frequently on the forums here, that someone can't have a "Craftsman-Farmhouse" style house, or a "Mountain Rustic-Coastal" style house, or whatever. Don't the same "style rules" apply to interior design, as to architectural design? If not, why not? I am honestly asking. :-)

I left out a salient point. It's the opposite of "themed" decor. You may be able to pull off Mission/Craftsman furnishings in a Mid cen. That's almost always a fail in a Victorian frosted build in San Francisco of yore. A chinoiserie cabinet might jar your senses in a shingled Craftman, as would almost anything with a strong Art Deco flavor. Some styles speak so boldly, they need to stand in compatible surroundings.That is why it's not "easy" until it is well done. Very well.

Thank you, Miss Jan! That makes a bit more sense to me, now.

(I'm still not sold on it yet, but I'm starting to see... I think... lol.)

A million years ago I had a joke with a few girlfriends. One would ask.....does this go with this? Can I wear these boots with this skirt?

We'd roll our eyes......" You can if you paid enough!!"

There is a brutal truth to what I said above: Quality counts. Money helps. Minus either? You best have been gifted with a superb eye and great taste. Don't try your luck at the "discy's" without an EXTREME skill level. hahhaha Or gorgeous BONES. Human or home

The year was 1996..................:)

"The outfit Sharon Stone wore to the 1996 Academy Awards -- a Gap T-shirt under an Armani jacket and paired with a Valentino skirt -- ranks as one of the more memorable mash-ups of high-low fashion to come down the red carpet. But how did it happen?

That question was answered at the Feb. 23 Costume Designers Guild Awards when Stone, via a pre-taped congratulatory message to Career Achievement Award winner Ellen Mirojnick, credited the costume designer with the last-minute ensemble.

The dress I was going to wear had been backed over by the FedEx truck,” Stone said in the video, “and I decided to have Ellen Mirojnick kidnapped. When she showed up, she opened my closet and said: ‘We can do this.'"

I prefer CPArtist’s use of the half-walls, attached to the side walls and open in the middle. It’s more classic.

[...] a Gap T-shirt under an Armani jacket and paired with a Valentino skirt [...]

:-O

Oh, boy....

I may have taken my chances with the run-over dress, lol! Especially if it was purple. ;-)

I'm very happy with my half walls. This is one we made with some extra upper kitchen cabinets that we turned upside down. (It's a long story why we had extra cabinets) My husband built the columns on the sides. I have another similar half-wall created with the lower two foot deep kitchen cabinets that I turned into a buffet between the dining room and the kitchen. The walls do a great job defining the spaces and I have something to put my couch against.

This is one we made with some extra upper kitchen cabinets that we turned upside down.

Such a great example of clever ingenuity!

I remember that Sharon Stone Gap turtleneck - and she was braless :) metaphor in here somewhere about taste and confidence in both interiors and fashion!

I don't care for the look of them, and wouldn't want them in my house, but I wouldn't say they are dated.

Thank you all for your responses and great
Suggestions.