This is the view standing in the kitchen looking toward the hallway.

The ceiling in the kitchen is vaulted. Not that it matters, but so you can see the ceiling height.

This is the view looking from the hallway toward the kitchen and through to the family room.

The ceiling is the hallway is a standard height.

The hallway splits. This is the view when taking a left from the hallway and looking toward the bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry room.

Still on the left side of the hallway, but closer, so you can see the door.

Still on the left side of the hallway, but closer, so you can see the door.

This is the view from the other side of the hallway when taking a right. This is looking toward another room and the upstairs loft. I used arrows to indicate where the entrance of the hallway is.

And then a view from the same side, but closer, so you can see the door from this side.

It depends on whether or not you need to occasionally close off the kitchen from the rest of the house. Such as keeping a dog or child from getting in or out. Or for noise reduction. I like the idea of having a French door. Either that, or take the door off.

Hi nhb22, thank you! Yes, so that is my worry with removing the door…the hallway leads to what we call the kids’ wing lol. We also have cats and have been considering getting a puppy, which I thought maybe we’d want the door to contain her/him. I don't know we’d need it, but I do wonder if we’d miss it if we removed it. We’d also have to replace the trim if we removed it, which isn’t a huge consideration, but just something to keep in mind I suppose. I always thought it was a little strange to have a door there, but I can see the functional uses of it in those cases.

I would remove it, and fix the casing, etc. If you do get a puppy, a baby gate will work, for the short period of time, you would need to keep the puppy from the rest of the house.

I agree with Cat_ky. I would remove it.

Jane

We use baby gates to keep the dog in certain areas of our home. However, there are times when I wished I could just close a door instead. Especially when she is crying to get out.

Don't forget that you will not only be removing the door trim, but you will also have to have sheetrock work. On the other hand, adding a new door may need adjustments, as well. Why don't you start out with just removing the door and see how you like it. Easy enough to put it back on, or try adding the glass door.

Thank you, cat_ky and jane_ny. That’s not a bad idea at all nhb22. I like the idea of trying it out to see if we like it or not. In addition to a pup, a door is also nice for kid noise reduction lol!