Entirely remove both and have the wood floor run into your entry way too - no tile. Makes the space choppy.

At least, it was well thought out, with the half wall and ceiling. The architecture is doing a lot of the work for you…it’s giving you hallway, it’s giving you living room and it’s giving you entry while still being open. And I don’t see the point in removing the separation just to buy something that will separate the rooms. Also, are you prepared to lose your dedicated entry just to gain a long and narrow living room?

Will you do a floorplan of the areas? Need to see the size of the entry wrt the living/dining areas. I don’t like the ceiling boxes, but agree that if you remove the half wall, you will want something to define the entry and all the stuff that can linger in an entryway. I would replace the mirrored doors.

Your mock up photo looks much better. If you need a “division” of the entryway and living area, there are so many good design ideas you can consider other than a sheetrock half wall.

Creativity is your friend

If you need a bookcase, your divider can be that.

What do you think about that look, Paul?

Thanks for your pictures, I do consider adding a wood slat wall at first place, but as I live in Canada, temperature and moisture changes quite a bit during the year, kind afraid that wood may distort.

I see slatted walls with heavier planks used in homes on the sand in nearby Malibu with no warping. I certainly wouldn't try it will plain 2x4's since they will twist for sure... although you could do the second slat design that RedRyder posted where there are blocks in between the planks to keep them from distorting.

Hard to say how it will look in your place since the entry area looks huge but I think it may be camera distortion making it look oversized. Maybe rearrange the closet with open storage shelves inside that face the hanging rod... then do a single closet door that opens outward? Is there space to do something like this?

It is a decent size enteyway, also there is power room near closet.

I agree with removing the wall. If you do not need it for structure, open it all up and change the floors to one material.

If you remove the wall, you'll be replacing some portion of the floor anyway. I guess I'd make the decision based on how easy it is to arrange furniture in the living room (which looks tiny, but your photos are distorting) -- it could be that having a unified flooring would give you just the extra degree of freedom you need to make it all work. In a pinch you could even partly block one closet door with a chair or whatever. Good luck!

Not a fan of the slats looking from the living spaces towards the entry. Loved it looking the other way.

You can put a narrow console table on the wall at the front door to have someplace to put keys, etc. I’m agreeing with @ShafyWillowFarm that the look of the slats from the living room view isn’t as good as from the door. Not sure why that is, though…..

I think having some kind of a divider is necessary, given the location of the powder room. If you open it up and have company, you'll have guests sitting at the dining table watching someone basically use the bathroom.... If it was my place, I would definitely want to obscure the direct line from the living/dining space to the bathroom.

So maybe it would be better, and certainly way less expensive, to leave the half wall up, rather than to remove it, put up slats, then add a console table to mimic a half wall…your call, OP.

Are you going to be living in the home? Have you planned your furniture placement?

I always suggest that people live in the home for a few months to figure out what works and does not work for the way they live in the home before doing any renovations. Your imagination and reality are often quite different and you won't really know what bothers you most until you have lived in the space.

I do like the idea of removing the ceiling box. I don't know about the wall without knowing if the space beside the entry will be used as a dining or living area, what the dimensions of that space and the foyer are and how you intend to furnish the space.

If you intend to use it as a living room and will be placing a sofa against the window and a TV on the wall across from the window you would want to remove the wall so that you can create an unobstructed path through the living space.

Please draw out a floorplan with dimensions and provide more information on how the room is going to be used, if this is the main entry that will be used daily or just a guest entry.

So if 'likes' are any indication, then almost no one likes the slats enough to hit 'like'. So, maybe just a furniture division, like a console or etagere? I like the wall down and certainly the mess off the ceiling. I think giving the entry a little character with a nice fixture and painted doors helps a lot.

I love the slats in theory, but for some reason they just aren't doing it for me in this particular home. However, I could be on board with adding slats/bookcases/something to the top of the existing half-wall.

For me, I like having some minimal separation between spaces. I am not generally in the "open it all up" camp - so you have to keep that in mind. So for me, I would leave the half wall there because I really like how it gives you a defined entry.

It's clear people have 2 different minds regarding your question. That's nice, it's fun to see people throw out different ideas, and then you can decide how things sound, TO YOU. Do you like open spaces? Do you like defined entry areas? Do you like the mock-up with the room wide open...or does it feel "too open" to you now?

The answers to those questions will help inform your decision. Good luck!!

Thanks Paul for all your ideas, I do like separate entry and living room, also reason I plan using tiles on entry because we live in Canada and we have 4 months of snow so shoes will be dirty with all the muds, don’t want to ruin my wood floor with all the water and mud. And since floor is different between entry and living, it is make sense to add a slats? Or I just use floor as a separation?

I’d find out the ramifications/cost of removing the ceiling box as it may mean having to keep the half wall for balance. A full wall will provide more decorative options on both sides.

Foyer

Living room

It will define the entrance and block the view to the powder room. You also gain more privacy in LR/DR when someone comes to the door. What you lose is the light coming in from the hallway.

Be sure to tie in both walls style wise when accessorizing, add a rug and a great light fixture.

There are lots of ideas on line if keeping half wall, depending on your style and maybe search for inspiration.

Homes with foyers that separate living space from entry space have better flow, and more privacy than homes that just dump you into the living space with no separation. I'd actually continue the pony wall and make it a full height complete wall.

It seems like an awful lot of living space to write off to the entry but it would be the easiest.

That opening looks really skinny.

On the above consider walkway width so it has full view of the front doors, which are pretty! Maybe scale the wall back about 1-2 feet, and perhaps have a header too.

I moved the pony wall back about 1 foot from where it is now and added only enough tile to wipe and then take off shoes.

I think you should show us the wall with the windows to make sure that blocking the door light is the best decision for the room.

I like that - full height wall with the larger opening. Gives the foyer some nice definition and a sense of entry, gives the powder room some added privacy, gives you some additional wall space in the living room. All good things in my book.

A full wall definitely works if you want to define the entry from the living room and need the wall space. But you also cut out a lot of light that is coming from the front door area.

I suspect that’s why there is a half wall there. Some “definition” of entry vs living room but not cutting out the light.

Good overhead lighting in the living areas would solve that problem. You’ll need that lighting anyway at night and on cloudy days, so it’s something that must be done no matter what.

I'm conflicted on this one. Kinda like the area opened but also like the idea of having a separate foyer/entry. If you are going to want a separation I might suggest a complete wall that goes from floor to ceiling where the current half wall is now with a cased opening in the middle that allows access to the next room. Would suggest new doors to replace the mirrored doors of the closet.

Yes, the wall looks good, will try to get a quote from my contractor on this.

If I were doing a floor to ceiling wall I would mimic the entry and have the opening the same size and position as the front entry.

What did you end up doing?

I would like to know the final decision too.