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Sounds like a good idea. Check if the wall's load-bearing first.

I don't know if your style would allow it, but I'd like a farm style table in lieu of the dining table AND the island. To me, the current layout with the wall removed, and an island AND a dining table in a small space would seem redundant. Using a farm style table alone would free up more of your living area, allowing for additional seating. The farm style table could be used for preparation, and could also be used for dining. With a rustic table and some interesting chairs it could be attractive and functional.

Before you decide to start demolishing walls - find out what the wall is made of and what's inside: Many older buildings have interior walls that are concrete or concrete block - and there may be electrical lines within the wall that would have to be rerouted somehow.

Bear in mind too that if you do remove that wall, you'll probably also wish to pull out other walls too such as the wall separating the living room from the hall and the walls & doors to the back hall from the front hall and the kitchen - then of course there's the issue of the flooring and ceiling transitions...

Since this is a new building, it will be easy for you to learn from the builder what's within those walls - armed with that information you need to get a professional to help you decide what's feasable and what's not - Then make your design decisions based on reality, not some dream scenario.

i like the farm table idea above... and it'll give you plenty of room to float the living room furntiure away from the walls

I think your idea is a sound one: especially if you like to cook for guests, who'll suddenly be there as your audience. I'd guess the wall is not structural but of course there are the attendant problems of rerouting utilities (there must be some electrical lines in that wall). I don;t have a clue about social traditions in Spain, but must the entry hall be separate from the living/dining/kitchen area? If those double doors leading between the entry hall and your more public space were glazed rather than solid, it would contribute to a sense of greater space. You could still retain the door into the more private bedroom precincts. Given your new, gloriously expansive terrace, I think you're absolutely correct in wanting to give your kitchen just as airy and light-filled a feeling. If I were your dinner guest I'd be keeping an eye on you from either the living room or the terrace, wondering with great expectation at what you're doing and what the next culinary delight will be. And as you preside at your kitchen island you'll be able to partake in the conversation(s) and be at the heart of any evening's surprises. Buena suerte!

Yeah I'd remove the wall if i could. It's just kind of old-fashioned design, on the part of the builders,to not open that up and make it a greatroom. BTW, just from looking at your floor plan, I am jealous of your apartment. Good luck!


http://www.tangiedecor.blogspot.com

I think it sounds great, definitely check load bearing. I think if your backyard is as HUGE as it looks in your diagram, maybe build out your living room onto that backyard. I assume based on the diagram that you don't share it, right?

Please, before remove walls, hire an architect/structural engineer to evaluate if it is load bearing.

Congratulations on your 1st home. I do like the idea of opening up the kitchen and as others have said, to open up the little wall by the front door and the wall and door by the 2nd bath. The farm table/rustic table to work as dining table and kitchen prep space I really like.

I also like the idea of a pedestal flat tv stand in the middle of the room. Inbetween the coffee table and dining table. When not used, it can be moved towards a wall.

BTW, what is that across from your master bath sink? Urinal? Bidet?

Personally, I HATE having my kitchen open to the living room, and as soon as I have some renovation money, I'm going to do the exact opposite of what you're proposing.

Since when did chopping tomatoes together replace having cocktails and conversation in the living room?

P.S. I don't mean that as a personal criticism. For foodies with foodie friends, an open kitchen is great. But it's not for me, and I hate how impossible it is to find any other type of layout.

I wouldn't open the entire wall, I would close off the door and have the entrance to the kitchen off the lounge/dining... and make the kitchen a full double sided galley.

What would also be cool is you extended OUTSIDE from the line of the main kitchen bench into an outside kitchen also with Barbecue and burner combination and keep the lines of the house extending into the exterior entertaining space.

And I agree with Marco, the doors leading into the main corridoor would be perfect if they were glazed rather than solid doors ... OR not there at all.

Lisa of Montreal.. as a foodie myself I completely agree... preparing food is great.. but if you are coming to my house.. you will get a drink and some nibbles while I prepare whatever else needs to be done... you don't come to my house to work... UNLESS chopped tomatoes is all you are going to get from me haha

There's a lot of doors going on there! I'm thinking that you could make your space feel much more open by removing a few. The doors to the living room, kitchen, and hallway seem cumbersome and not particularly useful.

As someone who works for a contractor, I'll echo the urgings of other commenters to have this looked at by a professional. If possible, contact the original builder- it's quite possible that they could give you good advice about making changes, and they could likely provide you with an estimate for knocking out that wall.

First of all, great apartment. I would have bought it for the outdoor space alone. But to your question...

When I first saw your floor plan--kitchen seating adjacent to DR seating, divided only by a wall--my thought was of course, tear down the wall. But I'm with Lisa (Montreal), I don't like a completely open space. And I'm a foodie with friends who hang out in my kitchen so long as there's activity there.

