A sketch of the floor plan with the dimensions is the only way people can give you good advice. Generally people like open floor plans, one level islands are more popular than two level…

I can see how a floor plan would help, I will work on that tomorrow!

We can make it work without the upper cabinets. One has many mugs that we don't even use and the other has spices that we can relocate. There will be more storage in our new cabinets in the rest of the kitchen also. :) I think the TV/kid noise would be my largest drawback. The window there doesn't help much with that either, I typically put earbuds in when everyone is noisy in the living room! You can't tell from the pic, the dining room and living room are completely open to one another.

If you’re already bothered by the noise, it doesn't seem like a good idea to open the area more. The noise you make while in the kitchen will make them turn the tv up. It will be a vicious cycle. Also consider, then the kitchen is on display all the time and will share noise, messiness, and cooking odors with the LR/DR. I’d actually consider closing off the window, but I strongly dislike open concept. I love my kitchen but I don’t want to feel like I live in it.

Signed, someone who prefers her distinct K-L-D tooms and is sensitive to noise.

It's a lifestyle choice. What does opening up get you? I think I would be more likely to close the 'window' up than remove the wall but your pics don't give us a great sense of the present flow. Eat in kitchens were common back in the day..this would basically be creating that vibe.

I have added a rough floor plan to give the idea of what our house setup is like. This would make it a semi-open floor plan, there's still be the wall to the tv. Actually closing up the window does make it sound like a nice refugee! lol I was thinking of having the triangle wall removed and the angled wall below it would be made into a counter/bar area. The wall with the TV would stay to keep the kitchen storage.

When I found out that our kitchen needed to be renovated, I was thinking of what I really wanted in the kitchen. I want to have a place that the kids can eat breakfast or snack while telling me about their day. I grew up with an island in the kitchen and have fond memories of hanging out with my mom while sitting there. Right now if someone else is in there, they just get in the way. I also like the thought of being able to pass food to the dining room that way. At dinner time we always get held up in the doorway between kitchen and dining with everyone going back and forth.

I'm really wanting to make sure that what we do will look nice and doesn't hinder our resale value at all. We do have a good contractor.

Your logic seems sound. Will you have enough storage? That's one thing that could mess up resale. No uppers will give the impression of short on storage I think.

I'm usually one for separate rooms, but in your case I think I'd make that angled wall area one long counter-height island. It looks like your TV is against that wall on the other side. Do you have a spot for that elsewhere? Are there any other things against that wall that you'd have to relocate?

Or would it make sense to have half of that wall area floor-to-ceiling cabinets, and the other half a seating area? Similar to this, but with a squared off countertop instead of this swoop. And Imagine cabinets at the top of this photo instead of drywall.

No matter what, I'd straighten out that wall.

I wish we could but we can't straighten the wall out. The ceiling is about 20' high in the living room and 8' in the kitchen. Not sure who designed this house!

I fixed my comments above, we will keep the wall with the tv. That way the only storage we lose would be two small upper cabinets only. Our new cabinets will also extend to the ceiling to add more storage space.

I'm concerned the columns would not look nice with how it needs to replace the angle. Should I just trust that the contractor will know what he's doing with this as he goes? We can't really tell what will be needed until we open up that triangle wall area.

Also, thank you everyone for your opinion and advice on this! It all really helps.

stiley - That picture is what I am thinking, with cabinets on the wall not the drywall like you said. But unfortunately that angle will still be there (the sink will be there also) plus a column or even two. With the sink there I was thinking of having the seating area be bar height to hide the dishes and kitchen counter from the living room area. Plus the height would prevent any stray dish that someone may have stacked incorrectly from tumbling off behind the sink.

I take exception to the statement ”generally people prefer open floor plans.” Absolutely not where I live.

Some open floor plans bring this picture to mind. With the grill cook on full display from the front door.

