Rethinking Gretchen’s Grand Kitchen DIY Plans/Living Room Layout Thanks To Your Great Suggestions! (Come See The New Options!)

Everything comes back to perspective–and sometimes you just gotta zoom out. Consider the perspective on my initial kitchen design officially zoomed.

A few weeks ago, I shared a somewhat ambitious and definitely out-of-the-box plan for my kitchen/living space, and in turn, you all shared with me some wonderful perspectives too! Seriously. Ideas, questions, and proposals abounded in the comment section and I’ve been eating up every word since!

Shockingly, not all of you were on board with me building a half-wall to enclose my kitchen island so I could mount a TV on the opposite side, thus facing my couch toward the kitchen in my should-be dining room–STRANGE! Seems like a pretty straightforward design tactic if you ask me…

Jokes aside, I was very inspired with all of your space-planning suggestions and kindness in sharing them with me in my last post. If you don’t know what I’m talking about re: kitchen island half-wall, you can read all about it in The Great Foot Fiasco of ’24.

But I’ll give you the CliffsNotes; I am in the midst of giving a “renter-friendly” refresh to my kitchen. I had a crazy idea to realize a new space by building a half-wall against the back of the kitchen island, so I could mount a Frame TV to it and place my sofa against the long blank wall, facing it. Many loved the idea and many weren’t so sure, suggesting a variety of potentially better ideas in the comments. So today I’ll be aiming to explore, dissect, and test out your ideas and my new ones so that we can get to the bottom of this layout conundrum together!!

By open-concept default, the surrounding living area has now come into play. On the kitchen front, my updates include slapping a wood-look contact paper onto the walls, swapping out hardware, and planning for a future double boob light cover-up. But on the living room front…

The flow of the room is quite puzzling. With entrances and large windows front and back, my biggest problem as of late is finding a spot for my current sofa, which is too big to go anywhere obvious and still function to entertain people (namely, me when I want to plop down in front of the TV).

The Bird’s Eye View And The Pieces I’m Working With:

Here we see a poorly planned apartment in the wild. There are only two ways to enter the jungle and the path most traveled is to the right. The animals (furniture) which inhabit this landscape, have migrated from my last apartment and remain here in limbo until they settle down in their new home. Some will survive. Some will not. (Feel free to read that in a British accent to yourself)

Thinking about buying new, better furniture (while probably the easier move) stresses me out some. At least for right now! I am still new to this place, slowly getting to know her and all her quirks. And as you’ll soon figure out, I often dream up wild plans, changing my mind a lot along the way. It’s better for me to start with what I have than to regret an impulse purchase for a fast solution. I prefer funky, clever, handmade fixes whenever possible. Plus, I’ve really come to love a lot of the pieces I’ve collected over the years!

But in these drawings, some furniture pieces stick around and others have left the chat to make some of these layouts work better. Ideally, the end result at least includes the huge sofa (for now), my favorite round, blue chair, and my Danish credenza. The thought of parting with the other pieces does pain me, but something’s gotta give to make it all work. So let’s get into it.

When I First Moved In, I Lived In This Layout:

And I didn’t like it. Granted, two clunky chairs are not the best fit for making a space like this work. But I didn’t enjoy just how “on display” my TV was and how I’d have to situate myself to watch it. Eliminating a chair would leave me enough room for a dining zone, but honestly, this one just doesn’t feel like me. It’s too easy.

For The Last Month Or So I’ve Been Living In This Layout:

The big TV sits on a bench, pressed against the island so I can imagine what the eventual half-wall will feel like. My chairs and credenza are hanging out in what is left of the “living room” space, eventually, potentially becoming the dining area. While I’ve had no issue facing my kitchen to curl up with a show at night, some of you questioned me on this one. I get it.

Sofa Facing Kitchen:

Reasons I like this:

1. I just do.
2. I love that my double doors can open into the now living room, letting in a cool breeze as I nap on the couch. Dreamy!
3. The half wall would create a sort of backsplash for when I’m in the kitchen, hiding some tabletop appliances and general mess.
4. Building this would hopefully make the island feel more intentionally designed AND cover up the ugly, purposeless cut corners of the counter. (Ignore the angled mock-up. After the comment review I will definitely be going 90º on the corners, if I go this route…)
5. There’s still enough room to face a chair toward the sofa to create a conversation area
6. And enough room to squeeze in a dining table, bench, and chairs for those game nights and friend dinners.

Reasons I don’t like this:

1. My beloved credenza doesn’t have a spot here unless I shift the sofa a bit or size down the dining area.

Six to one on the pro/con scale is pretty compelling, but so were your new ideas!! So we keep on playing.

Here are a few more layout options and some ramblings on why they may or may not work.

The Wall:

If I had a smaller couch, I would probably just do this layout to keep things easy–but again, THAT AIN’T ME. I like that this sofa creates an entry walkway, but I hate that it actually blocks the ability to walk into the space unless you go through the kitchen. It just looks and feels wrong–I should know, I tried it.

