If you wish your kitchen and dining areas were brighter and more spacious but are unable to (or just don’t want to) add a full addition to your home, renovating for an open floor plan kitchen and dining room may be the best thing for you. The following article details how opening up your kitchen and dining room can completely transform the look and feel of your home.

By knocking down the walls separating your kitchen and dining room, you can create an open floor plan that links the two rooms together. This part of your home will become more spacious, fluid, and bright, creating the perfect area for entertaining guests and making your home feel bigger without actually needing to add any square footage. Some great ideas for this type of renovation include a classic fully open kitchen and dining space, an expanded entryway rather than a full wall removal, and even adding your living room to the open floor plan if possible.

What open floor plans are and how they are created

Open floor plans are accomplished by removing the walls that separate rooms. They have remained a staple architectural trend in residential construction for decades now, and they don’t seem to be going out of style any time soon.

Knocking down a wall may seem simple enough, and it is routine for contractors, but you can’t just go ripping down every wall in your house without considering the specific structural implications. If the walls are load-bearing, meaning they are actually supporting the floor above, a steel beam will need to be installed in the ceiling to take over the job. Timber is also an option, but more of it will be needed, and it is typically visible on the ceiling. However, this might be the exact look you want! You must also take into account whatever plumbing or electrical systems are in the wall. You will need to plan the project accordingly, and this is definitely not something you want to encounter for the first time after you’ve already begun knocking the wall down. This could actually be a hazard if someone were to accidentally chop into a live wire or burst a pipe.

No matter the situation, removing a wall is definitely a job you want to be done the right way in order to save you both money and a massive headache. Discuss your intentions with an expert and have them check out your home and determine the proper way to proceed.

The benefits of an open floor plan kitchen and dining room

Combing a kitchen and dining room with an open floor plan is a fantastic way to bring a whole new life to your home. Once the walls are down, the whole space opens up. Without having to add any square footage at all, it will seem as though you’ve moved into a bigger house. This is particularly beneficial if you are in a situation that restricts you from building an addition, as may be the case if you live in an apartment building. Your home will immediately feel more fluid and modern, and natural light from the windows will be able to flow continuously through the kitchen and dining room, brightening up the whole space. 

If you enjoy entertaining guests, there is no better renovation than an open floor plan. With the single space, you can remain part of the party even as you continue to prepare food in the kitchen. Having an open floor plan also tends to reduce unused space. For example, closed-off dining rooms can notoriously remain vacant and never got much use. But after knocking down the wall and bringing the dining room into the open flow of the home, it can become one of the most utilized parts of your house.

Popular open-floor kitchen and dining room concepts

Fully open kitchen and dining room:

The classic, fully open kitchen and dining room will bring a warm, welcoming feel to both spaces. A closed-off dining room can feel almost too “fancy” for some people and wind up being left unused. By combing the rooms, the dining room becomes more casual and welcoming, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for quality time with family and friends.

Expanded entryway:

Perhaps you want that open floor plan feel, but aren’t entirely sold on completely tearing down a wall, either for purposes of structural integrity or just because you still want some degree of separation between rooms. In this case, expanding an entryway, rather than fully knocking down a wall, may be the way to go. This is essentially just creating a much larger opening in the wall that separates the two rooms, maintaining the feeling that they are two different spaces, but still increasing the flow and expansive feel of the home. There are many possibilities with this option, including styling the entryway as a grand arch, adding pillars, or even utilizing part of the wall as an extra counter or shelving space.

Include the living room:

Of course, the renovation doesn’t have to stop with the kitchen and dining room! If you are really loving the open feel, you could even include the living room in the mix so that most of the whole floor is open. This will further increase the connectedness of your home, and of course, it is visually stunning!

Bring new life to your home

It is incredible how much simply removing a wall can transform a space. An open floor plan kitchen and dining room is a sure way to liven up your home. Contact Remington Builders Group today to begin your open floor plan renovation!