SFGate

Bonnie the first photo is part of the living room. the entrance to the kitchen can be seen in the second photo. The wall with the mirror behind the Chinese wedding bed and photographs would be the one to be removed.

Bonnie this is sort of the look we want. do you think it would coordinate enough with the living room?

Interiors International, Inc. You have such an eclectic group of things that you can do almost anything and get way with it.

Bonnie This is the kitchen now, before we remodel it.
We have had tons of great ideas from people here on houzz as to how to decorate the kitchen and are very grateful for all the valuable input!
Any other suggestions and ideas are very welcome! Thanks in advance!
Bonnie and Bill

Darzy Yes, your loft is absolutely perfect. I really wouldn't take the wall down. It is quite open, yet cozy and in my opinion already just right. I think I'd like to be "enticed" to see what was in the next room instead of seeing all the beauty all at once. I love the new kitchen design concept but IMHO each room should be their own "star" in your case.

Bonnie we would remove the wall that the refrigerator is currently on. That would open up to where the Chinese wedding bed is.

Aja Mazin Love your living room and it deserves a new kitchen. kitchen

Great plan to renovate the kitchen and take down the wall!

Bonnie Darzy and Aja, thanks for your perspectives!

feeny Definitely these two styles are compatible. Great space!

Bonnie other ideas for the kitchen
i love the combination of stainless steel and warm wood

Darzy My two cents. Normally, I would say take down that wall! We all love open concepts! But, your space is so lovely. An open kitchen in an already large open space (and a spacious kitchen) is not necessary. (Unless you really, really want to see both spaces at once). A kitchen in itself is always a bit "busy" looking. Your kitchen provides you a space for intimate, cozy and "special" place. Plus, if you entertain, or cater, it would be nice to keep the noise, clutter and dirty dishes separate from your party. Or, how about opening the wall, but put in a HUGE "barn door" or "french door" or huge "pocket doors" type wall design to close off the space anytime you want.

Cheery Curtains Hi, here are some curtains you might be interested in.

Cheery Curtains some other curtain designs

NexTrend Design I tend to agree with NOT removing the wall. Your kitchen ideas would work with the awesome look you've created in the living room but I fear that the openness of seeing (and hearing the clatter of) all the pots & pans & dishes all over the kitchen would spoil the beauty & enjoyment of the living room area. The existing wall is an awesome place for your mirrors, art, & decorative touches on the living room side and could serve you well with usable storage & cabinet space on the kitchen side as well.

Aja Mazin I don't see much of a problem since the living room and kitchen would then be L shaped

The loft appears quite large!

Aja Mazin How did you do the walls in the living area?

And where did you find the pair of spectacular mirrors?

Bonnie Everyone has a good point here! Oh, what to do!!
I havent done the walls in the living room yet. I plan to paint them a Benjamin Moore tan color called "hush"
I bought the large mirrors behind the statue from Horchow.

Darzy Here is the barn door concept I was thinking of..but probably twice the size for your space. I think this could be a "compromise" solution to the open or closed concept at will. But, Bonnie, you have great taste so no matter what you decide, I'm sure it will look fabulous either way. : )

MAlps Your place is MAGNIFICENT! You have awesome taste! What area do you love in?

Bonnie Darzy, I am putting a door like that in the far end of the living room! we think alike! It wouldnt work for the kitchen because the entrance to the kitchen already has two french doors so we would need at least 4!! its a big space, you cant really tell in the photos.

MAlps, thanks. we are in MA.

Darzy Yummy! That type doors will look fabulous in your space. Please post your new kitchen progress. We'd love to see !

Bonnie Sure, I will post progress. Thanks for all your help!!

Bonnie by the way, the walls in the living room are now tan (if you remember from the other design dilemma, they were weird colors from the former owner). Looks SO much better !!

Aja Mazin I loved the "weird color" from the former owner !

Was it a very pale yellow with some of the bricks visible?

carolannr I'm sorry but I love the design you want for your kitchen but I also think you should not take that wall down. I'm sorry but with your beautiful living area keeping the kitchen and food prep area separate - I love those french doors - would keep the "atmosphere" of the living area. I really think opening the kitchen area would be too "Bed, Bath and Beyond". You have beautiful things that you have chosen for the living area and I would hate to see them discredited by exposing the more mundane kitchen items. I hope that doesn't sound too harsh.

Bonnie Carolannr,
I appreciate you taking the the to give me your opinion! You have a valid perspective!
It is a tough call, that's why I asked for guidance!!

Bonnie Aja,
the pale yellow color on the bricks was not the weird color. I was referring to walls on the other side of the living room that were bright yellow and putple-blue!! I attached photos of those walls on another "design dilemma" post. Some people who helped me with that post are also involved here.
I wouldn't paint over the walls with brick, I love the look of the paint peeling!

Aja Mazin Is that a load bearing wall that you want to remove?

Bonnie my contractor thinks not

Aja Mazin Looking out your windows, it seems you are on the "ground floor" or street level and that your loft is a 2 story" structure.

Is that correct?

However, your ceilings do not seem quite as high in the kitchen??

Any possibility you could post a floor plan?

Bonnie all the ceilings are the same, 16'
our apartment is on the second floor. Im not sure what you mean.
sorry, i dont have a floor plan for the whole space.

Aja Mazin It seems so large, I imagined it to be similar to a converted 2 story brick warehouse I once visited in NYC.

Aja Mazin Your loft should be featured in a zine.

