Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Fallingwater brings up a good point about the ceiling. Now that I think about it, I don't think it's worth the expense. You will have to retexture the entire ceiling (trust me, it will all need to be done) and all of the flooring. That's a huge expense.
It really won't look right unless you do a full kitchen remodel that has a cabinet layout that is more appropriate for an open great room. The wall isn't your problem. It's the garage door that's the problem. That's why you feel you need a few more feet in your kitchen.
If you didn't have the door there, you could redesign your kitchen to have a peninsula, which would better separate your kitchen and living room in a more appealing way than that little island you currently have in the kitchen.
That litlte makeshift bar with the chairs in the walkway is also making it feel cramped. Do you really sit at those stools? It looks more like a catch-all area than an eating area. I'd leave the wall, remove the little eating area and get rid of the stools.
The plan is to replace all the flooring regardless, but you're echoing the sentiments of my builder with the potential expense related to the ceiling.
I had to laugh when I read your question about the bar. It is almost never used as it was intended and is, in fact, a catch-all, and my wife hates that! I do know, for sure, that losing the bar would not bother my wife or me one bit.
There is a breezeway closet behind that door to the garage, and the other part of the plan is to remove that door and move it to the direct entrance to the garage, leaving an opening into the breezeway and its closet, from the kitchen. The breezeway closet would become a sort of pantry, with a shelf dedicated to the book bags, unopened mail, etc. It would be nice to just move the breezeway entry three feet over into the living room area and let the kitchen have that space, but moving that entrance is not practical for reasons I won't get into (and then there would also be that expense).
That leads me to another thought: If no one ever sits at the bar we have now, would anyone ever sit at the island with the new 1' overhangs? I honestly doubt they would. Perhaps we could we just expand the size of the island top without putting chairs against it. We'd really like to have a larger island (minus the junk that now collects on it) and have more space to prepare food. The current bar is 18" deep and the chairs against it stick out another 6", so that bar/chairs combination takes up 2' of space. By expanding the island top by only 1', we gain a foot and also eliminate the cramped feel caused by the cluttered bar.
While I'm on a roll, I'll go ahead and mention that we're giving serious thought to getting rid of the pot rack, as well. It seemed like a great idea at the time, and it is convenient, but it always looks cluttered. I think a couple of pendant lights would look a lot better over it.
Last edited by Jungle Jim; 09-25-2011 at 12:15 AM..
The builder has cautioned me that matching the texture (or at least the mud color) might be a challenge, and that painting the ceiling might be necessary, or (in a worst case) re-texturing the entire area might be required.
You bring up a concern that I have, the concern that has led me to ask for the opinions of others. My fear is that the fact that there is no vaulted ceiling and no offsets might make the area look "plain" or "unfinished". Given that it's a mid-90s ranch style and wasn't designed as an open floor plan, I don't want the open plan to seem "forced", if that makes sense. We'd really like to have a couple extra feet of space in the kitchen, though, and removing the wall is the only way to achieve that. Well, either that or build a new wall that aligns with the other hall wall (hall is 3' wide). That would squeeze the living room a bit too much, though. The absence of a wall would give us the flexibility to change the amount of kitchen space and living room space we have, any time we want.
I had a feeling the house was built in the 90's because mine is as well. The textured ceiling in my house is almost like a paper and looks identical to yours. Not sure how they did it but in my laundry area, in the corner of the ceiling it has become loose. This is when I realized it appears to be some sort of paper with the texture on it. Looks like a nightmare to fix and I hope none of the other ceilings develop this issue. I know I am not describing it well but it is not a popcorn ceiling.
I agree with you on the concerns of it feeling plain or forced. I don't know if a larger island will work. The kitchen appears tight already. My kitchen is about the same size and I want an island badly but it won't work.
I had to laugh when I read your question about the bar. It is almost never used as it was intended and is, in fact, a catch-all, and my wife hates that! I do know, for sure, that losing the bar would not bother my wife or me one bit.
Remove the bar and stools. You get two feet right there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jungle Jim
That leads me to another thought: If no one ever sits at the bar we have now, would anyone ever sit at the island with the new 1' overhangs? Or would the stools up against the island just be in the way? Could we just expand the size of the island top without putting chairs against it, or would that defeat the purpose of getting rid of the bar in the first place? Does anyone have an island with overhangs designed for stools to sit under, and then not have any stools under it? I've never paid attention, but I suspect they do. We'd really like to have a larger island (minus the junk that now collects on it) and have more space to prepare food.
It doesn't sound like the stools will be used regardless of where they are. I really don't think you'll get much more food prep space by expanding the counter out on the existing island. For more counter space, you really could benefit from eliminating the island and adding a narrow long pennisula extending on the kitchen side of the door, not on the other side of the wall. This will create a U shaped kitchen cabinet design. You could still move the door back to create a pantry because that would help it not feel like the door was opening right into the small walkway into the kitchen. You keep the wall there. To help envision it, you'll have a walkway between the wall and the pennisula. Maybe this pic will help explain it.
While I'm on a roll, I'll go ahead and mention that we're giving serious thought to getting rid of the pot rack, as well. It seemed like a great idea at the time, and it is convenient, but it always looks cluttered. I think a couple of pendant lights would look a lot better over it.
Just to clarify. I had a long narrow pennisula. I loved it. It was better than a deeper island counter. I use side-to-side counter space more than I use deep counter space. In other words, for more food prep space, you don't need deeper counters on your existing small island. You really need longer counter space. A pennisula would provide that.
To me the wall looks out of place, actually. I see the points about the expense of possibly re-doing the ceiling and about the placement of the garage door, though. How would it look if you kept a little 3' or 4' section of wall or half wall at the garage door, kept the "header"/decorative trim part of the wall at the ceiling, and then put a pillar at the end of it so that having the "header" section still up wouldn't look out of place? Am I making any sense? I think it could open up the space, and yet not break the bank.
Can you post a pic looking at the other side of the kitchen. I want to see the distance between the island and your cabinets.
This one isn't a perfect view, but it's all I've got available at the moment. I think it will show the distance well enough...
Hopes, I see what you're saying and that may be something to consider. I see what you're saying about the deeper counter space being useless compared to a longer run of cabinet top. Thanks for the suggestion and for the photo!
Personally, I think you'd be losing quite a bit of wall space, as Hopes pointed out, if you removed that kitchen wall. A 12' x 20' kitchen is still a pretty good sized room. Seems as if you'd be better off in the long run, reconfiguring your kitchen a bit to maximize your space. That garage door is definitely in an awkward place though. That's too bad, because that huge wall would certainly provide you with a whole lot of floor to ceiling storage if done right. Getting rid of that pot rack, if those pots are used, might not be the greatest idea. Since your home is a ranch, is it possible to move the stove to the center, under the pot rack. It doesn't look like you've got a whole lot of extra storage and pots can take up a considerable amount of room.
In our new remodel, I will be putting my pot rack back into use. I hate having to "un-nest" my pots and pans in order to use them. Of course, I use a whole lot of cast iron and it can be pretty heavy. I think if you got rid of that unnecessary bar, or widened it a tad and put your microwave and possibly a coffee station there, you'd go a long way toward de-cluttering your counter tops. There's certainly not a large amount of workspace in there. Good luck to you!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The textured ceiling in my house is almost like a paper and looks identical to yours. Not sure how they did it but in my laundry area, in the corner of the ceiling it has become loose. This is when I realized it appears to be some sort of paper with the texture on it. Looks like a nightmare to fix and I hope none of the other ceilings develop this issue. I know I am not describing it well but it is not a popcorn ceiling. 