Still, you do want some flow between the kitchen and DR/LR. If I read your floorplan correctly, both the LR/DR and the kitchen are accessible only from the central hallway--no connection between the two. I would (1) close off the existing kitchen door and wrap the countertop along the new wall (giving you additional countertop and storage space) and (2) rip out the existing wall between the kitchen and DR/LR and replace it with a new, partial wall with a very generous, dramatic doorway between the kitchen and DR/LR. And the remaining wall isn't solid, but a pass-through, so you get both the visual/conversational connection plus some additional counter space for moving food, etc, between the two rooms. But you'd still have a solid plane for making the LR/DR feel like its own space. And if it turns out that it is a load-bearing wall, it would solve that problem.

Last thought: it looks like you have a doorway to your outdoor space from every room. Do you really need one from both the kitchen and the LR/DR? You have double doors from the LR/DR. Now that you can get outside from the kitchen via the DR/LR, perhaps consider closing off the exterior kitchen door and wrapping the countertops around that new wall too. (As you can tell, I place a high premium on countertop and storage space).

Your apartment has so much potential. Keep us posted!

Spaniards, as a rule, do not believe in open kitchens. If you do this you will be significantly harming the resale value of your property with the population most likely to buy it.

As Elizcrtv said, open kitchens don't seem to be very popular in Spain -- that's why the builder did the floorplan that way. In addition to checking out the plans and consulting an architect, ask a real estate agent about re-sale. For instance, would taking out that wall mean you have one less room (if real estate is also measured in those terms)? I don't know for sure, but I've seen mention of it on real estate shows set in Europe -- things are referred to as a 4-room flat or something.

I love it as it is. I'm in a studio. It's all open. I hate it. I'd rather have a bunch of TINY rooms that have SPECIFIC purposes.

Being able to close off the kitchen from the rest of the home is GREAT. Especially with that galley set-up. There's room on that wall with the table for the ultimate prep center.

Food scents do NOT permeate the entire house, unless you want them to. You can air out any room individually, with all those wonderful doors going outside.

Food scents and grease and smoke and splatters also cannot come in contact with any of the living room furniture.

I'd probably be tempted to do most of the living and dining outdoors with your new place. Only coming indoors when the weather is really bad.

And that is what the apartment looks designed for, outdoor enjoyment. Appreciation of the outdoors. Seamless indoor-outdoor spaces. Using doors instead of windows for light, ventilation, etc.

It's a wonderful layout!

A couple more thoughts...

Thanks to Apartment Therapy, there are always more images to look at, and this is right on the front page currently:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/house-tours/house-tour-marissa-and-marks-los-angeles-091060

Be sure to view the images in the slideshow:
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/073109newmarkmarissa/073109marissa-05

That could work for your space if you felt you had to have it more open. Those cut-outs are usually topped with a counter for eating, which I despise. The real reason many apartments end up with cut-outs is for the light requirements, natural lighting required to reach the kitchen.

If it wasn't for those requirements, my kitchen in my rental would have had a lot more cabinets if it was up to me. Open space like this is great for light and air, but there's nothing else you can do with it. Cabinets will not mount on air. ;)

Consider the layout...you have few solid walls that don't have a door on them and places where you have to put bed or the sofa...you don't have much of anywhere for bookcases, for instance. Or a media center if you are into tv, movies, stereo.

If you take out that kitchen wall, you'll be left with an angled wall and a short wall (left side, lower left bottom). Everything else is window or door.

Likewise, if you love wall art, you'll end up with a very heavy left side on one end and the kitchen on the other.

Having the half wall can be useful, but the temptation is for the king or queen of the kitchen to reign that room, while everyone else is in the living area. Meaning you could be spending all your time in a separate room from your guests. Same thing with the current layout.

Important factors: Animals and children and cleaning. Open or partially open areas can mean danger for kids and pets. Kitchens, that is. I dream of having the doors you'll have, to be able to cook without a feline audience. And the potential feline hair....LOL!

To be able to clean a room and close it off is priceless. Likewise, you can have a dirty room without it being exposed. If you love cooking, that means you also get dishes and pots and pans in use during the process.

It would be nice to have the separate kitchen, create the meal, enjoy the meal with company, and shove all the dishes back in the kitchen where they won't be on display while continuing the enjoy time with company.

For the layout, your lifestyle should determine that. Consider as many double and triple duty items as possible. There's the two of you, so you don't need two tables to seat 8 as shown in the layout.

Consider the adjustable coffee dining table, which AT has covered a few times, like here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/good-questions/good-questions-convertible-coffee-dining-tables-025053

and here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/best-products/best-adjustable-coffee-tables-2009-084487

Next, avoid the sofa. It's so limited in where it can go and what it can do. Using chairs that can be moved makes more sense. Especially since you have a HUGE terrace that will allow large piece items. THAT is where you put your sofa or lounge or other large furnishings for entertaining.

Because all the sensitive stuff HAS to be inside. Books don't do well in the rain, electronics need plugs.

Set the place up for the two of you, and live in it for awhile. Design for the way YOU live 95% of the time. Not for other people, and not for a lifestyle you don't have.

