The Progression of Opening Up the Kitchen

In this case the pictures need to be worth the thousands of words I could use about the opening of this kitchen.  I don't know why they closed off rooms in the 1960's, especially with the great ocean view this one will have, but I guess one day they'll say we were crazy for our design styles.  

You can see the progression of the opening of the kitchen.  First the walls.

We started to open up the walls, but there was some miscommunication about wanting a bar vs. a peninsula in the kitchen.  I just wanted it as open as possible.

Now you can see it open with the wall completely removed.  So much more open.  We also knocked back the hallway and removed a guest room closet to give more room in the hallway to have seating at the kitchen bar.

After many consultations with the electrician and air conditioning contractor, we're up--the ceiling that is.  A lot more open feeling by only having a dropdown ceiling of about 7 inches to allow for can lighting and wiring.

Here's a side by side comparison. This really tells the story!

Who would want to block this view?