The huge couch barely fit between the window and the island support beam. A future loveseat/sofa swap could make this layout work, though! Reader Shana wrote in the comments that I could take a page from our IKEA post and incorporate some of these low bookshelves to the backside of the couch to add some extra storage and better carve out the entry/drop zone. I could absolutely be into this!! But I do think it’d have to be with a different sofa than this one. Right?

From The Wall To The Window:

Now, Mal suggested I consider the TV against the window vibe, similar to how Ryann laid out her INCREDIBLE living room. And while I love it for her space, this layout in my space is just not right. Especially because this large window lets in most of the light and I just can’t bring myself to block it. Plus, the couch is still huge and the flow is still lost. Mayyyybe with a smaller couch and a smaller TV? But for now, not feeling it.

Drop Zone It Like It’s Hot:

Many of you suggested putting the TV above my drop zone near the main entrance. Now, I was inclined to hate this for pulling away from my “builder” instinct, but I have to admit this kind of works. I don’t love the TV being right next to the front door–not totally sure why. But I guess if it’s a Frame TV, it’ll feel like art anyway so hopefully it won’t be too obvious to all those who enter.

I like the conversation zone and that I still have room for a dining area. What I don’t like is that this doesn’t disguise or integrate the ugly island. If I did this, I still think I’d want to build a half-wall. Sure, I could tuck a couple of bar stools under there instead, but I want a table and chairs. And a table and chairs + barstools + my credenza is just feeling too crammed over there. (But read ahead, because this layout might be doable if paired with reader, Emily Jane’s banquet idea…)

Sofa King Cool:

Now this idea kinda RULES. What if we swap the TV and the couch wall from my initial idea? It doesn’t really allow for any kind of dining area, at least not with the two armchairs. But it’s like, kind of dynamic? I like how spread out it feels but I hate the exposed corner of the back of the couch. It’s almost like it needs a half-wall and then some to feel more built-in, which brings me to…

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?!? I can’t believe I forgot about this glorious couch/kitchen/combo zone from the vintage pages of a Sunset Magazine I’ve had in my collection forever. I’m heavily inspired by warm wood and clever space planning from the late 70s/early 80s anyway, so why not take a literal page from this book? I mean, the kitchen even kinda looks like mine? The tile? The warm wood? The dated glory? I love it. So let’s imagine it.

The Half-Wall 2.0: The Couch Kitchen

What if instead of (or possibly still in addition to?) my initial half-wall idea, I built a countertop and extending bookshelf that would integrate with the island, eliminating the ugly cut corners AND giving me extra drop zone storage behind the couch? It’d be like taking Shana’s IKEA idea* and shoving it over a bit to be one with the island, protruding out just enough to cover the backside of the sofa. It could still absolutely look built-in and give the “conversation pit” vibes I’ve only ever dreamed of. Plus, it’d create a lovely storage or decor moment and expand the surface area for knick knacks. With this idea, I’d essentially create a new countertop to sit atop the existing, blending into the top of the bookshelf section. And with THAT in mind, why not take it a step further? Or rather, a step left...

The Half-Wall 2.0: The Couch Kitchen, Now With Dining!

Why not shift the whole couch/counter build to the left some to make space for a dining zone? One that would still feel like part of the living room? I’d be more than willing to part with my other chair to make room for something like this. I have the real estate on the left side of the island to scoot this over with probably a foot of overhang, which would also give me a space to tuck my trash cans underneath it (and still be able to open my dishwasher).

Plus, for all you kitchen TV watchers in the comments, this way you could come over, cook for me, and not miss a second of The Bear! Meanwhile, I could be curled up on the other side of the counter, waiting for you to slide over my steak dinner!! PERFECTION. Who’s in?

You Thought I Was Done? The Half-Wall 3.0: The Banquet

Coming up last (but definitely not least) in the layout roundup is Emily Jane’s idea of turning my original half-wall plan into the back of a dining bench/banquet. My brain lit up! Yes, this could work! I envisioned it in an L-shape, or rather a T-shape, with the half-wall extending perpendicularly from the island to create an entry-facing backdrop that could now house the TV. The couch could go back to the window and the “dining zone” would stay in its God-given place. I could get down with this!

Same Same, But Different:

And now if you remember the TV-above-drop-zone layout, and COMBINE it with the banquet idea, well by golly you might just have one hell of an AWESOME hang-out space. Thank you, readers, for all your great ideas!! It was so fun putting them together in my head and on digital paper. A collaboration like this is the reason I love design. The possibilities, and perspectives, are endless!

I hope the birds-eye visuals are clear enough that you can picture a 3D model in your mind because I yet again would love to hear you all weigh in. Which of these is your fav? If it wasn’t obvious, I think I’m mostly feeling the conversation couch pit, but could be swayed with a convincing argument for the bangin’ banquet. Or better yet, a completely new idea I haven’t yet drawn! If you’ve got it, please flaunt it. Until next time…

Sincerely,

Gretch

*why don’t we start calling “IKEA hacks” “IKEA Ideas” instead? Eh?