Travis Robert Renovations Great loft!! We agree with Darzy and think the sliding door would be a great compromise... Happy Renovating!

Bonnie Travis and Darzy,
The sliding door just got completed today and painted along with the walls (not the brick walls, sheet rock walls with weird colors from the previous owners that are not visible on this post). I debated whether or not to paint the door but ultimately I decided that I wanted it to blend into the wall and not be decor. I think I am going to put either a photo or a mirror on the door but not sure yet. Will post photos when it's all done.

Aja, the apartment is large, over 3000 sq ft. with very high ceilings so it is possible to have a second story loft space. Actually some people in the building do, so your right. Thanks for your compliment!

Darzy Can't wait to see the finished project!

Bonnie me too!!

Susanna Wow Bonnie, Love your loft. I hate to see you remove the wall. I agree with Darzy and others that too much would be lost in intimacy and nothing positive gained. I think it would suddenly look like a furniture store.
Have you considered bookcases with a sliding ladder on the wall you don't like? I immediately thought of that but maybe it's because I own enough books for a public library :-) I can't wait to see what you do. I love your kitchen ideas!

lpmenache Very nice space so far. I like the vibe you created and the industrial look will do well as it can still be an eclectic look. Thus they will blend. While the trend is to have an open look and have your guests live in a kitchen,Iin my opinion both spaces are large enough that they do not need to be joined together. Keeping the wall up will give you the option of allowing guests in your kitchen when you want them and not when you dont. So my vote is to keep wall.

lpmenache Yes, Pass through with barn door to close it when you want kitchen privacy

Bonnie Artistes,
I actually have thought of bookcases or cabinets high up with a ladder. I LOVE that look!

Im leaning towards no wall now

Susanna Bonnie,
I love it the more I think about it. Not sure how much money you want to spend on this but adding your pass-through window idea into the bookcase wall would be great too. Let the built-in bookcase frame out the pass-through window. Especially great if they had slide pocket window panels to match the French doors and close off the kitchen noise or whatever when you want...open up for parties...hmmm reminds me of the walls and windows that slide open in Bali and Hawaii.
I can see the bookcase wall in a distressed but warm gray. There is a photo of a bookcase wall with sliding ladder in gorgeous gray with gold metallic accents on pinterest. It would be a good color for your loft. I will see if I can find it again.
Also, it would not have to be all books. You could even hardwire a tv in one, ceramics in another, stereo, antique globes.....sigh. I think I love your project.

jansseninteriors I would not remove the wall.

Where do the other two doors in the kitchen lead? Could you close up either or both of those?

If you could close off the door in the corner (between the sink and fridge) you could put an "L" shaped kitchen in the space (with a full size fridge?), and a huge farm house style dining table with a large light fixture in the corner (where you have a hutch now). The view from the living room through the french doors would then be of your dining area, with the kitchen work space hidden from view. The style of kitchen that you like works with a large dining table in the same space.

You haven't given the dimensions of the space, or explained where those two other doors lead, or why you have a sofa in the kitchen. I think that seeing the sofa and lamps through the french doors is the biggest problem right now. Not enough information has been provided to work out what can be done, but it seems that you need more wall space to build a kitchen appropriate to a 3,000 square foot apartment. If you remove that wall, then you have no place to put a refrigerator (unless you close off a door) and you have an even smaller kitchen.

Darzy Yes, a passthrough is a good option. Shutters? doors, bar stool counter??

Bonnie artistea,

i love your idea of a wall of shelving (perhaps open and closed) around a pass thru! I could use the storage space, too. and i must have a ladder! :)

jansseninteriors,

the kitchen is roughly 24' x 14'. The wall with the sink and appliances is the one that is 24'. We have already played with the idea of moving the door near the refrigerator and making that an "L", with or without a pass through. The other door leads to a powder room and that cannot be moved. The daybed in the kitchen was placed there temporarily and we have come to like lounging on it but It definitely can go.

what are suggestions for the rest of the room if:

we move the door near the refrigerator and make an "L" on the wall where the refrigerator currently stands. We install lower storage and perhaps a pass thru and open shelves, open cabinets, whatever, above that. If we leave a large dining table at the end of the room (we would either replace the one we have or have it stripped, stained and get more interesting chairs) and removed the metal table/island, hutch and the day bed (and didn't have an island), Im afraid that the room would be too unbalanced "weight-wise", so to speak; the mass would not be distributed evenly. do you know what i mean?

We temporarily removed the metal table/island and the room feels much better--bigger, more open without it so I dont think I want one.

we had a weird idea about having a table top extend from the window sill that is across from the sink. we have a nice view of a church steeple and mountains that we rarely get to enjoy. and/or put a banquette in the corner where the now hutch is with a little table. or a couple of comfortable chairs.

Obviously, we are all over the place with this kitchen. It would be much easier to go to a kitchen design store, point to a display and say "I want that one!" But I won't cave, I love the creative challenge!

Thanks for all the help and great suggestions!!

Bonnie Darzy,

you ask " Shutters? doors, bar stool counter??"

This is another dilemma. If, instead of opening up the wall we leave it as is and make it onto an "L", we would want to install cabinets/furniture for lower storage there. We could make the counter wider to accommodate bar stools but people sitting there would be looking thru the pass through into the living room rather than into the kitchen.

We could put in an island with seating but, as I mentioned above, when we temporarily removed the metal table/island, we loved the openness. I guess if we remove the daybed and put in an island, it would feel bigger. Oh, what to do, what to do!!