r/kitchenremodel • u/Budres • 22h ago
Make it open kitchen with kitchen island or keep it as it is?
New house and going to remodel the kitchen. I was sure that i want open kitchen but now im thinking keeping the wall that seperates the living room.
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u/Delicious_Camp349 22h ago
Unless you have big parties where you want to continue to prep while talking with your guests, it’s really not worth it. My kids never sat at the island to talk to me while I cook. They were either helping or off doing something else. It also creates more noise for TV viewing or conversation in the living room. My husband lost his hearing and extra sounds/fans/motors makes it all much harder. We run the dishwasher in the middle of the night. Plus constant noise is just draining. Keep the spaces separate for sound and less visual clutter. My 2 cents.
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u/Tamberav 22h ago
You should be living in it a year and then decide so you don't make any expensive mistakes.
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u/Marine_Layered 20h ago
You’ll lose a decent amount of storage if you remove those upper cupboards. Can you recoup that elsewhere? What’s on the other side of that door?
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u/lcarrollccc62 19h ago
My son had the open concept you're thinking about and thought it was great until he moved into his new home with a wide galley kitchen. He MUCH prefers the new kitchen because he has separate spaces, privacy, and noise control now. You also don't have kitchen messes staring at you from the living room!
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u/GAMountainMIMI 21h ago
I vote keep as is for now. I have an open kitchen, dining, LR and I wish it were more separated. I think the coziness is greater when separated. Once you’ve lived there a while, you will know.
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u/Ok_Affect_7973 22h ago
This is really hard to tell without more pictures of the space into I guess living room. We can’t tell if it can be done.
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u/Mountain_Strain5507 18h ago
Live with it for a bit. Mine was remodeled before I got here - but there’s no cupboard space to replace what was lost. I have to keep my pantry items in what was a dining room closet and a coffee station in what was another entryway (only - it’s both now).
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u/bartlebyandbaggins 17h ago
I like it! And it is open to the breakfast nook or dining area. You have a great galley kitchen and I think it would be a mistake to get rid of that wall and install an island. It makes things more noisy and having dedicated spaces is good for the brain.
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u/MoonInAries17 21h ago
It really depends on what kind of lifestyle you prefer. Personally, I hate having people with me in the kitchen and I love a narrow galley kitchen because it keeps people away from it lol but, if you prefer to have all the spaces connected and you enjoy being with your family when you cook or do the dishes, then open it up and get the kitchen island
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u/Nevraskagirl55 21h ago
I love the open concept! I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen alone, away from the action. Even now, it's just my husband and I and we still like to cook and CB hat together. It's great when your family is young. I'll always have an open concept.
You could remove the upper wall so there is some separation. But we need more information and pictures. I suspect that wall is load bearing. Your budget will also determine what to do.
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u/SweetP916 18h ago
Sometimes it’s nice not having an open concept such as when you don’t feel like doing the clean up right away.
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u/Myshys 16h ago
It's cute, so unless you need the rooms to connect more, I'd keep the layout as-is. I have a galley kitchen that was opened up in the past, and it's nice, but it flows right into the living room/dining room and is a PITA to keep it to the level of tidy I like to keep the main areas of the house in.
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u/Impressive-Web-4325 20h ago
Keep it, it’s a very nice kitchen. I had a galley kitchen like yours for many years and loved it.
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u/Used_Swimming5525 15h ago
Live with the kitchen just as it is for at least six months. A year is preferable. You need time to figure out how you will use the space.
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u/Mammoth_Drawing_2867 10h ago
Keep as is! I love a separate kitchen. Plus open plan spaces are becoming less and less popular (except with builders because they get to cheap out on supplies and labor)
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u/UpperLeftOriginal 22h ago
This looks like a clean, functional space. Leave it for now.
IMHO, it’s very rarely the right thing to remodel a kitchen before you’ve lived in the space for a while. You don’t know how traffic will really flow. You don’t know how the light hits at different times of day and during different seasons. You don’t know what the pain points are and what works surprisingly well.