IMO try switching the rooms first to see if you can live with that. Could you post a to scale floor plan of the whole main living space that would be helpful. IMO what is really needed next is painting the walls much lighter colors . IMO moving the divider will create serious issues such as flooring for sure and IMO yes have an effect on the resale but you also need to be able to live your life in the space so it is an issue only you can decide. I have never worried about the imaginary buyer when making a house my home.

Those columns are integral to a Craftsman home. I like Patricia's idea of switching the rooms around to see if that works for you. Or if there is another place for dining, use the larger room as the family room and the smaller room as a library or sitting/conversation/lounge area.

Agree with above. Please do not remove those built ins.

Your new house is just beautiful. Tell your husband that new house builders all over the US are putting up columns and pony walls where they don't even make sense. Here you have something beautiful and integrated into the wonderful Craftsman design. Repaint both spaces in a gorgeous light color. Add light linen curtains. Create an Ideabook with Craftsman styles then look for art work, furnishings, rugs that "talk" to each other between both spaces. Tara and Patricia have made great suggestions. Try those and save yourself a lot of headaches and money.

This is Benjamin Moore "Gentle Cream"

Environmentally Friendly · More Info

Those are so beautiful - please, please, don’t touch them. Never mind what future buyers will think, they are absolutely integral to the character of the home. I agree with Patricia, try switching the rooms around. Remember that a huge part of living in an old house is learning to live with it and not expecting it to be something it’s not.

I see a vent and a rad in the dining area. Do you cool with the vent and heat with the rad? Thinking the corner where the vent is might make a spot for TV, but there don't appear to be any outlets nearby. Are there outlets in the dining room at all? Is there electrical in the wall right of the pocket doors in the adjoining room that could be tapped into?

Here's an article on "How to do a Craftsman" right: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/soulful-craftsman-house#gallery-11

This is a little like your layout could be. With a lot of doors and windows, floating a sofa will open up the room. Please send measurements so some of the pros can help you lay out the living room in what you have as dining room.

Is that a sectional in the front room? If so, it's probably not helping with space and will be hard to work with in either room with or without the built ins. Even if you remove the whole doorway, the rooms aren't going to drastically change size or shape. I second the recommendations that you post a layout to crowdsource furniture placement ideas.

I'm not sure the next buyers will notice the built ins aren't there, but a potential buyer could be charmed by them if they are there (I'm pretty sure I bought my 1932 house based mostly on the original blue flower hex tiles in the bathroom...). And taking them out certainly won't earn you any additional resale to offset the cost of fixing the floors and doorway.

The OP can totally float their sectional to face the dining room if the reverse the rooms--and they should. Hopefully the TV, this one, or a slightly smaller one could be placed on a stand iin front of the built-ins on the right if there's no radiator on that side.

Again, OP needs to add well-lit photos from all four sides and provide dimensions. There are some great ways to lay out this beautiful space. Oh, I just saw the yellow leaded stained windows in the front room. Beautiful. Include some yellow in your palette--pillows, art, rug, pale gold curtains, etc. to carry on the window color throughout the space.

Hand-Tufted Ombre Shag Rug, Yellow, 5'x8' · More Info

AM Home Gray/Gold Chevron Emb. Pillow, 20"x20" · More Info

OP, are you out there? Everybody loves your house. Let's get some better, brighter photos to help out. You're probably pretty busy because I see baby equipment.

The pics are from the real estate photos the furniture isn’t mine it’s completely empty. I like the floating furniture. We spoke and decided to keep the colonnade and to remove the doors which we will store and make shelving and brighten the room by painting it. We don’t use a dining room so we decided to make a living room and a social room using the same light paint in both rooms to tie it together. Let me know if you have any ideas or pics

Ps we are not painting the wood just the walls I might wallpaper the inside of the cabinets

@housegal200 I love your palette suggestions! I will be going to the house today I’ll take some better out pics thank you so much for the suggestions

Take measurements or look at the plans in your real estate packet. I thought you already lived there.

I was trying to echo those great yellow windows. However, since you do have very warm wood trim, a bit of red/red gold in any patterns would harmonize with floors and trim and if you go light on the walls, make sure any whites have warmth to them like the BM Gentle Cream. Factor in the color of your furnishings. I thought the sofa and other items in the photos were yours. Even if they're not, palette in this rug would pick up on wood trim, gold stained glass windows.

In the future when you post, always have well-lit photos from all four sides, measurements, pieces you'll be adding, etc. I chose to show the firstrug with so much yellow because I thought the big gray sectional was yours. Others picked up on that, too. Anyway, it's often a good idea to spend the $$$ on a color consultant when you're moving in so he/she can take into account furniture you have, finishes in the rooms, lighting by day and night, style of the house. It's money well spent and usually the one-time fee doesn't cost all that much and you get off to a good start.

Great idea, it was my first post I’ll know more next time on how to proceed. I was so upset with the thought of losing that colonnade I needed advice and you all helped tremendously! He read all the comments and it was saved!!
I love the grays and reds in that carpet and I will take your advice on getting a professional to help with the coloring.

Enjoy your wonderful house!

Measure both rooms. You will probably find that the dining room is larger than the living room. It is certainly the case in many homes built in the late nineteenth century. That way, swapping the living and dining room will give you more space and you won’t need to deal with the limitations of having a fireplace on one wall in the living room, too.

I would NOT take out the colonnade. Old home buyers need something to drool about when they buy old homes (to make them forget about all of the wiring issues, lack of insulation, crooked ceilings...), and a beautiful original colonnade is what they will see when they look at yours! I think it is respectful to your old home to leave it intact, after all, it has survived almost a century already!

Can you switch the use of the two rooms? If not, can you add a cozy seating area into your dining room? Do you need a dining room (i.e. do you have enough seating in your kitchen for day to day use)? Could you convert the dining room into a library with comfy seating and a library table that you could expand if you had to seat guests?

Please do not remove your beautiful piece of history! Future buyers will thank you one day.

What a beautiful space! They don't build like that anymore. Good luck decorating!

We just bought this house and the colonnade between the living room and dining room makes the living room small and the dining room huge so my husband wants to take it down. Will this devalue my house?

Anyone who wants a craftsman house will pay EXTRA for that feature between the dining room and living room. Removing it absolutely devalues the house by a lot!

On a craftsman house with such beautiful woodwork, you don't paint it and you don't remove it. These are the features we look for when considering buying a craftsman house. I suggest you do some research on the jewel you own now.

Editing to say I'm glad to see he's relented and won't be opening it up. However I would think twice about opening up those gorgeous leaded glass doors. People pay a fortune to add leaded glass doors like that!

Also If you decide you want to wallpaper the back of the cabinets, I would suggest doing it on a separate piece of board and sticking the board back there so as not to ruin the original wood finish. (I think it might be fun to do several different wallpapers that could then be changed out depending on the season and your whim) Again though, when it comes to old homes with such gorgeous woodwork is to do no harm. :)

Here's an article on "How to do a Craftsman" right: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/soulful-craftsman-house#gallery-11

Excellent article. Thanks for sharing.