Have you opened up kitchen? Looking for feedback & ideas

Hi there --

We are starting a very long process of thinking about opening up our kitchen and making a great room with kitchen/living/dining. Having one big, open, common room just suits out lifestyle better and is exactly why we were attracted to Eichlers in the first place. But, as you all well know, this is not a decision to be taken lightly. We would love to hear from any of you who have done this. More, I would love to see if we might be able to take a few minutes and take a look at what you did so we can see how people solved problems similarly or differently. We are in south Palo Alto, in the Greenmeadow neighborhood.

Please contact me by email if you have opened up your kitchen and if you are willing to share any info with us, positive or negative, or let us see what you did. Thanks in advance.

In case it helps, I don't know the name of our floor plan (is there a way to find out?). We have the kitchen windows looking onto the street, and when you walk in the front door the kicthen is directly to the right. (When opened, the front door completely blocks the kitchen entry.) The hallway and bedroom wing are almost straight ahead when walking in the front door. To the left when walking in are two bedrooms and a washer/dryer area with a door to the side yard. The kitchen has sink facing the street and double oven and stove on the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. On the far right side of the kitchen, on the shared wall with the garage is a little area for a breakfast table. There is a door to the garage there too. The living room is a big rectangular room with all glass and fireplace looking into the back yard. Off of the living room there is a "dining" room which we use as a family/tv room, which shares the back wall of the garage. Does that description help at all?

Tammy and Joel Truher
4097 Scripps Ave.
650-424-8486