“I have always loved a house that has a puzzle going.”
-Suzanne Pope
Kevin and I started a puzzle a few weeks ago. 1000 pieces- whew! (I didn’t know they’d be so small- LOL!) I love the picture so much I might never take it apart when we’ve finally got it all together.
My mom, and my aunt & uncle in Minnesota almost always have puzzles going in their houses, and gosh do I love the way it makes their homes feel. Reminds me of that quote about home being more like a feeling than a place.
Sunshine and shadows. Whistling windows and what’s on the stove. Projects and pets. Laundry day. Movie night. Supper time, bath time, bed time, puzzle time- home, the feeling, is my favorite.
So, remember that photo drawing of the living room I put together in Photoshop a while back?
Well, I taped some paper to the floor and ceiling on the right side of the room so I could get a better idea of what it would feel like to have a four foot wide wall there:
I added some gray lines to my photo in Photoshop today to really complete the visual:
We’re going to go for it. I reeeeally like the way it feels in there with the paper up, and I get excited when I think about all the new decorating possibilities. We’ll start by framing it out first, and then we’ll plank it, side by side, over the next couple of months.
And, who knows, maybe we’ll finally be finished with that puzzle by then, too. 😉
I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you are doing this. Sometimes I feel like the only one in America who was not looking for an open concept house. I love my roomy kitchen, but I like having the family room separate. I watch HGTV and I’m like… ugh more open concept…. am I a giant weirdo?
Thanks for making me feel like less of a weirdo!
Ok, I thought I was the only one too. It’s nice to know I’m not alone. I too love my spacious kitchen but my floor plan is SO open and I’d really like to separate my dining room a little!
Same here ladies! I want some room in my kitchen to chat with a friend, but a couple stools at the counter, a cozy chair, or an eat-in table is great for me! I love some division in my living spaces.
Yay! I’m not alone! I like having rooms defined by walls.
I LOVE, LOVE this idea too, Layla! I’ve never like the open concept idea because I like the feel of cozy spaces. I think your wall idea is FABULOUS!!!
It is still open enough to not feel like you’re stranded in the kitchen alone. I like to be able to see what’s going on in the rest of the house…and what’s on TV. This looks like a great compromise. On which side of the wall, is the front door? Kitchen or LR?
I would never have thought of it, but I LOVE it! The planking makes all the difference! 🙂
I love it! We downsized from a ranch home to open concept and I really miss the ranch-style separation. I think your idea is beautiful (and I agree with your puzzle observation too)!
It really is still open – it just adds a bit of definition. I am SO tired of every single person on HGTV wanting open concept. It’s now become so un-original!! My house, on the other hand, is a 70’s rancher. Every room is boxed off of the other. I would love to open up my living room wall into the dining/kitchen area, but then there would be absolutely NO wallspace for my wall unit and TV. So, we are living with the ‘boxiness’ until we some day move on.
I love the way you give me ideas that would never have occurred to me in a million years! Thanks for the inspiration!
I love your wall idea. We bought an open floor plan house two years ago and have decided that we don’t really like it. I really like your style and the changes you are making to your house! Also love your ideas of home. =)
Perfection! One room but separate. That doorway, though…just begging me to come for a visit. 🙂
Looks great! Can’t wait to see it all finished and planked. On a side note I’m becoming more obsessed with planking!
Lauren
http://www.lbdesigns1.wordpress.com
xx
Love Love…agree hate the open floor plan. we down sized to years ago….hate the whole thing of seeing the kitchen from our living area. Love all your great floor plans.
My son has always referred to that very open concept as “an auditorium with a fire pit.” I have to agree — I never liked it. I have actually closed off my kitchen/breakfast area from the LR with louvered folding doors because in the future, it can be opened back up (when I don’t live here anymore). Both spaces live better.
Layla, get some puzzle preservative for your puzzle. Might want to research this as some brands are probably better then others. After you preserve it, you can frame it and hang it in your home somewhere.
Back in 1980 when my mother was sick and dying, we did puzzles as therapy for both of us. It passed the time and kept our minds off “things.” The last one we did was a huge, gorgeous Christmas themed puzzle. I did use puzzle preservative on it when we were finished, and then it got thrown in a closet in my parents’ home. Twenty plus years later I found it, and although it was a little worse for wear, it was still in very good shape. I had it professionally framed (cost me a fortune!!!) and it is just so beautiful! I even leave it up all year long. Every time I look at it I think of my mother. She was only 58 when she died. I was 24. I still miss her so. The puzzle brings back warm memories and I am so thankful I have this preserved treasure.
Happy Puzzle Puttin Together to YOU! And Preserving, too!!!
I absolutely love your house! Where did you get your couch? Thanks
Amy
Love your idea! I am so pleased to read the comments here and see that I am not the only one who thinks the open concept idea is less than great. Hgtv touts this look constantly but I think it really minimizes the cozy feel of separate rooms, not to mention that they never tell you just how LOUD that kind of space can be. Lovely concept Layla and your renderings are so pretty. Can’t wait to see it!
I’m not a fan of the open concept either. I have a window in my kitchen that looks into my living-room but I love that it’s separate. I hate the new plans that you walk in the front door and see the kitchen. I think those are the worst! I love what you’re doing with the wall but then I love all the ideas you have!
This is such a great idea. We purchased an open concept house back when we were newly married and after two kids we are looking for ways to close it up. It is so loud! Your idea is so cozy and is such a perfect fit to your home and lifestyle.
squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! this is going ot be fabulous! looking forward to following your progress.
