We have the same setup in our bungalow and did not do a pass-through for basically the reasons you cite (and also, our range is on this wall and I was lukewarm about having a pass-through over the range). Our friends were renovating a kitchen that also has that layout at the same time, and did do a pass-through (also over the range). Theirs is just a cutout---like a window with no glass with a little ledge---rather than being a usable counter or breakfast bar, as some people do.

Pros: They can see through to the dining room and their kids play in there so there's a line of sight; at parties, they pass things through to the dining room and set up a table there, and guests could be in the dining room while the host was in the kitchen without being separated.

Cons: Can't really put furniture on this wall (they have a built-in sideboard on a different wall, but in our setup that wall is basically the only option for a sideboard since our built-in was removed years ago); we would have had to take off the original wainscoting in the DR, which I really didn't want to do; cooking smells from the kitchen travel into the rest of the house.

I also had a lot of qualms about disturbing the flow of the house with the pass-through; our house was designed so that you can stand at the front window and look through a series of doorways all the way through to the backyard. Without having the pass-through it's hard to say if we made a bad decision not to do it, but I've seen so many in similar houses that look awkward and forced into the layout that I was afraid of messing around with it too much.

With a four-foot doorway, you're also ahead of the game; we just have a 36" swinging door that starts 6" from the wall, so it's a much smaller connection. (I very much wanted to do the 4' door, but my husband felt strongly that we needed to have a door we could close, and the options for the wider space were too costly for our budget.) Good luck with the decision!

Thanks so much for your reply. I hadn't thought about the cooking smells factor, so I am going to toss that one the "con" side! We are still dithering, though.

I wish I could find a site with pictures of both options side-by-side. My husband has used his home architect software to draw endless examples, but I don't think they give the feel of the real thing.

Count how many linear feet of uppers and lowers you have with and without the passthrough.

For me, opening up the kitchen has a mental effect. If I sit on my couch and see into the kitchen, I would think about meals and chores every time I sit down. So spiritual meditation is nearly impossible. This discounts the noise of actual meal prep. If you are home all day, there's plenty of other quiet time, but if you are only home evenings, then meal prep time is a significant part of your relaxation time.

I wanted our dining area closed off from the kitchen but I still wanted to feel some connection between the 2.

We put in a hutch-type cabinet with pass through between the 2 rooms. We first had open counter on the kitchen side but recently added the doors since we had plenty of other counter space.

I love the 3 sides of glass on the upper portion. It definitely makes each room feel lighter/brighter. I don't like in-cabinetry lights but I do like the way the natural light moves through the cabinet. When the pass through doors are open, it's easy to communicated from one room to the other.

I'm really happy we came up with this solution. I love the easy access to our dishes from both sides.

Dining room side:

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Kitchen side with doors:

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Kitchen side for 5 years, until we mounted the doors:

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I like the high pass through or the hutch idea.
You can do a 2 level pass through with wall cabs on the back side that come higher than the counter. They would make a backsplash for the pass through area and provide some lost kitchen storage. It would help to hide any counter clutter but also leave you free for light and circulation of air. I have something like that on our island so that our kitchen is only visible up high from the other rooms. It is the best of both worlds. We figure the wall cabs on the back of our 9 foot island more than make up for any lost uppers in the kitchen. We actually turned 2 of the top ones to face our kitchen counters and did not put doors on (we used cover panels on the back side). They function as open cubbies and a great place to house our small kitchen electrics tucked a little out of view. Our counters feel bigger this way.
Pix from the planning stage (no reveal yet)

We made a pass-thru between the kitchen and dining room in our 1920 foursquare. Our kitchen was tiny ~100sf and the only place to eat was in the dining room. I wanted a way to see my kids from the kitchen while they were eating or coloring or whatever. We ended up just cutting a hole in the wall for the pass-thru. Our kd suggested opening up the whole wall like your plan, but it just wasn't in the budget. Here is a link to pics of our kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pass-thru in 1920 foursquare

Here's another idea....ArtTeacher_NJ's kitchen. Look at her pictures, the 2nd picture.

Here is a link that might be useful: ArtTeacher_NJ in the FKB

Thank you all for the ideas, pictures, and drawings! In the end we decided not to do the pass through, mostly because we want to maximize cabinet space and reduce cost. We will have a wide (3'9") doorway between the dining room and the kitchen that will hopefully give the area a spacious feeling.

Zelmar,

Bizarrely I don't think I've ever seen your kitchen before. It's lovely! Are you in the finished kitchen blog or ??? Did you post a finished kitchen thread maybe?

M.