My family's business entails doing exactly what you are thinking of doing now...removing or repositioning walls to maximize the usable space that a living unit provides.
It is disheartening to see so many newer construction homes that severly limit space utilization by putting up unneeded walls and doors. Having grown up in Florida open plan homes, I have always enjoyed the large living space those homes offer. To me, it makes contact with house members easier and more enjoyable when there is one large area to relax in.
The first step, as has already been suggested is to consult with the builder or your own architect to see if the walls in question are loadbearing or electrically wired walls. If so, I am afraid you will be forced to live with the set up as is, removing only those doors would be all you can do to make the rooms flow together easier.
In reviewing your floorplan, if you are able to remove some walls, here is what I would do to maximize your space:
1. remove the small wall right inside the front entry door to make the foyer area flow directly into the LR.
2. remove the wall that divides the kitchen from the LR.
3. remove the door and wall that goes from the foyer area to the bedrooms and also the door to the kitchen.
4. build or purchase a counter high cabinet (some great ones are even on wheels that allow you to redesign your space with a simple push) and place it where the wall is. Of course if you do this, you will need to eliminate the dining room table and employ this cabinet as your eating/food prep space.
A few projects we have done before we installed 'islands on wheels' that have a fold down table top that can be used to expand your seating area. By employing this piece of furniture, you have the option of being able to place it where ever the island/table is needed and you are not committed to having this countertop in one fixed area.
I also suggest making the kitchen door to the patio a fixed floor to ceiling window as you have those double french doors from the living room to the patio. On one project we just completed in Florida, we replaced 6 sets of french doors with pocket or sliding 'disappearing' doors that allow yet even more space that the inside direction opening doors took up. If you cannot replace these double doors, perhaps remount them to open onto the patio to free up the interior space taken by the doors when they are open.
If this wall removal idea is possible and you end up with one big open kitchen/dining/living space, you would also be wise to move your sofa so the back of it faces the kitchen where the wall is now. Make that wall where the sofa is now to be a focal point of your space. Perhaps paint this one wall a bold accent color. To provide even more space, mount a flat screen TV to that wall.
If you do have your room set up as it is on the diagram, you seem to have a lot of pieces crammed together on that side of the room. By facing the sofa towards the kitchen, you are able to 'seperate' the two rooms somewhat while still having one big open space to enjoy.
One final suggestion, if you do not need that hallway closet for storage, perhaps remove that as well so you can treat that whole area as a gallery and you can enjoy the feeling of interrupted space.

Good Luck!! I really do like the layout of your place in general. Once you remove these small walls and all those doors, that open space can be very dramatic and useful and I think you and your husband will feel that although it is still the same house, the usable room will be very much appreciated!

I did a bit of looking around, I would NOT change the wall. As already mentioned by Elizcrtv, kitchens are SEPARATE:

http://www.property-spain.com/los-granados-golf.htm

http://www.mortgage4spain.com/propertyspain/la_torre_property_types_Apt.asp

http://www.spain-holiday.com/rentals/accommodations/properties/1793/Elviria/6/Malaga/0/Andalucia/Elviria.html

http://www.sunseaspain.com/apartment.php

Even the mini-kitchen on the roof of the penthouse in the first link is doored and separate.

Nuts to resale - it's your apartment, do what you like with it. You may even find that an open plan layout looks more "international" and actually increases the prestige of the place!

Personally I'd rip out the wall between the entry and the living room as well as the one between the kitchen and the living room, to make an even bigger open space. The "rooms" can be defined with furniture while allowing lines of sight that open the place right up.

The plan suggests that these walls are not load-bearing.

I think that, in some countries, an open kitchen isn't considered a plus. Watching someone cook is like watching a woman put on her make-up before a date -- it takes all the excitement out of the finished effort.

When I lived in France (admittedly many years ago), no one wanted guests in the kitchen. An open kitchen was considered an American vulgarity, like a jacuzzi.

Well, I see many diverse opinions here about open vs.closed kitchens. Personally I would not let these sway you from your original plan as YOU will live in the apartment and if the small kitchen bothers you then go for the open kitchen. Invest in an excellent kitchen hood and you'll be fine. After all, I see that your "private" areas (bedrooms and bathrooms) can be closed off so there is no question of smells in these areas.

Also, if you are looking for a more spacious feel I would take down all the walls and doors seperating the living room and kitchen from the corridor/hallway as well as the kitchen/living room wall that you were thinking of. I would then install a door right where the first built in closets in the hallway begins to divide the private/public space. If a landing strip/entryway is an imperative I would create one with furniture or screens rather than a solid wall. Just look how much space you will gain by incorporating part of your corridor into your living room/kitchen/dining area.

I lived many years in Spain and I know very well modern construction layout tendencies. I think that you have the right idea and you should take this one step further. Buena suerte....

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for your comments, I'm sorry I haven't answered sooner but I've been on vacation away from the computer for a couple of weeks.
I really like some of the ideas you've suggested such as the farm style table, altough I wasn't planning on having a dining table if I went ahead with the island plan because it obviously wouldn't fit, so I was thinking of extending the living room outdoors and set up the dining area on the terrace. Also, the idea of throwing the wall down is not just to entertain - both my boyfriend and I like to cook and right now we both feel it would seem a little crowded in the kitchen.
But anyway, rest assure that before and if I throw the wall down I will check with the contractor to see if it's load-bearing!