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mandi_t63

Home Layout Help

11 months ago

Took out all the front walls in our home creating a big open space. Would love if anyone would be willing to give layout advise for a kitchen, pantry, 1/2 bath, and office space in a renovation we are doing.

Comments (18)

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    What about family room or dining spaces? Also, is that your front door / main entrance on the bottom of the picture? Do you have any limitations of where plumbing can go? (Are you on a slab, crawl, or basement?) Conceptually, I'd imagine a kitchen near the screened porch for access to an outdoor grill, if applicable, but there are many unknowns.

    Important: Did you have a structural engineer take a look before removing walls? There are spaces that look like you have long spans between walls. It would be a great idea to bring in an architect too.

  • 11 months ago

    We have a plan, was just curious on an outsiders perspective

    Front door is at the bottom of the photo.
    No load bearing walls. And no plumbing limitations.

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    We need more info: Where is the living and dining space in your home? Who will use the half bath and when - do you do a lot of entertaining and does it need to be accessible to the living and dining space?

    Do you unload groceries from the garage into the kitchen or through the front door?

    How large of an office do you need? Does someone work full-time from there? What do you need in there - just desk top computer space or do you want a chair or sofa?

    How large of a pantry do you want?


    If you have a plan, are you open to scraping the entire thing and starting anew with whatever somoene suggests here? If not, post you plan and you will get great comments about how to tweak it to make it better.

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    Welcome to the Kitchens Forum Mandi!


    Please see the Featured Answer in the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread for the information we need. In your case, we'll need the measurements of the entire space since it's all up for consideration. Here's a sample:


    Unfortunately, not only are the measurements in your posted layout difficult to read, but they also do not provide the measurements we need.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    So, only kitchen and office space? No living or dining rooms?

  • 11 months ago

    Sorry, we were thinking the living room had to be over to the right close to the sliding doors to the backyard.
    We aren’t much into formal dining rooms and were considering a small kitchen table somewhere in the space. I guess resale value could be better if we had a formal dining space..

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Dining room doesn't have to be "formal", but there needs to be a place to eat. And sit (usually called a "living" room). You didn't mention either, so it's a pretty confusing post. You would get better advice if you were much more specific about your wants and needs.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Who told you you have no load bearing walls and I have no idea what you are working with .You have aplan where is it? Honestly no info gets no help. Every measurement in the now empty space is how you get help We need to ba able to read the measurements and we need to see all window placement and sizes . All posted here in jpeg format in a comment DO NOT START another post.

  • 11 months ago

    I would probably want the kitchen between the garage and porch. A dining table on the porch for summer dining.

    I would add a wall to form a hallway to the bedroom area for more quiet and privacy.

    The TV can go on the living room side of the new hallway wall.


    Arrange living room furniture around the TV and the dining set in front of the fromt window.


  • 11 months ago

    " I guess resale value could be better if we had a formal dining space.. "


    Unless you are looking at selling within 3 years, you're doing the reno for you, not for resale. And changing the floor plan that much for resale is a fools errand. Change the home for the way you want it top live.

  • PRO
    11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    Put the walls back. The end.

    There is a BIG backlash against open concept.

    And the house falling down.


    I guarantee that some of the walls removed were supporting the ends of trusses. You do not ever get a truss to span the distance you show there. You get individual trusses with ends on bearing walls. Or you get a huge amount of steel, with a huge amount of labor, to span those distances.

  • 11 months ago



  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Design Before Demo is the correct order. Structural engineer before demo too. Or you just ruined the most expensive thing you will ever purchase.

  • PRO
    11 months ago

    Agree with Zumi. Disagree with Minardi, he can't guarantee anything without being there. But the OP seems to have things backwards, and we're still waiting for (a lot) more information. Hope she isn't MIA.

  • 11 months ago

    Oh, what the heck, I’ll try. @Mandi T this is a thought experiment at best. Without measurements I’m just playing around, but I hope it is useful for you.


  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    Here is another concept...rough sketch.




  • 11 months ago

    Since space seems to be tight and your hall bath is centrally located, I would skip the half bath.