The plan is a little small but if the sink being visible from the front door is the problem, (and it appears to be right across from the doorway), why not but the Bluestar there with a small window (or a big sealed window as backsplash) there, and put the sink off to the side?

Yeah... you're right I should have had a bigger layout

But we can't move anything in the layout. It's pretty much locked in at this point. Swapping the sink with the range would mean swapping a window and the skylight. And the skylight's framed. Additionally there are ALOT of idiosyncrasies with this house that just limit us.

Plus we've already made the boxes for the cabinets. And I don't want to do that again.

Open or non-open floor plan is just a preference. Some want to have the kitchen experience shared, and others want it out of sight and out of mind for guests.

I think the one that lives there and pays the mortgage wins that argument. I assume that's you. Then again, if your uncle is providing free/cheap labor, perhaps you will have to compromise your preferences if you don't want to compromise your budget.

We took down the wall b/w the DR and the kitchen and had to re-route HVAC ducting & electric that went to our bedroom upstairs...it was worth every penny we paid to do it! I love having the kitchen open to the DR. Our DR is used for everyday meals...no more seldom-used rooms in our home!

Your uncle sounds like he's "old school" - keeping all rooms isolated from each other. If you like that feel, that's fine. However, you sound like you would prefer a more open layout...

Where is the front door?

In this pic, the DR wall has been torn down but the HVAC is still there (on the right)...

We moved the HVAC to this 24" section of wall on the other side of the kitchen. In our new kitchen, that 24" section of wall is where the refrigerator is.

We only had one duct to move/re-route, though...

I moved four, but they actually ran across my dropped ceiling two feet below the original ceiling. It was worth it.

I prefer open all day long.

Buehl...your kitchen is beautiful! What paint color did you use?

Spend the time and money now to move them, and spend the rest of the years in the house enjoying the results.

Sometimes people make decisions for the wrong reasons. My DH is very good at basing his choice concerning house changes on the amount of work/mess involved, and NOT the benefits that will be reaped for years and years to come. It's putting way more emphisis on the short term over the long term. . . . He's not that way when it comes to HIS SHOP, which I had to point out to him to get him to admit his underliying reasons for things.

Your uncle may have built more homes, and he may know that it's going to be a pain to move the ducts. He also probably knows they will still work fine in the new location, but he's not going to talk alot about that as right now the easiest solution is also the one he visually prefers.

I could care less if people see my sink from the door, a working kitchen is much more important. Besides, how often are people that you need to impress with a clean sink even showing up at your place? When it comes down to it, most people we are trying to impress could really care less. About the only time you need to worry about impressing people with your home is if you are trying to sell it to them.

Meangoose - Kevin, my uncle, isn't free. I'm paying for his time. It's just his advice that's free.

buehl - I'm at work now, so I can't post a layout of the rest of the house, but its directly accross from the new opening on the other side of the living room. So with it opened up you'd be able to see through the house to the backyard through the patio door when you walked in. I'll post a better layout when I get home.

Thank you, Susie123! We used Benjamin Moore Cornsilk. I originally did not want a yellow, but when we brought home samples and tried large swaths on the walls, I really liked it!

Lesson learned (for me): Don't eliminate a color out of hand - bring a sample home and try it on the walls of the room!

Ours is very open. I like the open floor concept so that I can interact with others. I don't love having my dishes on display when they are dirty, but I actually find it more depressing to walk into a closed-off room and find dishes laying out.

I love your idea of opening up your kitchen to the dining room. It does sound like a hassle to move all the ducting, but I think it would be worth it in the end. I can't do away with the entire wall between my kitchen and dining room, but we are taking it down to 42" bar counter height so the rooms will feel more connected while still having two separate rooms. If you can manage the ducting, I say go for it.

Just to be clear... I already dumped the wall between kitchen and the dining room. This is between the living room and the dining room.

Oops and I did say dining room in my original post too... Sorry... I meant the living room and the dining room. That "north wall" opening on the layout.

Always tricky with a family member involved but it's your house and your money and you're paying him so it's totally your decision assuming that what you want done is feasible and within code. It's typical with people to want to work within their comfort zone of what they know and how they've done it before so his reaction is somewhat understandable but you need to stand up to him to get what you want.

I agree that you should stick to your guns and get wht you want and are paying for. That said, I think I would like the openess without the sink in view. I don't mind cooktop in view but prefer something like the eating counter in Senator's lovely kitchen that provide a low screen from the front door. But I like your plan as you have it.. It has balance and nice functional flow..

Can you share a layout that includes the adjoining room(s) and the location of the front door? I'm having some difficulty understanding how the layout you posted relates to your living room.