IMO removing an exterior wall ,which I assume is the wall with the window, is huge undertaking so maybe explain that a bit more . Angled islands are never a good idea if removing walls cannot be done properly then IMO don't do it do that involves a lot of structral work and a huge budget .Post two to scale floor plans all walls in place in place and the other showing the space as you want it to be, Make sure you show every window doorway where the doorways lead all measurements clearly marked and any plumbing or gas lines that cannot be moved easily; Also invlude at tleast the names of the spaces all around this kitchen.

littlebug zone 5 Missouri I can see how that would be unappealing! Good point! We would still have a floor to ceiling wall between kitchen and living room, and I'd have a bar height counter to hide the sink area. When in the living room, we'd only see the bar area, the rest of the kitchen would be hidden. Well, I guess we'd see the person washing dishes also. lol Fortunately you can't see any of the kitchen when entering the house.

Patricia Colwell Consulting Our contractor gave us a budget of about $3,000 to add headers and a column. It's enough money to where I want to make sure it's a good investment, but not enough to break the bank. I'll work on the floor plans. In the floor plan shown above, the triangle spot has a HVAC duct, otherwise nothing besides the typical outlet or light switch. Our contractor said one column would take care of that, but two may be needed all in all for structural reasons also.

I reread your comment. It's the interior wall that would be removed, sorry for any confusion!

What is the "box" in the upper right of your diagram? Stairwell? Pantry? I wonder if that space, or just the open area around the upper right window could host a small "eat-in" table to give you that cozy-hang out feel, while walling off kitchen from the dining room. In your pictures, your dining area already looks scrunched against that HVAC column, and not very separated from the living area. Adding bar seating in that spot as well might really over crowd the space.

Sorry for the unlabeled drawing. That's our laundry room in the top right corner. We can't do much there. I can see what you mean about overcrowding. I wish we had even 5' more to work with in any direction!

IMO the columns will drive the design and that is never ideal 3K for that job is okay but hoestly a steel beam would make this whole thin a much better idea I was wondering why you have window in that wall at all?

The window was there when we moved in, the house was built in 2006, we've been here three years. I think it's so the kitchen sink would have a "view". I think it It is the column idea that really throws me off with this project. With that corner, can a steel beam be used?

The HVAC duct in your triangle wall--does it connect to the floor/attic above? Or does it terminate somewhere below countertop height? If you can remove all of that wall above the countertop, then yes, a steel beam would be better. But it's going to cost more than $3k.

If you end up stuck with columns, whether for budget or structural reasons, I would try to "lean in" to the house as constructed. Open that window wall as wide as possible. But skip the stools, just have a raised bar for pass through serving. Angle your dining table to run more parallel with that opening, to make the table a better spot for conversation with the cook. Use a corner hutch and/or a few large plants to help round the upper left corner and make your angled table look intentional and logical.

Some of this is really dependent on your budget and how long you intend to live in this home.

You don't want to overspend if you are only going to be there for a few years. If you could substantially improve the flow and function of the space by adding money to the insurance claim that is allowing you to renovate the kitchen it is an ideal time to do this work.

If you really want some good ideas on what can or can't be done you have to do some more work.

We need an accurate floorplan of the first floor. You can create it in excel - just make the cell size the same going up and down and side to side or use old fashioned graph paper and draw it with every measurement and each door and window opening. With windows let us know the height from the floor to the bottom of the window.

Tell us everything that we need to know - what works, what doesn't work.

There are some great designers with wonderful vision that contribute to this sight, but they can't help you without having all the information.

Some of what we don't know

What may be possible - You say the laundry is what it is. Why? Could the W./D be turned or moved and incorporated into the kitchen instead of wasting space by enclosing it?

Don't get me wrong, a separate laundry is great, but if you have limited space sometimes it is better to have it in the kitchen or a bathroom. In a kitchen it can have Pantry Doors in front that make it look like part of the kitchen.

Lowering part of the ceiling isn't all that hard. Opening it up and matching to the high ceiling is more problematic.

A couple of ideas:

It may be a really good use of money to have a talented designer help you with a plan.

Tell them your budget and share all the pertinent information and see what they come up with.

I’m kind of confused by your pictures and floor plan, so I don’t know if something like this is possible? New walls in red, new counter in black.