Please show me your kichen/family room dividers

12 years ago

Hi all,

If anyone has a cabinet-like divider between their kitchen or breakfast area and their family room (or something comparable), can you please show me? I currently have making up the back of the house: Kitchen, then breakfast area (which is technically in the kitchen in that the floor is the same and it's open to the U-shaped kitchen), and then a "knee wall" divider which is long - 7 feet - separating the kitchen from the FR. I am considering if I can do some kind of a cabinet area to match new (future) kitchen cabinets to replace the knee wall. The 7 ft. wall is TOO dividing of the space, and I want it more open, but I think to have nothing there might not be maximizing my space options. I've gone back and forth about putting a row of cabinets there, a hutch, a desk, or just leaving it empty for now.

Here's my first floor layout:

There is a sliding glass door in the breakfast area (not shown in the layout above).

I saw the following pictures and am wondering if this (but bigger) would work for me:

I'm imaging something wider - maybe 18" on breakfast area side, and 18" on FR side, ending with open shelving for cookbooks. Or 12" and 12". I could put open shelving next to the sliding glass door ABOVE the cabinet where it ended against the wall in the breakfast area (I have more room than what they have in the picture between the wall in the breakfast area and the edge of the sliding glass door).

I could see this being an area to charge phones, sort the mail, etc. I think this COULD be a very useful area.

Does anyone have any pictures of something similar to this? Any kind of cabinet separator (yet, not really a peninsula because it doesn't make an "L" run of cabinets) like this? Without being able to picture it, I'm tempted to do nothing and live with the wall removed and do something later.

Thanks for any inspiration photos anyone might have!!

Piglet

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Comments (8)

kitchenaddict
12 years ago
hi piglet..

Just wanted to say that my mom recently had her kitchen remodeled...and she had a pony wall taken out. (Her pony wall was exactly the same size as the cabinet you show in the photo above, but hers was just a half-wall without the cabinet storage. ) It had divided the kitchen/dining room from the living room. It looks so much better and the area seems larger without the pony wall. Sorry no pics of it.

KA:)
aokat15
12 years ago
I have cabinetry in the middle of the opening between the eat-in area and the family room with columns flanking the cabinets. You can walk into the family room on either side of this area. Its like a serving area between the rooms and it's masking a support beam needed for the addition. Not sure if you're considering cabinetry in the middle of the opening but I can post a pic if you like.
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Redhead47
12 years ago
We had a knee wall divider similar to yours. Nice to divide the areas, but I always thought it was a waste of space. Our kitchen renovation (currently in the midst) will turn it into a two-sided bookcase, wider than the old knee wall. It will have a granite top, to match counters. The old knee wall was always a catchall place for keys, etc., and I'm sure the new divider will be, too. Granite top will take more abuse than wood. Ours is 66" long x 42" high x 24" deep.

Kitchen side will house cookbooks, FR side will hold other books. Although we recently got rid of at least 8 cartons of books, we still have tons left (we are real bibliophiles, even tho' we both have Kindles now).

This bookcase divider will be installed with other kitchen cabinetry Monday (two days away!) so I won't be able to post pix until after that.

I think your idea is good, too, with a mix of open shelves & cabinets. I wish I had thought of a cell phone charge area. If you had an outlet running just below the top edge -- or wired through the middle & to the shelf, it could def work.
Piglet_in_MD
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi all,

To KA - thanks for the info. I am still considering doing nothing there. I just think it could be a really useful space, so I'm torn. I think if I saw a picture of what I wanted, it would help me decide.

To aokat15 and Redhead47 - yes, I'd love pictures when you get a chance! Redhead47 - is the bookcase made out of the cabinet line, or is it non-cabinet carpentry? Just wondering.

Thanks!
Angela
12 years ago
We had our knee wall taken out completely when we renovated and I am so glad that we did! It was between our family room and breakfast area and now we have much more flexibility with the space as far as furniture arrangement, etc.
beaglesdoitbetter1
12 years ago
Not my kitchen, but here's a picture of a house our floor plan started off loosely based off of. We got rid of this area in ours. I think it looks OK here because it functions as a sofa table, but otherwise think about what it will look like from both sides and how to make the space work.
Redhead47
12 years ago
The bookcase & cabinets are custom-built. I am also having a banquette built into the breakfast area, which has a bay-window type bump-out, with extra storage drawers beneath.

Same cost to us as using stock cabinets. We are using a local cabinet company -- Colonial Kitchens in Yorktown, VA -- they are also acting as GC for most of the renovation.

Stock upper cabinets are 12" deep, so that might be an option.
aokat15
12 years ago
Here's some shots I took awhile back of our space between the eat-in area and family room:

Please show me your kichen/family room dividers

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Please show me your kichen/family room dividers

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