palimpest is right on the money about tripping hazard. We were invited to a dinner to a recently finished house done with a very 'famous' architect in the city. There was 1 step between the island seating and the living room in a very open way, just like yours. The LR was down from the island seating. My husband almost fell off the step. We were young and spry. So being old and frail was not our excuse. We weren't even drinking. Our house has 2 steps between the LR and DR,about 1 ft in height. No one trips there because there are enough steps so that people can see the transition. Angie, You also have a step down from the LR to the FR with a odd quarter circle landing. That looks really odd to me. I had something similar in my house years ago and I hated it! I spend alot of money to get rid of it and I am really glad that I did. Is it possible to raise the floor in that room. Raising the floor is cheap if the ceiling height can accomodate it and the window will height works. And if the exit to the outside can accomodate it. It usually is an issue with the exit because the landscaping is done with the current door sill height.

When in doubt,get a consultation from a licensed structural engineer. it sounds like it's non-bearing, but we can only vision what a poster puts out there without knowing all the facts. That's why it's a better bet to get a consult from a pro who can hands on look at your project.

katie- I am mostly responding to the concerns in your other thread here. First of all, I certainly emphasize with the strain of not being able to figure out how to make the layout work, or how to hire the people you need when budget is a concern. We have been *thinking of* doing our kitchen for seven years while we try to figure it out! In terms of your stress level, I would encourage you to think about whether it is the actual kitchen condition that is causing you stress, or it is the project that is causing you stress...in which case it might be best to sit back and try to make your kitchen workable so that you have a little breathing room. Trying to just get it done may end up costing more to get less of what you want. I assume you are waiting to replace your microwave because you want to buy a new one with the built in look...but we were able to pick up a used microwave for $25 on craigslist (which we have now used for 6 years...it is good we picked it up). A garbage disposal replacement is usual a DIY install...and the new disposal should be able to be installed in your new kitchen...my hubby (who is a chemistry professor but likes DIY) also has installed dishwashers if you know that appliances you want. That does not solve the open sofits and cealing, but it does make the kitchen more functional. I think pictures would help me visualize the spaces more, but I am going to be the odd man out and say that I think trying to recess your fridge into the dining room is going to eat up a lot of your budget, and I am not completely sure what you are going to gain. I think your concern is that your fridge is sticking too far into the highly trafficked space. Do you have any built in pieces that make the "living room" the living room, the dining room the dining room and the family room the family room? I think I would try to turn the dining room in the "living room" (or the family room kids hangout space with the door that closes!). Then you could put in a large island with sink running the long direction of the house (or leave your sink) , put your fridge between the french door and the low window with a pantry (or counterspace next to it) and leave the stove where it is. You could then put your dining table in the living room (but have bar seating on the island) and even set up a small seating area in your new dining room...our house is probably a very different style than yours, but our little couch at the end of our dining room is quite popular! (It's in an alcove, but you see our chandelier and built in china closet...it is very much part of the dining room...you might even be able to put in a built in bench under your low window). I have certainly found the staring over phenomenon quite difficult...especially because everyone does things differently. Our first quote came back "no structural engineer required," the second contractor wanted us to hire a structural engineer before he wrote the quote (although he did say he would most likely correctly guess what needed to be done), the architect we talked to would bring a structural engineer and start boring in the walls. The third contractor said he would open up the walls, and then have the engineer come make drawings if we wanted...he said that we could go either way but the permitting would be much easier with a stamped engineers drawing. Each contractor uses a different cabinet sales person that sells a different line of cabinets! Have you tried home depot or cliqstudios or something similar? I went to home depot and met with the designer...they gave me a ballpark figure but said I would have to pay $100 for a measure to get an actual design/quote, but the kitchen designer I met with was very helpful and gave me some good ideas. The $100 would be applied to the install...we need a gut to update knob and tube wire etc so we are not doing home depot install. I talked to cliqstudioes today and I am curious with what they come up with. I have also found it really helpful to look at real estate photos of similar houses to mine to see how they updated the kitchen...they are more consistent with the style, budget and layout constraints of my project than the Houzz photos are.

The property is 3 years old......so the house has been built. The open to sky photos are from 2015 during original construction. My opinion is yes, as far as I can tell from your photos, you're considering removing a wall that has a laminated header ("Smart Joist") sitting on top of it, so it is load-bearing.