Need your creativity planning half walls and posts!
Thank you to all of you for your help with our kitchen design. I am starting a new thread since the last one is kind of lengthy. Here is the kitchen plan we decided to go with (thank you to mama goose, key west, cpartist, and many others for your help!).
Here is the layout with dimensions (former kitchen is now dining room)
I have finally sold my husband on the bookcases/half walls, but need help planning the space. None of the interior walls, soffits, or posts are structural. All can be removed if needed. I love the look of this:
Open, but still a division of space. Can you help me figure out how to get this look in the kitchen, great room, foyer, dining room space? I am having through laying out the walls. I am not a very visual person! Here is the layout with some notes and arrows indicating the walls/soffits in questions:
Comments (20)
housebuilding126
8 years agoHere are some options I came up with (black are full height walls, gray are half walls, black squares are posts):
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoWith the island as drawn, I would not do any of the options with the long bookcase, especially not with the outside wall as the starting point. Here's an example of traffic from the great room to the patio sliders. There is not enough room for anyone to walk behind the island seats, which means that traffic will naturally divert through your cooking area.
I like the narrow 90° bookcases on the post, with a matching post, or narrow bookcase and post, on the outside wall. Carrying that style throughout the foyer and hallways will be gorgeous!
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8 years agomama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoThank you, dreamhouse. I like the half-walls with the craftsman columns. I've been drawing them m/l 12" square, but they might not need to be that wide--check with the builder. I would use the half wall to close in the basement stairs, but keep the upper stairs more open. I googled craftsman half-wall bookcases. There are many styles from which to choose, so choose the one you like best!
Here is the plan with the island moved up 6", for a 42" working aisle, and all of the bookcase wall in the great room space. (Still based on 17' x 13' kitchen.) That leaves 51" for the island seating. I lined up the bookcase column with the end of island, but that's up to you. If you keep the island at 10.5' you might want to center the sink with the opening above the bookcase for symmetry from the great room. You could center it with the cooktop, but that will leave you with sink and cooktop back-to-back--a less efficient set-up for two kitchen workers.
(In the other thread thread there are a couple of examples of columns against walls--either a column, or a short bookcase and column. It depends on how much space is available. I like the narrow bookcase and column, but then you would need to make the longer bookcase shorter to maintain a comfortable passageway.)
housebuilding126 thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHmama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agoHere's an example of a narrow column/bookcase against a wall:
Love this one:
I also googled craftsman room dividers, so there might be more pics in this link. I love looking at the craftsman pics!
housebuilding126 thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHhousebuilding126
8 years ago
cpartist
8 years agoI would center the bookcase on the island. (The blue area)
Then you can create something like this? Or put doors on it? or lots of other ways too.
cpartist
8 years agohousebuilding126
8 years agoThank you! So, I asked my husband...not out of choice, but obligation since I figure it is his house too ;) He doesn't want the floor plan to feel too closed off and suggested this
Or doing away with the 90 degree book case and just doing a single half wall (along the stair side) instead. I am not sure how I feel. Will this look unbalanced?
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI could find only one pic that didn't at least give a nod to a matching column on the opposite wall:
Whether or not you have a matching column or narrow bookcase and column will depend, in part, on your choice of mill work casing on the ceiling. Plain painted wall board, as in the above pic, would make it easier to do without the opposite column. I like your DH's ideas, but I think I'd put something on the opposite wall to say, "This is great room, this is kitchen."
Since it wouldn't be structural, you could start without anything, and add a column later, if it feels off.
housebuilding126 thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHhousebuilding126
8 years agoAre you thinking something like this might be more open and more balanced:
Karenseb
8 years agocpartist
8 years agoKaren she has a nice size living room and her style is transitional. Leaving it completely open is wonderful for a contemporary home but I think giving some definition to a transitional home helps define the spaces. Of course that's just my opinion. :)
Yes dream house, if you'd prefer the kitchen to be more open, I'd do a half wall on the opposite side too. That is what I'm doing in my kitchen/living room. Here's mine to give you an idea along with my divider.
And here's a rough drawing of the divider I'll be doing between my great room and kitchen/dining area.
housebuilding126 thanked cpartistKarenseb
8 years agocpartist
8 years agohousebuilding126
8 years ago
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mama goose_gw zn6OH