What to do with this opening between my kitchen and family room?

Nancy
by Nancy
  8 answers
  • Gk Gk on Mar 05, 2019

    Hello Nancy! You don't mention whether or not you like this opening to your family room. There are numerous things you can do with it if you tell us what your likes and dislikes are! Give us some more information for some great suggestions!

    • Nancy Nancy on Mar 05, 2019

      I like The opening but it’s so blah. I’ve thought about framing it... or adding glass shelves...

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Mar 05, 2019

    I really like what you have done with fruit but I would put more edibles like the bananas, apples, oranges, to encourage healthy snacking.

    You can decorate it with garland seasonally.

    You might want to change the board to finished wood, that would be pretty.

    I wish I had a pass through opening from my kitchen to the den so I wouldn't feel so isolated while cooking.

  • K. Rupp K. Rupp on Mar 05, 2019

    Thank you for the pic....sorry just not seeing all of it. Is this a half wall? Or is this a doorway? Also what is on the opposite side of the wall in the kitchen?....cabinets?

    • Nancy Nancy on Mar 05, 2019

      It’s a 1/2 wall. There are cabinets on opposite side that i will Eventually refinish😊

  • Macysmom Macysmom on Mar 05, 2019

    Don't know what you want. It looks great and allows you to be with the family while you slave away in the kitchen! That being said, years ago I had a similar situation between the den and dining area. We installed an aquarium that fit end to end exactly into the space. It was really nice and we got a lot of enjoyment from it.

  • Gk Gk on Mar 05, 2019

    Here's an idea for you with shutters. If you look up "window opening between kitchen and family room" you will see other ideas!

  • K. Rupp K. Rupp on Mar 05, 2019

    If you aren't thinking about making your opening bigger in any way or changing walls around or making another bar opening to sit at, you could put a hanging stained glass window right there. A design you can see through with beautiful colors. That is always a showstopper in a house. I have also seen people put hurricane lamps with a large candle or a large flower bouquet. I loved the other idea someone gave as being a perfect spot for an aquarium. Those are just a few ideas.

  • Debbs Debbs on Mar 05, 2019

    Photo is not totally visible, but it appears to be a pass-through. Consider: hanging curtains (either side or both sides if you want different colors in each room), building mini shelves between the sides for display of collectibles like brightly colored glasses or bottles, place expandable curtain rods between the sides and display pretty “don’t use these” embroidered, linen or antique dish towels, use hanging hooks on the top and display pretty copper cooking pots, small glass bowls with beta fish in them, painted wooden big block letters to spell your name or “eat” or “love” or “blessed”, or small potted plants on hangers, perhaps you have very special Christmas ornaments that you always feel “what a shame to only see these for 4 weeks of the year” - - - hang them up all year long, maybe you have kiddos and you could sandwich their custom painting or drawings in between plexi-glass and change them out as new works of art are made, have a custom abstract wood sculpture made that fits side to side, top to bottom, install a deeper board and place a tall bar stool on either side for a “breakfast bar”, install shutters that can swing open to either side, maybe it opens to your tv room and there is always a battle with noise pollution when both rooms are in use…install actual swing open farmhouse style interior window, hang a stained glass piece to consume larger percentage of open space, maybe even make your own with a family crest, the family name or a cute saying, craft your own string room divider beads or pom pom garlands or pieces of driftwood, shells and sea glass. Your coffee pot and Keurig suggest you are a coffee drinking house – small shelves to display all your mug collection, and if you are like me it’s coffee at 8 am and wine at 6 pm, perhaps all your wine glasses could be at arms length so as to not delay the ingestion of the much needed vino at days end. Make this space an opportunity to let your creativity run wild and express yourself…worst case? You do it cheap and redo it by the season or holiday and change your mind when the mood strikes. As long as you have fun with it, you are on the right track.

  • Rymea Rymea on Mar 06, 2019

    It looks fine the way it is but you could add larger crown moulding at the top, and a straight 1" x 6" board at the bottom under the shelf. I had the exact same thing in out former house. I thought of a vallance, stained glass panel across the top etc. but I finally decided to just leave it alone.