Have you considered a “pony wall” with columns instead? addicted2decorating.com built them herself with mdf boards. In case you’d like to consider this, here’s the link:
http://www.addicted2decorating.com/pony-walls-columns-finished.html
Whatever you do, I’m sure that it’ll look lovely!
I, too, am not a fan of the open concept. I wish that design shows and magazines would show more variety. Two years ago I moved out of a 1950’s ranch and into a 2002 house that is almost twice the size. I feel like there isn’t any storage space in this big house. Very few closets (and they don’t have lights in them since that’s not allowed any more). I miss the old house.
Love your plan – can’t wait to see it. I recently downsized from open farmhouse to cozy cottage and I love being able to decorate each room on its own without having to consider how it looks from everywhere else in the house (does that make sense?), I also have a fabulous seascape that I would love to send you as a thank-you for all the hours of inspiration and enjoyment you have given me over the past few years. Let me know the best way to do that. I loved what you said about seascapes making Kevin think of God. I can’t imagine it being in a better home.
I don’t care for total open-concept, but I do like things light and airy–I think you have hit on a great compromise between too open and too closed in (coming from another person living in a ranch home … ). Cozy is good … cramped, not so much.
Love how you describe the “feeling” of home – definitely what it’s all about and your cosy way of decorating makes yours feel fantastic 🙂
LOVE IT! I find it so interesting how so many of us like more defined spaces. I’m one with an open main floor, though there is a little separation from the living area. However, I HATE that I can see the messy kitchen ALL THE TIME. I know, clean the kitchen, right? But we all know it’s not possible to constantly have an “empty” kitchen. If I could have some separation for that I’d love it. So fun idea and can’t wait to see it unfold!
I love the look. I am more impressed by the puzzle. I use to always have a puzzle going as well, thanks for the reminder. My fav are the Thomas Kinkade ones. I would frame them and give them to family member has gifts. I stopped when I had my son, he is autistic and would smash them up. He is a bit older now and I don’t think he will anymore.
I think I am going to buy a puzzle on Amazon right now and get it going 🙂
Love. We built a home five months ago… one large rectangle room for the living area, dinning area and kitchen…. I “knew” I would love all the open space. Well… it feels very one dimensional. Sigh. I might be asking my hubby to add a few small walls. We need a “Pick My Presto” from Layla for some inspiration. 😉
I just finished my first jigsaw this morning!! Here in Vermont, we have a lot of time indoors this cold winter, and a friend gave me one to try.
This is going to be beautiful! Five years ago, we renovated our kitchen and I had to make a choice – I could pull down the wall between the family room and the kitchen, or I could leave it. I chose to leave it and I love my kitchen. Our family room is a bit more cramped, but that is mostly because we have a seven foot grand piano in there! We are puzzle people too – my son won’t do anything less than an 1,000 piece one – we do one every Christmas and random ones during the year!
I love that you do puzzles. When our children were still at home, a few weeks before Christmas I would purchase a puzzle, up would go the card table and we would put our puzzle together.
I LOVE it!!!
I used to do puzzles all the time. Now the only ones I do are the wooden ones with my grandkids! 😉 Can’t wait until they get older so we can progress to more pieces.
Love your concept for the walls! We have open concept, and when the dishes are being banged around, it’s hard to hear anything else! We came from a closed off tiny ranch, and never thought I would miss confining rooms, but there’s a lot to be said for a wall or two, strategically placed!
I’ve never liked the idea of open concept. I would bet it was started by some builder in an effort to keep costs down. Fewer walls, less expense. Then advertise it as “modern” (a buzz word I’m SO tired of hearing) and people will think it’s the greatest thing.
To me, open concept means cheaper to construct, no mystery or interest to the house because you can see all of it from the entry way, and LOUD echoing sounds like being in a gymnasium.
Open concept. granite counters and stainless appliances. Yawn…
I always go by how a house feels too! I wish I could translate a feeling as well as you.
I vote yes too!
Before you do that though –let me suggest (URGE) that you put sliding doors in those walls!
There will come a day my dear, when not only do you not want one big room—you will want to be in that kitchen and not have to listen to the noise coming from your living room. Those Victorians knew what they were doing when they built their houses, though I think they they did it for heat–to eliminate drafts.
There may not be a television in there right now, but if Sweet Pea goes the way of most people in this country with testosterone coursing through their veins, immersing every cell–the day will come when he and Kevin are watching FOOTBALL! and hockey, baseball, basketball—ALL day —and cheering their teams on.
Even if a television never gets in there, you may want that room as a quiet retreat.
If you’ve not read Sara Susanka’s Big Enough House, do so–you’ll love it, and understand where I am going here.
I’m an Alabama girl in an Oklahoma world since late2010. I just visited my 83 year old friend and we sat together and worked on her 2000 piece puzzle.
I want to second Lee’s recommendation of Sarah Susanka’s books . . . “The Not So Big House” series. These books have TONS of great ideas of ways to add coziness to houses. I particularly like her idea of a “quiet room” or “away room.” A room with a door to close out the noise of tvs, kids, dishwashers, etc. She likes the door to be glass so that light flows from one room to another.
I am a messy cook so everyone who comes for dinner sees the bomb in the kitchen. Love a separate dining/living room. Unfortunately we don’t have that. Down with the open concept.
It looks way better! How about some built-in booksheves in it too, seeing as you’re going to do some carpentry anyway. Glass doors on the built-ins would look v country too (and would reduce the amount of dusting……x
Love this! The small walls separate the spaces just enough without closing the rooms off from one another. Can’t wait to see it completed.
Suzanne
Pieced Pastimes
Congratulations on your timeline news!
LOVE all the your new ideas! It’s going to look wonderful!