I need a to scale floor plan of the kitchen and also the space where you want to open the wall.I never like kitchens open to LRs , DRs yes.30’ walk way no way. I love galley kitchens so post the floor plan making sure all windows and doorways are clearly marked make sure all measurements are clear and the drawing can be enlarged .If you have appliances that are staying provide their measurements .

Thank you Patricia. Trying to add more photos.

Excuse the mess

I love open spaces too between the living and kitchen. Keep it up! It will look great.

You need 18” height for banquet. Where you plan to put it, it looks like the windows are too low to the floor. If the corner is 24” deep, you could put banquet along the wall, flanked by tall cabinets and tiny recessed pot lights shining on art above banquet, or a span of glass front display cabinets over banquet.

2.5 feet of space between island and couch is not enough space. It will feel cramped. If you can't move the sofa to provide at least 3' (preferably 4') then don't do it. Personally I like walls. I think an island back to back with a sofa will make it feel like it's all one space - like your couch is in your kitchen.

If you want a banquette, I think the only place for it would be on the solid wall where you're showing cabinets. Otherwise you may need to replace and raise the window.

if you remove the wall from countertop to ceiling, but no pass-through, then all you lose on the kitchen side is the upper cabs, but I would not keep the sink on an angle, I would move it and DW to the peninsula so the faucet doesn’t lurk over the shoulders of folks sitting on the sofa. If you remove the entire wall, you lose a lot of storage and countertop prep space.

Something like this layout if LR wall is totally gone? If you remove the wall and lower cabs, be prepared you may have no finished flooring under them and may need to budget for that cost. Removing the wall opens up the entire spaces to each other, gives area feel of spaciousness, and provides more floor space where the wall was.

I actually don't think removing walls makes things feel more spacious 100% of the time. In this case, it might make things feel more cramped because the space on the other side of the island will want to belong to the kitchen, not the living room. The wall in this case is a 6" substitute for the 4' of space you'd otherwise need to separate spaces. Knocking down walls works when the walls are visual obstructions but not needed to divide space. In this case, removing the wall will reduce the usable living room space by 4'. Without knowing the dimensions of the living room, it's tough to say whether it will look and feel OK.

Thank you all for your input. These designs were just to show you wall up or wall down they are not complete. This is beginning stages for visual only. Yes we have budgeted for new flooring where wall comes down. The cabinets for the bar area take into consideration the window they are different widths-24”center, 18” sides and 15” uppers. The window is high enough for a banquette and there is a 4’ wall in that corner you can’t really see in the pictures. My main concern again is taking down the wall I feel like will loose efficiency of the kitchen and feel crammed but I like the idea of open... so hard.

The efficiency question is mainly how much counterspace you have and where your appliances are. The wall doesn't affect that. You'll lose upper storage, and if that makes you less efficient, then maybe it's an issue. As long as you have 4' between range and island, the kitchen won't feel cramped. But you don't remove walls in a vacuum, so the decision to remove it really needs to consider the adjoining rooms. Good luck making your decision!

anj_p I appreciate your input and am leaning towards leaving the wall up. I don’t want the space to feel crammed or like the sofa is in the kitchen....I think it will cheapen the overall look. So hard though...

You seem to want to remove the wall. Is it loadbearing? If not, taking down a wall is scary but a good decision to open up the living spaces and update your floor plan and will let you update the kitchen layout (The peninsula and corner sink are dated). If the wall is loadbearing, you will need a beam either showing or hidden up inside the ceiling (costs more).

With a major renovation, it is money well spent to hire a certified kitchen planner. A certified kitchen planner will ensure your kitchen layout is efficient, and advise you about new features in appliances.

If you mean the island will be 38” deep front to back, you only need 25” deep for DW, sink, and set of lower cabs. I am not sure why there is concern about space to walk behind sofa when there is room to walk on either side of sofa.

Marylut thank you. Yes the wall is load bearing. We have had a structural engineer out and a general contractor. I have also employed a kitchen designer. My issue is up or down. I don’t want the kitchen to feel crammed or the living room to feel tight. Both rooms are long and narrow so it is challenge laying things out without feeling tight.

