After we finished most of the major exterior work, we shifted gears inside.

J surprised me one day. He told me to stop by the house. I walked in the front door and almost cried! It was how I always envisioned the entry way to be.

It felt cozy. It felt like home!

Modern houses have big open floor plans, but we prefer rooms.

J temporarily hung sheets of plywood so we could get a feel for how big we wanted the door openings to be.

I was always worried that the opening into the dining room would feel too small. The stair case is on the right, and the wall into the library is on the left. But to my surprise, it didn’t feel too small! 2 people should be able to comfortably walk past each other. It will be a high traffic area, whether coming in the front door and going back to the kitchen/laundry/back door, or coming from upstairs or the livingroom, and back to the kitchen area.

At the same time, the opening into the library felt too small. (First door on the left). Both openings were 42”, but we will make the library opening 48” so we can have glass double doors. This should also let more light into the entry way. That doorway has not been framed yet.

In the west wall of the library (the side facing the dining room) there is going to be a pocket door. You can see that doorway framed already in the pictures below. We made that opening wide enough so that when I’m standing in front of where my cooktop will be, I can see through the dining room, and out the library window. It’s nice to have a view out the front and back at the same time.

That’s the part of an open floor plan that I completely understand. I do love being able to see more, but I also like a little more privacy. This should be a nice compromise! We can also open the doorway from the dining into the kitchen about 1 foot more, which will also help.