Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
bmh4796

Beam in ceiling to divide kitchen and breakfast???

bridget helm
10 years ago

Yes. I know this kitchen breakfast room layout is odd. There have been many discussions about it. In order to not sacrifice anything else, its what we have to do. We do have a formal dining that will be used when entertaining. Also, don't focus on the layout of appliances. I like it the way it is and have reasons.

What i need help with is envisioning something the architect wants to do. We are not going to have a cased opening between the kitchen and breakfast as drawn. The wall is scratched out in red. The architect wants to put a beam on the ceiling separating the 2 rooms. Of course I've seen beamed ceilings, but I just can't picture it here because of cabinets. Above the trash there is a window. There will be a cabinet on both sides of this window, so where will this beam start. The ceilings are 12 feet, so we most likely won't have cabinets to the ceiling.

I'm having a hard time visualizing this in 3d. Will this look ok? If not, how else can we "mark off" the spaces? Dropping the ceiling to the breakfast room?

Comments (21)

  • ibewye
    10 years ago

    Just wanna commend you for preemptively addressing the off-topic floorplan critiques you'll receive when you just wanted some help on the kitchen ceiling.
    I love the GardenWeb its a great resource with some wonderful people to help, but I finally realized that if you have anything outside the box regarding your floorplan-your doomed. I had posted my floorplan that I had designed myself and thought was perfect, by the time I was done, I was ready to throw in trash and jump off bridge. I took every suggestion to heart and tried to appease everyone until I realized that the result was a page out of every floorplan book that convinced to do customize my plan. Sometimes I think if the GW were to put together a "dream home" and then post it review it would somehow manage to reduce it to a big do-over.

    My disclaimer- please don't mistake this for GW hate , anyone who asks for floorplan review is asking for the critique, I'm only referring to the tendencies to over-look the the intention of the post and instead reworking the homes foundation plan and my lesson learned from posting my own home that had 48" hallways because I like wide hallways and subsequently wast told to hire a professional because I had wasted tremendous space, 10 sq ft. Please accept my off-topic comment but I promise to look at your kitchen now

  • ibewye
    10 years ago

    I looked at and dont think its weird, we're doing something along the same lines. Our kitchen ceiling will be open and have a sloped ceiling but dining area will be a flat finished ceiling.
    \

  • done_again_2
    10 years ago

    I don't have anything to add about your beam. My only suggestion is to consider the placement of the trash. If you plan to put another trash can somewhere else, then this may not matter. My sink and trash are in a similar spot and a pain to use. Whenever someone's at the sink no one else can use the trash. If there's only one person in the kitchen it's somewhat manageable. Otherwise, you're always asking someone to move or bumping their leg to use the trash.

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i can move the trash over a little bit to the right so that it doesn't bump the person at the sink. i will work all that out with the cabinet guy.

    i'm still having a hard time envisioning where this beam will start?

  • chispa
    10 years ago

    Will that be the only beam? We have something similar to what lbewye posted, but it is a spanish style so we have these mostly decorative beams used in some of the rooms in the interior and some on the exterior too. If you only have that one beam, then I wouldn't do it and I would just do a continuous one level ceiling. Sometimes the simple way of doing something is really the best way!

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    that's what i'm thinking, chispa. it would just be the one. i think it would work if we ran beams through the whole breakfast room, but i'm trying to stay in budget, and beams throughout the breakfast room would most likely put us over. it's one of those things that i'm not passionate about having, so I'd rather put my money elsewhere. i thing beams throughout would look great, but it's not a must. i wonder if i can make the decision to have only one beam after they sheetrock?? or is that too late

  • nanj
    10 years ago

    I'm not on my home computer or I would post photos. Instead of a beam what about a box beam with simple decorative trim, painted the same color as the ceiling. I've seen this used many times to delineate spaces in open floor plans. Think of the box beams used for coffered ceilings, only just one to separate the spaces.

