I'd also agree with square openings with or without transoms. Which openings do you mean, though? Some of those openings are pretty large, and a transom may not work well. If you have a 9' ceiling and need a large header across the opening, you'll be below 7' for your opening. Make sure where you want it and what matches the other doors/windows in the house. If they're not load bearing walls, you should have more flexibility. We did one opening with a transom, which the trim carpenter made with 5/4 poplar, a piece of 1/4" glass, and glass bead moulding. Material cost was $27 and he charged $100 for making it. It only took him about 2 hours. We did some recessed panels on a few other openings in the house, but they have a very formal look. I've been meaning to get some pics posted, but still quite busy (we moved in 3 weeks ago).

at the start, i insisted that all openings be cased, for 2 reasons - it looks finished and because we have 4 kids. now that we are trying to shave some costs, i am having to reconsider a few things. i thought that since they are 6 feet wide that maybe the kids won't touch them. however, as i'm typing, i see my 10 year old practicing some football move in between a huge 10 foot cased opening in to our dining room. lol!! so i'll leave them cased. they'll get really dingy otherwise. i already scream "don't touch my walls, please" at least 3 times a day to my children or a neighbors child. i don't need to add "don't touch the openings!"

"typically 5090 means 5ft-0in x 9ft-0in and not 50"x90"" This is the kind of dimensioning shorthand favored by homebuilders and is subject to misinterpretation because there are no architectural drawing standards for it. The best way to show the size of a wall opening is to dimension it in feet and inches. If it has an arch it should be shown in an interior elevation not only to help the builder but so the owner can review it. Multiple arches in the same room should be used with great care. The appropriate way to show a door size is to give it a code that references a door schedule where additional information can be given like the hardware, finish and the shape of the top. The same goes for windows because the order numbers used by manufacturers are based on many different conventions; some reference the frame size, others the sash size and others the glass size. 30 can mean 2'-6" or 3'-0" and the second half of a double hung order number can reference just the height of one sash. It is wise to avoid cryptic esoteric notations of any kind on contract documents unless you want to fill your garage with oddly proportioned windows.

'm doing something similar to my 1920s house. Right now the kitchen is way too small and by opening up to the dining room we can add an island and entertain like we want to, plus I'm planning to keep the period details in tact like our stained glass window, part of the chair rail, our beautiful crown molding etc. I like the idea proposed of basically having a beam in between so that you can keep some of the detail but not having the 2 openings which I feel like would seem a bit strange. I'm planning to do something similar. Dont listen to everyone who says you own the wrong home, its going to be lovely and will function in a better way for your family. I looked for over 2 years for a 1920's house in my area of FL. Every single home had been remuddled by people like yourself who thought they were making it better. Except what happens is those houses remuddled in the 1970's look like they were remuddled in the 70's and look nothing like the charming houses of the 1920's. Those remuddled in the 80's look like the 80's, those in the 90's look like the 90's...You get the picture. Those of us who love old houses do not want a remuddled house. We want something where ALL the original character of the main rooms (excluding kitchens of course) are intact and rooms haven't been added onto or opened up in such a way that they change the character of the house. It ranks up there with painting beautiful old fir, mahogany, oak woodwork to make it more updated and brighter and it devalues the house because the house no longer fits with what it is. The problem is everyone now wants HGTV but the problem is HGTV is selling product and once the next product is hot, then today's product will look like yesterday's has been.