Knock down wall between dining/kitchen
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| Small rowhouse with separate kitchen and dining. Replacing cabinets and counters. Deciding whether to knock down wall and create a counter. Torn. Know it will open up the room, make it brighter. Can talk while cooking. (Kitchen is pretty bright as it has a door and window with light coming in.) But will cut down on my wall space on both sides. Will have to forgo shelves in the kitchen and hard to figure out how to squeeze in small piano in dining room. No other place in the house. Everyone I ask thinks the obvious thing is to knock down the wall... |
Anonymous
| We did this in our old rowhouse and solved the shelving problem by installing hanging cabinets over the counter separating the kitchen and dining room. The cabinets were high enough that they didn't block line of sight, although the flip side was that I couldn't easily reach things on the higher shelves (less of a problem for my husband). So we just kept stuff on the higher shelves that we didn't use very often, and I would pull up a step stool when needed. Not a perfect set up, but I think it was the best possible set up for the space that we had. |
Anonymous
| Knock it down! If you put up a hanging cabinet, I'd recommend glass doors. I've also seen beautiful cabinets partially in front of windows with glass doors. Be smart in your cabinet design/organization, and you can probably make it work. Pot hangers can save space too. |
Anonymous
|
knock it down! your home will have a better flow to it. I debated about this and was so happy I decided to knock it down.
as far as cabinet space... i found other places to put things, but honestly I ended up getting rid of a lot of stuff. It was therapeutic! |
Anonymous
| Definitely knock it down. We had a similar problem with lack of cabinet space in our rowhouse remodel. During our remodel, we replaced the wall with a peninsula that has counter space and the sink and dishwasher on one side. On the other side (the dining room side) where stools and a breakfast bar would typically go, we put cabinets. It looks great, and gives us a ton of storage space. Of course, we have no breakfast bar, but that is fine - we just eat at the table. |
Anonymous
| We knocked it down and never looked back. We put some cabinets underneath part of the new breakfast bar area. |
Anonymous
| We took the wall down and love it! We left the top open and just added cabinets in the peninsula. It makes the space look so much larger. |
Anonymous
| Definitely knock it down. If you redo your kitchen without knocking down it will hurt the house value instead of increase it. I don't know what cabinets you have now, but the 42" cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling have way more storage. |
Anonymous
I can't believe that to be true. |
Anonymous
|
OK, I'll be the dissenter. We renovated and didn't open up the kitchen to the rest of the house. And I am so glad we didn't. We are able to have countertop wrap all the way around three walls of the kitchen (back, one side, and the side that connects with the dining room). We have a glass door and a big window over the sink, and we made the doorway that connects to the dining room a little wider. The kitchen feels so luxuriously big and bright for the Hill. I really feel like opening up the whole floor in a little row house like mine makes the whole first level feel smaller and narrower, like a bowling lane. The proportions are all off.
Then again, every other renovated house seems to do that! |
Anonymous
|
We passed on a house partly because the owners had taken down the wall between the kitchen and DR (yes, we could have put one back up, and if we'd loved everything else about the house, we'd have been willing to do it).
Is there really nowhere else to put the piano? Have you talked to an interior designer? Don't give up your piano just because people are telling you you have to open the wall. |
Anonymous
| Having had an open kitchen: Just be sure there is some way to block the line of sight between the dirty dishes in the kitchen and the rest of the house. Not just all same height counters all over. |
Anonymous
| OP: Wow, everyone likes the open space. I'm surprised there is only one person who does not prefer that. I'm really torn. Do like the separate rooms too because of the additional wall space on both sides. Have a piece of furniture and a piano in dining room. In the kitchen I was going to have shelves where I can display a lot of pottery and pottery dishes. I know I can keep lower cabinets. Also worried about cost....was trying to keep costs down and hadn't even contemplated knocking the wall down until I realized I didn't cost that much to do it...but I think it would cost a few thousand by the time I get a counter, etc. Also both rooms currently have large glass doors to the back (the south side) so get a lot of light...so, while it would brighten everything, it's not like the rooms are really dark now or anything.... |
Anonymous
|
OP:
Another option might be to just do a cut out in that wall and have a counter. Is that a popular option? Wondering if the cost would be less... |
Anonymous
It's your house, and you're going to be the one living in it. Do what works for you. |