I just asked DH how he was going to custom build those double pocket doors. (He is a GC btw) He had bought a special track that the two doors would hang on. As one is pulled shut it somehow hooks the second door and pulls it along if that makes sense. However, when I told him how you wanted it to keep out cooking smells as you are highly sensitive, then he said he would not recommend a pocket door in that case. It is because it has such big air gaps. A regular door can seal off smells much better. So maybe just a nice big French door with or without extra side lights would be better? Doors could open in towards the dining room. Doors when completely open are either against the sidelights or the wall. That one dining room chair on the end may have to tuck in tighter to table as the door swings open all the way open is all. Here are a few examples. It certainly would look beautiful and I think could work with either of those plans Lisa did that you are considering at this point. This one is without the side lights. With sidelights And this last one I thought would be sort of like if you did the lastest plan with the peninsula. French doors to kitchen (except I would have doors swinging other way if have seating at bar.) And to the right would be the interior window above the peninsula towards dining room side. I think you are getting close Guco, narrowing it down anyways. :-)

The plan separates each living space with access from a central hall. It would work well for an office building but not so much for a house especially f you plan to entertain. I find that trying to make a good plan out of a bad one is usually a waste of time and effort. Its like renovating a house that hasn't been built yet. Decide what you think an entertainment space should look like and develop the house around it. But I would not design a house around an occasional use. The interrelationships of family members should be the dominant theme of a house. And I would never put a level change in a living space unless there was an alternate wheelchair route. If you plan to entertain, the front door should have wheelchair access too. An accessible half bath would be good too.

Way too dark in there. Paint the walls some shade of white and paint the woodwork a shade or two darker than the chosen white. The light colors will help to showcase the woods in the great looking French doors and flooring. Get rid of the heavy curtains and replace with some textured sheers. Get a larger, lighter area rug. Looks like the china cabinet has a mirrored back?? I would cut some foam core boards and paint them a light color (choosing one from the new area rug) and cover the mirrors (if there is room to nudge the shelves forward and the foam core to fit behind the shelves.) If not, maybe glue some fabric to the mirror? Or prime the mirror and paint it. I like the light fixture but without the frou-frou wrapped around it. Or replace if you've tired of it. Have a garage sale and get rid of a bunch of stuff.

Photos below!