Hello - long time lurker first time poster here.

The issue I'm having and the reason I'm posting today is I would like to open up my kitchen to my living room/dining room but I'm unsure what the best route to go is, i.e. pass-through vs island vs breakfast bar. I've spent quite a bit of time with a piece of home design software but I don't want to base my decision solely on how the 3d renders look.

None of our walls are load bearing, so nothing is really off limits (but we aren't looking to spend a fortune either). My main concern with doing any kind of island or breakfast bar is that I'm going to end up with a huge wasted space because of how long our kitchen is, so at the moment I'm leaning towards a pass-through. Also, it would be nice to be able to keep at least some of the wall as there are two outlets, 3 light switches & a cold air return in it.

What do you guys think?

Current floorplan:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch..._floorplan.png

Kitchen:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitchen/kitchen1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitchen/kitchen2.jpg

View from dining room:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitchen/diningroom.jpg

View from living room:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitchen/livingroom.jpg

Pass-through option:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch...ingroom_3d.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch...kitchen_3d.png

If-I-had-a-million-dollars option:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch..._floorplan.png

 

Obviously any suggestions you might get will be largely personal preference (including mine).

But... I think that wall separating the kitchen is useless. Open floor plans are all the rage these days, and after opening up my kitchen into a den area, I can understand why. The kitchen is the place for family and guests to hang out, and it's quite annoying if they are in the kitchen with you. By removing the separating wall, you can socialize, while guests have their space and you have yours.

I don't really understand your 'million dollar' option, I don't see how it fits into the existing floor plan, I'm probably just missing something.

How about something like this?


You still have a bit of separation from your living room, but you get more counter space and the breakfast bar.

 

I guess I could have elaborated on the million-dollar option, it would involve putting the dining room where the kitchen currently is and adding french doors onto our deck, then putting the kitchen in the corner where the laundry room currently is and moving laundry elsewhere, likely downstairs. Not within our budget at all, just something I dreamed up.

I don't mind your suggestion, my only concern would probably be having to walk through the living room & dining room to get into the kitchen from the other side of the house. I'm assuming the orange line represents a full wall?

I'm going to try this out in my design software and see what it looks like. Thanks!

 

So I'm opening up to the idea of an island/breakfast bar... what do you guys think of this?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch..._floorplan.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch...kitchen_3d.png (ignore the carpet overflowing into the kitchen)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/274244/Kitch...ingroom_3d.png

The design software I'm using is somewhat limiting so this isn't an exact representation of what I'm envisioning, but pretty close. I don't think I can really make the island any bigger without impeding traffic.

 

That looks nice, but it's a bit more kitchen-in-the-living-room than I would like.

To resolve that, I would make it into the L shape that Zorfdt suggested, without the new orange wall - as you said, too long a hike and no direct access. To increase the sense of separation, I would add something over the counter/bar - maybe an open shelf or two, maybe a plate rack or a stemware rack, or some combination of those, and put the lights on the bottom of that.

Friends of mine did something much like this a year or two ago. Their new counter redlaced the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, but left the wall between the kitchen and the living room in place.

 

I agree - kitchen too open to livingroom, needs second doorway to rest of house.
I would open wall to diningroom and curve around corner just a bit for view to livingroom.
Suggest hanging pendant lights above peninsula.