The Ugly Duckling House | DIY Home Improvement Blog: Whack a ...

There is a wall that lies between the dining room and kitchen. ?And I wanna whack it with a hammer.

While the kitchen is already on the large size for this house (the extra space near the sliding glass door makes it feel roomy), the wall that separates the two rooms feels dated to me. ?Homes nowadays are more open in terms of floor plans, and the dining room just feels more cramped by comparison.
Funny story: I had difficulty finding a photo taken of the other side of this wall. ?I guess it's not very blog-worthy. ?The last pic I can find where I took a picture of the wall (and not the sliding glass door next to it) is from back in 2010 when my ex and I were putting in the floor. ?And I snapped this picture of his dog, Colby, because Colby is awesome. ?I miss him. ?Complete tangent ended.

UPDATE: found another picture from when I bought a clearance table from Pier1. ?It's not of the entire wall, but it pretty much looks exactly like this right now. ?Only with mail all over the table top.

So, my mom suggested this the other day (after I showed her how to use Pinterest - I know, 2.7 million Pinterest followers and Mom wasn't one of 'em until last week), and I've been dwelling on it ever since:
This layout is pretty similar to my own. ?If you took this picture in my living room, facing my dining room, the kitchen would be off to the right, just as it is in this pic. ?The major differences I see (apart from general style preferences) are that the two slim walls between the living and dining room have been cut out (I'm guessing the columns are left for load-bearing purposes from a second floor) and the wall between the kitchen and dining room is a half-wall instead of a full one like it is in my house.

I don't plan to cut out the slim walls that separate the living and dining rooms. ?I am instead in favor of floor to ceiling built-ins with a bright pop of color similar to the ones Young House Love painted in their dining room (with a different color of course, since my dining room will be painted a deep teal color of some sort).

But...

The idea of a half wall from the dining room into the kitchen appeals to me for four reasons:

• If I can create more of an open feel in this house, it will give the illusion of more space, which is always a good thing when I try to sell it someday;
• I don't want to remove the wall entirely because I've already installed the floor. ?Ripping out the whole wall means re-doing the floor, and that shit is not going to happen. Ever. Again.
• it's one less wall to have to skim coat - which is a total BS reason, but there is wallpaper in the kitchen, too - and my nightmare isn't over yet;
• Did I mention that I get to demo? ?The best part of DIY.

There is always a chance with a floor plan like mine that the wall is load-bearing, so I'll have to figure that out before I make any major changes to that wall. ?But I'm very tempted to whack it with a hammer now that the idea of ripping out a wall is in my head. ?Maybe just a little whack? ?(In a hammer way, not a Whitney Houston way.). ?

What do you think of the half wall idea? ?Maybe create a wide counter on the top of the wall and a couple of bar stools for seating?

Sarah

Source: http://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/2012/12/whack-wall.html

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