My previous condo had no header in a slightly wider opening between the foyer and the living room, which to me gave it a more modern look. In my present house, we put headers over all doorways, including 2 about the same width as yours, and put wood trim - I prefer this which seems to me to be a more traditional look.

Anne

It depends on if the header is structural or not. If it is, that second picture is gonna cost a lot of money.

No it is not structural Joseph, I can go both ways with no problem.

You will wish you had framing delineating the individual spaces the first time you paint, and there’s no stopping space. Any ceiling paint will have to paint the whole ceiling if you have damage and need a touch up. Ssme with walls. When the rooms blead into each other, there is never a good starting and stopping spot.

Functionally, spaces bleeding into each other unclearly is one of the giant negatives to open concept. Its one of the reasons of the backlash and now current trend towards closed off spaces. Get ahead of that trend, and at a minimum, frame in stub walls and ceiling headers, so each room feels like a room. And not an auto parts warehouse that’s overly decorated in the wrong style.

It looks a little incomplete to me without a framed header. What if you compromised and went with an even taller framed header?

My last house had no headers. It was as verbo said, no start or stop point for paint. If i wanted to paint the kitchen we also had to paint the family room, dining room, living room, front hall, up the steps, and upstairs hall the same color. . We ended up putting trim up to make a break point.

"the backlash and now current trend towards closed off spaces."

I thought it was due to Covid quarantine and everyone finding a little too much "togetherness"? In any case, ours has the header, and as described in comments above it delineates the opening in a way that is better for both aesthetic and practical reasons.

TT

I thought about it but i have two doors right near by..would it look bad if they have different header hight?

It all depends on the design and the desired effect for openings throughout the space. If you already have a larger opening which is flush with the ceiling, why wouldn't you do the same for the opening in question and be consistent?

Although I prefer headers, for your rkitchen, I think I’d leave it open..

Will it look better with or without a header from the entry hall side and those adjacent openings? That may help tip the scales one way or the other.

Virgil,

in my house i have mix of openings...some are up to the ceiling and some with the headers

on one side of the kitchen which connected to the family room there is no header, but there is bigger opening there,

on the other side ( which i question) it connects to hallway where several doorways with the header

Nhb22,

can i ask why?

I like with header. It feels like a more comfortable and cohesive space. The picture without makes the two sides of the kitchen seem awkwardly separated.

Do the windows touch the ceiling, or is there a bit of space at the top? The windows on my first floor (and the French doors across the back) are a few inches from the ceiling, and the only swinging room door is about 94" with 8 foot ceilings. So I am doing "headers" the two new openings that match the door and window height, only about 2-3". Just a bare delineation, mostly for the reason Verbo states, to separate the rooms slightly instead of having the ceiling a continuous plane.

Thank you, i am really leaning toward the header, but should i do the same size header as near by doors or can i make header higher?

If there are nearby doors with headers I could make this one the same height. Consistency is important.

I think the main takeaway here is that you can't go right, but you can't go wrong :)

Where is the person that designed the house on this? They are the only one that knows the style and vision of the home.

Another pro in the header column is that it helps a bit with noise dampening, if you entertain a lot or have a lot of noisy kids.

Mark,

This house was build in 1990. We are just remodeling :)

When a discussion is listed under "Building a home", it is meant for new construction, not an addition or remodeling. New houses and house remodelings are two different beasts.

Where is the person that designed the remodeling on this? They are the only one that knows the style and vision of the home.

We didnt get along well.. that is why i am asking here.

You right i shouldnt listed under building a home....just deleted from there.

I also prefer some delineation between spaces, too much open concept starts to feel like a dance hall.

I vote for the header.

IMO if you had no upper cabinets I would do ne header but you do have uppers so IMO a header looks better