If you want us to see what we can work up for you both with the wall up and with it down, we'll need a fully-measured layout of the spaces affected -- in your case, the full Kitchen and Living Room spaces.

Excerpt from the Featured Answer in the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread:

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Please post a fully-measured layout of the space under consideration and a sketch of the entire floor. Both can be either hand-drawn, computer generated, or drawn up with computer/app tools.

By "fully-measured", we mean a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. See a sample below. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see post in sample) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you.

The sketch of the entire floor lets us see how the Kitchen relates to the rest of the home. It doesn't have to be to-scale, but it should accurately show how the rooms relate to each other and should include all interior & exterior doors. In addition, it will help us see how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen. Label the front entry and family entry. The family entry is usually a garage or side entry, but it might not be. It's helpful to know which door you use to bring in groceries.

Regardless of how you draw it up (by hand, computer, etc.), please be sure all measurements are labeled. (Note: Computer generated layouts often lack key measurements and, sometimes, measure to/from things like the middle of a wall or the middle of a window. Neither are useful. Measure each item and the distances between each item.)

I think you should leave the wall between kitchen and living. Gives a good separation of space that you might come to appreciate. Additionally, I’d you are questioning it, that’s a sign that taking down the wall is not the right thing to do. Sometimes the house dictates the layout.

I like this layout you posted. But from your photos, it looks like you lack countertop and storage space. For efficiency I would want cab for dishes and glassware within reach of DW, and microwave/oven wall combo, and cooktop over a bank of drawers for pots and pans. I would also think about closing off the doorway into LR near laundry room to add more countertop prep and cleanup space by sink. You don’t need 38” deep island, 25” will be sufficient.

25" for an island with 24" deep cabinets will not be sufficient. An island needs an overhang on each side, so if the standard 1.25" is used, that's 26.5", but there will be a back cover panel, which could be less than .25" for a thin cabinet skin, or up to .75" for a decorative panel (to match cabinet doors). So maybe as deep as 27.25".

I would want 30", to help contain drips from wet hands at the faucet.

Even at 30” that adds 8” to the floor space at the island and would provide 3‘ more floor space to the LR.

If you plan to have the cleanup sink in the island, then the island should be deeper...I recommend 36" because you would not have a wall behind the sink to prevent things from being knocked off the back (dishes, soap, etc.) and to mitigate splashing water down the backs of the cabinets (and ruining them) and onto the floor.

Additionally, the island should be at least 94" wide (with a 30" sink, if the sink is wider, then the island should be wider as well) because you need to have workspace for:

• Prep Zone (non-DW side of the sink), which needs at least 36", with 42" much, much better -- a place to prepare food for cooking
• Cleanup Zone (DW side of the sink), which needs at least 24", with 36" much better -- a place to stack dirty dishes out of the Prep Zone

Bare minimum:

• 1.5" counter overhang (standard overhang) + 36" cabinets + 30" sink + 24" DW + 1" support panel + 1.5" overhang = 94"

Better:

• 1.5" counter overhang (standard overhang) + 42" cabinets + 30" sink + 24" DW + 12" cabinet + 1.5" overhang = 111"

Aesthetics...Keep in mind that if you open up the wall to the Living Room, your dirty dishes will be front & center and on display for everyone to see. While that's not a big deal in the Kitchen, it can be an issue when seen from the Living Room and, to many people, the Dining Room.

Next, the aisle b/w the sofa and the island. 30" isn't enough. You should have at least 48". If that's a busy path (e.g., to/from an exterior door, to/from a Mudroom), more would be better, especially if you have children (I don't know if you do since you did not provide that piece of information).

Personally, I'd leave it up.

A really efficient kitchen would close off the laundry room door and use that wall for fridge and cabs whether or not you remove the LR/Kit wall. However, if there is no possibility of moving the laundry room door to another wall, then another option is close off the small doorway to LR (by laundry room) and put fridge there so its doors face the window wall, and take down LR/kit wall and face the island towards the windows.

If you don’t need 5’ of space between fridge and sink, move the island closer to the fridge and add overhang to accommodate seating.

I believe your window is too low to allow for a banquette. If your dining area is right next to the kitchen, you don’t need seating at the island.