Should we knock down the wall in our lounge room?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We just purchased a house which has a dividing wall in the middle of the lounge/dining room. While it would be nice to be able to enjoy the gas fired heater that has been installed in the wall, the division of the room leaves us with two awkwardly shaped and cramped spaces.

We are thinking of knocking down the wall, but are slightly concerned that if we do, there will no longer be a proper entrance. You will basically walk straight into the lounge from the front door.

Does anyone have any strong views about whether this is undesirable or suggestions for how we can best use this space?

If we wanted professional advice on this would be go to an architect or interior designer?

Thanks!

Featured Answer

siriuskey

5 years ago

I agree that it would be better to keep the fireplace and opening the up the walls either side, it could also be a two fire opening on both sides. Close off the entrance into the living room the entrance would then look through the house and out to the garden.

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Comments (24)

dreamer
5 years ago
First thing is to consult a Structural Engineer. They will tell you whether this fireplace and wall is load bearing. Then look at how much it would be to put in a structural beam. If all is okay, depending on your home aesthetics a narrow panel, parallel to front door may work.
PRO
3DA Design Drafting and 3D Visuals
5 years ago
Have you think about removing the rumpus wall instead? Keep the fireplace wall
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Mona you have seen exactly the dilemmas I'm facing with this room so I really appreciate your comments. I was focusing on no1, but really 2 and 3 are on my mind too. In terms of getting some continuity between the rooms I was planning on recovering the dining chairs in a fabric to tone with cushions/throws on the white couch, ottomans in a matching tone, and pulling this colour scheme through into cushions in the formal lounge. I love the spring colours at the moment (greens, blues etc) which you can see i'm playing with at the moment but you might be able to see the painting in the formal room which is orange, red and yellow with a blue/purple base. So I'm very keen on colour and so tired of the brown carpet and neutral walls. I was also going to restain the dining table and chairs to a dark mahogany colour, and change the bar stools to something more modern. re: rug closer to sofa, I've done this and it looks off-balance with nothing else in the space. It seems to work better in the middle of the carpet area at the moment. Perhaps thats because I haven't ordered the ottomans yet. I don't want to add a coffee table to this room as prefer Ottoman to put feet up on. I've attached a pic of a rug, do you think something like this would work better? re the wall: yes this is the major for me at the moment. It is a TV room so tv and speakers stay and I wont be adding any custom cabinetry. The idea was to increase the space in this room by removing all of the cabinets and they are now in the adjoining room. The speaker covers have not been painted as I needed to work out what wall covering to apply, and colour etc. so once they are painted the wall colour they will blend in better. The idea of shelving has merit, I'll have to have a think more about that... Any other thoughts you have are appreciated.
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me me
5 years ago
Was about to suggest the same thing
Mad S
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for your comments all :)

Dreamer - had not thought of screens. That could work well.

