This summer we did a LOT of projects to our home.
One project we wanted to do was open up part of the wall between our living room and kitchen. We wanted our living room and kitchen to have more of an open concept feel.
Problem was we couldn’t take the whole wall down. But since we’ve finished this project we’ve discovered that taking part of a wall down can still create a great feeling of openness.
Today I’m going to show you how to get an open concept feel, even if a whole wall can’t be taken down.
Opening up the wall didn’t cost much money but it was more labor intensive.
Before I go on sharing the details on how we did this….when I talk about “we” or “us” doing something, I really mean “my hubby”.
ALL the labor was done by my wonderful hubby.
He does the projects, I blog about them. That’s how it works.
Okay…on to the project!
Here’s a view of our living room before. When I’m in the living room, I feel cut off from the what’s going on in the kitchen. Same thing in the kitchen. When we have guests in the living room and I’m in the kitchen I’m completely left out of the conversation.
First we {ahem….the hubby} cut into the drywall. Luckily we didn’t find any surprises behind the wall. We confirmed the fact that it was not a load bearing wall and didn’t find electrical or plumbing behind the wall so now we knew we could move on with the project.
Next the hubby cut out the studs.
Even with the project only half done, we can already see how much more light gets into the living room. It’s making such a difference!
Now while I’m in the kitchen I can have a view of the living room! I don’t have to miss out on what’s going on there anymore!
Next the hubby did a lot of mudding and sanding to finish off the walls.
So much so that we ended up with a thick layer of dust EVERYWHERE.
Once all the dust was swept and the walls finished off we ended up with this:
I love that our freshly painted kitchen cabinets can be seen from the living room now.
It took us by surprise how one opening could create such a feeling of openness on the first floor.
I love being able to see my best photo gallery from the living room.
By far the one reason I love having a more open concept first floor is getting to see the people I love while I’m working in the kitchen:
I feel much more connected with my family now that the first floor is more open. That makes all the work worth it!
This post linked to Inspiration Gallery, Serenity Now, Link Party Palooza at I Heart Naptime, Get Schooled Saturday, It’s Overflowing, Give Me The Goods Monday, Home Stories A to Z, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Create It Thursday, Whimsy Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, and Inspire Me Please
Such a nice change. When house searching, we wanted to have that open concept. We all feel more connected even if we are in separate rooms. Great job.
Thank you, Andrea! I really feel a lot more connected with my family now that the rooms are a little more open. Who knew one hole in the wall would make such a difference?
It looks fantastic! We are in the middle of doing this very same thing in our home. We ran into all kinds of wires and tubing so we had to call in some back-up. Can’t wait to be finished!!
That’s the hard thing about opening up a wall. You never know what you’re going to find! I hope the rest of your project goes smoothly!
That’s the hard thing about opening up a wall. You never know what you’re going to find! I hope the rest of your project goes smoothly!
love the open space you’ve created. something like this is on my list for my closed off home, too. it’s got good flow, it just isn’t open, if that makes sense. thanks for the inspiration and now i’m even more looking forward to opening up a little of our space.
I’m so glad to hear this gave you some inspiration! We’re so glad we did this project & wish we did it years ago!
Wow, it looks SO much better, I love the openness you created! Your kids are adorable 🙂
Thank you, Christina!
What a great improvement. It opens it up so much! I’d love for you to link up to The DIY’ers! http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-diyers-28.html
Heading over to link up right now. Thank you for your kind words and the invite!
Wow! This difference is AMAZING!! It’s awesome to have a handy husband, isn’t it!!
Emily
http://www.houseintheheights.blogspot.com
Thanks Emily! I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve thanked God for my handy husband! He’s saved us so much money by being able to do projects himself!
I found you over at It’s Overflowing…Your home looks so much brighter with the wall opened up – we did the same thing over here at our house – I’d love if you came to look around – I am a new follower!
You can see our opened up kitchen wall by following this link
http://thecreativemeandmymcg.blogspot.ca/2012/11/kitchen-tour.html
Yes I agree your kitchen looks great opened up too! Thank you so much for following along, Cheryl!
I absolutely love the open concept myself! We just built a house last year and I designed the downstairs to be completely open. The entryway, living room, kitchen and dining room are all one big room but each have their own personality and role.
It’s so fun to be able to interact with my husband while I am in the kitchen cooking and he just came in from the farm and wants to relax on the couch and watch TV. It’s also great for entertaining!
I am so glad you guys had the opportunity to open up your living room into your kitchen. I am sure you are loving it!! 🙂
Yes we are totally loving it Kelly! If I were to build a home I would do exactly what you did. Lots of openness with each room having a purpose and personality. Thanks for your kind words!
I love the open concept too, I found that out when I was house hunting. I ended up having to take my house off the market and decided to stay for awhile so I did just what you did and opened up a wall! Yours looks great!
Tania
I’m glad you found a way to love the home you’re already in! That’s a lot easier than moving. Thanks for stopping by, Tania!
I love you and your family! I really enjoy the picture of the kiddos jumping and making silly faces. Also, I think your place looks lovely. I hope others know that it’s not just the design of your home that makes people feel welcomed and loved; but also, the family living there. Love ya!
I agree that people can do way more welcoming than any DIY project can! We miss and love you guys!
Love this! We are buying a new house as we have moved recently and we are planning to create an open concept in it. I am excited to do that because an open concept is very important to me for when we have kids. Your open concept looks great!
Congrats on buying a new house! I know the kids have really made me appreciate closeness so if I have to tear part of a wall down to do it, then I will! Good luck with your project!