Opening up a wall - thoughts?

[lowthreeohz]

Ever since i bought my place i've had the intention of taking down the wall between my kitchen and living room. For whatever reason the previous owner built a kitchen with very limited counter space, no dishwasher and a bunch of other shitty stuff, but left a 20'+ wall empty on the other side of the room - it's finally time to fix their sins.

what's the best thing to do on the living room side here - bar top with some high stools? i really have no idea what to do with this space.

Here's a phone-shop of what is coming down. the tv is going to the other side of the room to get mounted over the fireplace and the furniture will move accordingly.

[Craizie]

Just go at it with a hammer until you're happy.

[lowthreeohz]

lol.. i'm having a beam installed as it's a load bearing wall on the first floor, what i'm asking is what the fuck do i do with it on the living room side once its open?

my other option is tear it out to the floor, and put in an island but that will bring on a whole new set of problems.

[black2002ls]

What is on the other side of the wall? Maybe turn it into a dry bar instead of a full island. Cut it at ~42" cap it and install cabinets and a countertop on the back side

[dsrtuckteezy]

i would just leave it how it is. where else would you put the loveseat? maybe put two stools on the end though, and definitely a countertop of sorts (granite, stone, etc..)

also, theres something black and dead on your rug...

why would anyone isolate the kitchen from the living/dining room? that's some old school shit

[lowthreeohz]

What is on the other side of the wall? Maybe turn it into a dry bar instead of a full island. Cut it at ~42" cap it and install cabinets and a countertop on the back side

Kitchen. right now both the short and long walls are bare on the other side. i'm going to add 12-15' of counter and cabinets on them as part of the whole kitchen remodel

i would just leave it how it is. where else would you put the loveseat? maybe put two stools on the end though, and definitely a countertop of sorts (granite, stone, etc..)

also, theres something black and dead on your rug...

why would anyone isolate the kitchen from the living/dining room? that's some old school shit

The living room is essentially going to flip 180 so all the furniture is going to move. there's plenty of space for everything. the black thing is my piece of shit cat, i just keep waiting for him to run away and the sonofabitch wont leave.

the house was built in the 85 i think and apparently they weren't interested in flowing rooms back then? but the lack of counter space and thought in the kitchen is just mind boggling

[dsrtuckteezy]

lol damn, that's a big cat.

i'm guessing they wanted the women to focus on their job (kitchen duties) and not be distracted by dr. oz, and grey's anatomy.

[lowthreeohz]

Yeah, lamest excuse for a pet, ever.

Here's the other side of that wall

[mstng86]

This may sound out of the norm, but there are times where I wish our kitchen and living room weren't open to each other. The clear divide of one room to another has it's benefits.

I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on this.

[mstng86]

Holy shit. I just saw the kitchen pic. What a waste of a wall.

[lowthreeohz]

This may sound out of the norm, but there are times where I wish our kitchen and living room weren't open to each other. The clear divide of one room to another has it's benefits.

I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on this.

Such as what, noise from appliances or something? The problem i have is that you can't see anything from the kitchen, and even trying to have a conversation between rooms is painful. we end up yelling or chasing one another around in circles trying to have a conversation. taking the wall down and putting the tv over the fireplace will make it viewable from most of the first floor which would be nice

Holy shit. I just saw the kitchen pic. What a waste of a wall.

yeah, i wasn't kidding. there's maybe 4-5' of counter space in my kitchen and its fucking stupid. the rest of the house is nice and big, i don't understand how or why someone would do this

[lowthreeohz]

thinking i'll move the fridge to here, cabinets/counter top all the way around the "L", then put a microwave and oven where the fridge currently is.

[dsrtuckteezy]

yep, and do a step up from the counter top with a backsplash, and an independent bar top.

[dcs13]

If you go to Lowes, they have a "design"person that will do a layout for you for free. The expectation is that you will buy your stuff there at some point, but no charges.
It's a very helpful service. You can see their suggestions (with your input) in a 3d model and they will print you out a 2d plan and materials list. My wife used it when we did a remodel. They helped with colors and tiles and the whole shooting match.
The Depot probably has the same.

[lincolnboy]

You can see thr living. Room flooring on the kitchen side of that wall.