The open plan vs not open plan is really a personal preference and depends on lifestyle. It may even be a generational gap (though I don't have enough information to be certain). As long as this is your home and your money, I would try to firmly explain that this change is designed to suit your lifestyle, not the lifestyle of your uncle or those who lived in the other homes he has built in the past. Maybe you can verbally acknowledge his concerns (additional visibility to the kitchen work area, dirty dishes and all, less defined living room space) and explain that you understand these limitations but your goal is to achieve a more open plan where the rooms intentionally blend and give you more flexibility.

In terms of "better defining the living room", that probably means making an obvious definition between two rooms. By opening up the wall, there isn't quite as clearly defined lines between the different rooms. Again it really depends on preferences and lifestyle. In the past, rooms were intentionally more separate. The kitchen was more of a work space than a social space and one didn't want the kitchen to be visible during a dinner party or social gathering. Times have changed, lifestyles have changed, and "open concept" is popular.

Do you have a floorplan, showing the living room/entry and how it connects to the kitchen/dining areas?

That's one thing...if you take down the walls, you have areas, not rooms. That may or may not matter, but it might be what your uncle was trying to explain :)

Note: I am far from super knowledgeable with these things!!

But what if you put in electric baseboard heat in the room(s) that were losing the heat, and add an attic air conditioning unit with the vents coming down from there - well, if you have an attic?!? MAYBE that is more efficient, and possibly the same amount of money? maybe a little more? no idea. just wanted to throw that out there.

Took out my kitchen dining room wall, opened up the living room and LOVE IT!!

We were in a similar situation when we opened up the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. My GC and his 2 guys spent most of one day moving the 2 vent ducts over. They didn't balk or anything... It just had to be done and by next day, it was done.

Before:

After:

Hee Hee re: your uncle's work costing $ but his advice coming free.

You could try giving him a list of your reasons for wanting the open plan, and telling him that if he can figure out a way to gain all of those advantages while keeping the plan more "not-open" you'd be willing to consider it. Otherwise, you've decided what your priorities are, and you want to open it up.

Or you could just tell him to whisper his disgruntlement to your house instead of telling it to you.... :)

Or you could consider opening it up and then putting in french doors to allow the rooms to be closed or open as desired. Of course this depends on the layout of your living room.

I think this might be a generational thing too. My mom is very old school and she hates the open concept. That being said, I considered opening up my kitchen to the dining room and living room but my house would have been one big open space that way and I couldn't picture it. My kitchen was already open to the family room and I thought that was enough.

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your layout.

Buehl...I think that color is perfect for your kitchen. I couldn't imagine using something else. That's the look I was going for when I started. I wanted to get black counter tops but my space is too small and I think it would look too dark.

I'm not the best AutoCAD guy but here is the general idea:

The wall in question is noted. I'm thinking about a 7' hole. The entire length of the wall is about 16'8".

Usually I would vote in favor of a more closed off kitchen. I don't like everyone to see my mess when I'm cooking, and the clatter of pots and pans can be disruptive. That being said, when we added on to our kitchen some years ago we added a larger eat-in area that can seat 6 comfortably and use it for casual company. But we have a tall counter between the eat-in area and the main cooking area, so I can hide much of my mess. The formal dining room is for company that I definitely don't want to see my mess.

In your plan, if you need a larger dining space for company I think opening up the kitchen is a great idea. Looks like you have a counter that can hide some of the kitchen, especially if you make it taller. I'm a little surprised that your uncle in the building business wants more separate rooms because it seems that most home buyers favor the open concept these days. Tell your uncle it's time to make your own mistakes. You can always add French doors if you regret the change later.

In my opinion, you're not exactly opening your kitchen proper up to the entry as your uncle seems to be describing. Rather, you're opening your dining space to the living room (and entry). Yes, your kitchen is open to the dining room and the sink is next to it, but it's not like the first thing you'll see when walking in the door is the sink. You will also get a line of sight from the entry door through what I believe are sliding glass doors to the back yard. I've read that some designers do that on purpose to make the space feel light and open and "connected" to the yard.

While my dining room isn't open directly to the front door, it is completely open to my living room. I'm not (yet) much of one for dinner parties, so I haven't needed to expand into the living room, but I too like having that option. I also like having that openness.

Be kind, but firm with your uncle. This is your home, your lifestyle, and your decision. Acknowledge that he is giving you good advice in terms of the impact of your changes. But tell him that the "negatives" he has identified do not negate the positives that you have identified (openness with the rest of your space, better kitchen layout, flexibility to expand dining space, etc).