What Mini-Splits Look Like in Your Home what do these systems look like in your home, you ask? https://www.ductless-mini-split-air-conditioner.org/ Indoor Here are a couple of pictures of “indoor units” installed in customer homes. As you can see, the indoor unit is mounted near the ceiling. mini split in home mini split home stock Inside the unit is a fan and a set of self-adjusting louvers. The louvers can be configured by the remote control to sweep back and forth and up and down, or point the cool air in a specific direction or directions. The louver directions are easily set with the remote control. We love our mini-splits because they are quieter than the industrial-strength fans we used to have, and they provide near instantaneous cooling. When the unit is off, the louvers close, making the unit look even sleeker. In this photo, the louvers are closed almost all the way: indoor unit closed The indoor unit is connected to the outdoor unit by two insulated refrigerant pipes and a power line. We only have to drill a 3″ hole through the wall to run the pipes and wire. And, of course, the hole is behind the indoor unit and made weather tight from the outside.

I vote for hardwood or engineered wood through the whole space, including the kitchen. Opening the wall would be nice, but I suspect your appliances are arrayed along that wall? I'd paint the wall the same pale color as the living space, and hang a really big mirror on the wall if you can't open it. Then you open the wall visually, and reflect the light from the sliders back into the space. (I know...me and mirrors. They are great manipulators of space, particularly when you commit to making them big!)

It bothers me when David Visentin says "Dining room area" to describe a room with four walls. He likes to call most rooms "areas" instead of spaces. The term "Open concept" originated in England, I think, and quickly spread to Canada, where Love It or List It originated. I still use the term "open floor plan" instead, which has a longer history. And why do people say "dining room table" instead of "dining table"? In the furniture industry, we never used the term "dining room table". That could refer to any table that happens to be in a dining room. It is similar to people saying "hot water heater" instead of "water heater". You are heating water, you are not heating water that is already hot.

Marie13100, I mentioned in the beginning we are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and we needed to move the dining table into our living room temporarily and cover everything from the dust. Lynn G, you’re right. Having to look at the wall would be a bit depressing. The most recent floor plan I posted that had the sectional along the window and long wall would be perfect because we can view directly outside the patio door which is in the dining room.