I can see clearly now

The wall has gone.

(With apologies to Johnny Nash.)

I haven't posted much about the kitchen because frankly, there wasn't much to post. There were things happening. Slowly. But they were things like rough electrical, getting rid of all that random wiring and running wire actually through the walls. Important, but not visually dramatic.

But yesterday. Yesterday, they opened up the doorway between dining room and kitchen.

Finally, I could see it. The way the space is going to look.

This opening is probably the single biggest change in the kitchen. And yes, I was anxious about how it would look. You see, we designed the kitchen by ourselves. No architect. No kitchen designer. Just us with input from the great folks online at Gardenweb's kitchen forum and various friends and family members.

Here's the before (furniture and lighting belonged to the previous owner):

Here's how it looks now:

I love it! Whew!

Functionally, this opening improves the traffic flow. Before, there was only one narrow entrance to the kitchen, accessed via a rear hallway. People would enter the kitchen then get stuck in the breakfast area. Children were always dashing in and out behind me as I cooked, and I worried that I'd bump into someone with a pot of boiling pasta. Now you can enter/exit via the dining room, avoiding the cooking/prep areas of the kitchen.

But beyond the flow improvement, the new opening lets in so much light! Now from the kitchen, I can see the front yard, and if anyone is at the front door. The kitchen feels much more connected to the rest of the house. Next week should be a busy one. Rough plumbing, putting in the new window, and drywall. Fingers crossed.