Moving the rumpus wall would solve the problem, however the rumpus is actually a built in garage so that wall is definitely load bearing. We are hoping the middle wall is not. We have someone coming out to let us know whether it is/is not so will know more then. But if it is not, I am still wary of knocking down the wall unless we have a clear idea of how the space will work without it. Is an architect the best person for helping us with that aspect?
PRO
3DA Design Drafting and 3D Visuals
5 years ago
Architect can help you. but you definitely need a structural engineer to first of all verify which wall is which.
Once that sorted out, then its design time.
dreamer
5 years ago
Without information, I look at the plan and see the rumpus room as an addition to main house. It is stepped down and is attached to the main house wall.
If this wall was taken down, then the issue with small spaces around kitchen still exists. And that rumpus/main house wall would definitely be structural. Would have to build up the rumpus to the same level as the main house. Etc. etc.
dreamer
5 years ago
Sorry, crossed posts.
dreamer
5 years ago
See my attached rough sketch. My idea, only an idea without measurements, keep wall that is directly opposite front door. Make a complete wall, fill in existing opening that is currently on the right on plans. When entering through front door, you would turn to left, to a small reading nook, then through to lounge area, dining area, and kitchen along the complete former kitchen/meals area wall. Sink in same position as currently, with pantry along laundry wall. The rumpus room door could be changed to a sliding door. All the best. Thanks.
oklouise
5 years ago
my suggestions makes the lounge more separate with closeable doors and makes the kitchen dining areas into an open plan family dining and kitchen with walls retained for cabinetry and a lounge by the fire on both sides...fine details will depend on wall structure and accurate dimensions
dangs2225
5 years ago
Our last home was completely open living and had an Entry that opened to give view of the whole area. Loved it in theory but not once living with it. It gave no privacy when answering the door. My suggestion would definitely be to keep the wall opposite and swing the door to open the other way. That way, creating a separate little entrance foyer. Good luck
Mad S
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks all. Really appreciate your suggestions and wisdom! Had not considered many of those options so we now have a lot to think about.
bigreader
5 years ago
A double sided fire place would rock.
bigreader
5 years ago
Something like this would be lovely.
siriuskey
5 years ago
I agree big reader, the double sided fireplace would work really well, so much better to retain the fireplace especially if it has a brick chimney, love that photo too
PRO
Julieanne Peters Interior Design
5 years ago
Sorry about the rough diagram but Depending on budget I’d open the space by making kitchen and meals the kitchen and make the back of entry wall for tv, move fire and have a nice long dining table to complement the width of room .
Tiger Squizz
5 years ago
I think opening up the kitchen would be more beneficial
Susan Ballard
5 years ago
Rather than taking down that wall Have you thought of moving the dining room ?
Mad S
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks Julieanne and Tiger - we will definitely be redoing the kitchen as suggested. I’m already dreaming of my island bench spanning the length of that room! Great suggestion about placement of the tv unit and moving the fire place. We will have to look into whether that is possible.
PRO
Mcmahon and Nerlich
5 years ago
Hi Mad S - I like many of the ideas above! There will be in fact many things you could do to introduce a more open plan feel to the kitchen/living/dining, and so I would invest in some architectural or interior design advice to provide a masterplan for you so you can stage improvements as you can afford them. For example, it's always ideal to know where north is when making changes, and changes to open up the kitchen and introduce an island bench will vastly improve the feel of the open space, however you may want to add a walk-in pantry given you have the floor space available (only if you want one though). The gas fire would be in the wrong spot when opening up the space, however there is no reason to throw it away - you could move it to a centrally along the same line, or even along the main external living wall. I would keep that small portion of wall parallel to the front door (or extend it slightly/ replace with screen or joinery) to provide the discreet screening you need for a front door, and I would also move the rumpus door down this end so that you have a closed corner to the 'dining' space - so people don't have to walk through all the time and freeing up your options for furniture arrangements. You could even at a later stage aim to upgrade the doors along the living room external wall to the outdoor entertaining area for better indoor-outdoor connection, especially if this was north and you move the fireplace to be in front of full-height glazing.

Good Luck!
PRO
Cutting Edge Countertops, Inc.
5 years ago
I cosign with Tiger Squizz. I would open up the kitchen!
suancol
5 years ago
Be careful of supporting walls. I would not bring rumpus room into main house. Noise and heating /cooling issues all play a part in decisions. Also where do you place things TV book cases etc if you don't have walls to back them on?
PRO
Daniel Lindahl Architecture
5 years ago
Opening up the whole space, and especially the kitchen end with a big island bench would improve this house a lot. Also, consider your lifestyle - how often do you need both a dining room and a meals area. If you have an island, you will most probably have simple meals there.

Regarding load-bearing, look up through the manhole and check first whether your roof is formed using prefabricated gang-nail trusses (these have big rectangular steel nail plates at all the meeting points of framed triangles) or if it was all framed up on site, with struts off internal walls. If it is trusses the internal walls are most probably not load-bearing as trusses span between outside walls. This gives you much more freedom to change things internally.
PRO
Residential Building Designers
5 years ago
Residential Building Designers

Agree with D. Lindahl's post regarding roof.

If there are children then the separate Rumpus will be handy when they are teenagers.

If your staying in house for the long term design for teenagers and there friends.

If possible you always want your place to be the go to house for your kids friends.

The Rumpus is an old garage and you step down to same from sketch.

Depending on age of home the dividing wall may be solid brick to cover the fire aspect.

This used to be a rule but no longer is.

The garage floor would not necessarily have been built with a vapor barrier originally.

Curious as to floor coverings in Rumpus?

If you are going to open up this wall if there is enough height in garage I would consider putting a new floor over old garage floor to bring up level with rest of home.

Have you considered removing the nib walls between Dining and Kitchen area and putting a wall across Lounge to create a separate 'formal' Sitting Room off Entry??

If the Home was built before 1960 ish it will more than likely be a 'stick' roof. This means the loads are on internal and external walls. Engineer required. Have a look as suggested by others.

It always comes down to your lifestyle and size of your family and your long term plans.

Furnish the spaces in lots of different configurations. You need to focus on living in it long term.

The structural stuff isn't difficult in the long run. It always sorts itself. Good luck.