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    Drop the ceiling height in the breakfast nook to make it a separate cozier space that is more in line with it's smaller footprint it occupies. It will still seem open and spacious, but by using the shorter height, it will be more inviting. I would do an 8' ceiling there. With the banquette, you've just created the most fought over spot in the home.

  • PRO
    Window Accents by Vanessa Downs
    10 years ago

    I am not good at reading plans - this is my disclaimer before posting!

    I have a client who has a large opening between 2 rooms and they used beams inside that boxed opening and it looks great. I don't know if that makes sense or if that's what you're saying your architect is suggesting! But that look delineates the 2 rooms, but keeps it open at the same time and has great visual appeal.

  • dadereni
    10 years ago

    Can the architect help you visualize it, with a sketch? We could all have different interpretations.

  • kirkhall
    10 years ago

    I don't think I'd do a "beam" in the sense of stained wood, esp if this will be your only beam in the house.

    But, you could have a wrapped support beam (if they need support). That blends in a little better and your eye won't be drawn to it, but it makes decorating (and PAINTING) the spaces easier because there is a clear division of spaces.

    Or, I'd do as Live-wire says, and drop your ceiling height in the nook by the "beam" height (again, as a wrapped "beam"). This would also be easier to decorate/paint around.

  • dadereni
    10 years ago

    Are you really sure you want 12' ceilings in the breakfast room that is 9'-0" x 10'-8"? This space might be more pleasing with a ceiling height closer to 10', and some sort of element like a beam or cased opening could help with a transition in ceiling heights.

  • glueblob
    10 years ago

    While ours isn't quite the same as yours - we have a beam on our vaulted ceiling to separate the kitchen from the living room (you can also see where the vault drops a few inches on the left of the photo where the dining area starts).

    The house is finished, I just don't have any better photos on this computer... sorry!

    Maybe this will help you envision yours?

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i think dropping the ceiling is a good idea. maybe down to 10 or 9? i will talk with him about that. i'm having a hard time picturing that too.

    i can see the beam in my mind a little better now because he drew it in. we won't be able to have crown with the beam because it will run into it. that's fine though because the kitchen will be modernish.

    i think it would look best with beams going across the entire breakfast room rather than just one. would sheetrocked beams be that expensive? it's a small room

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here it is drawn in with the beam. I think it needs beams all the way thru the breakfast room.


    Glueblib, thanks for your pic. Nice beams and cute kitchen. Yours is truly a separate space though because you have a little bit of wall in each side to mark off the space in addition to the vaulted ceiling. Love the vaulted ceilings!

  • renovator8
    10 years ago

    I don't see the beam as important; it will hardly be noticed. A more important issue is the sharp corner of the peninsula sticking into the breakfast room. I also find it awkward and unfinished looking to show the end of a counter overhang. This is a frequent travel path and highly visible from the table so it should be free of corners and peek a boos. Perhaps the counter overhang could return to the wall or a lower cabinet added or the peninsula redesigned.

    I would make all counter corners curved. The end of the peninsula might be half round. You must assume people will bump into counter corners. Think about people using the space rather than logical layout. Reduce obsticles.

    This post was edited by Renovator8 on Sun, Jul 14, 13 at 8:50

  • mydreamhome
    10 years ago

    I like the beam idea as it opens up the kitchen and breakfast area a lot. We have a beam between our kitchen & family room. It extends down from the ceiling about a foot. We then had it wrapped in sheetrock and finished to match the surrounding walls. It helps to define the spaces as separate, but still allows a feeling of openness. I don't have any pics of it handy, but I'll see if I can get one for you soon.

  • mydreamhome
    10 years ago

    I like the beam idea as it opens up the kitchen and breakfast area a lot. We have a beam between our kitchen & family room. It extends down from the ceiling about a foot. We then had it wrapped in sheetrock and finished to match the surrounding walls. It helps to define the spaces as separate, but still allows a feeling of openness. I don't have any pics of it handy, but I'll see if I can get one for you soon.

  • frozenelves
    10 years ago

    I would NOT do a beam. It doesn't seem to go if you ask me. I like the idea of the lower ceiling (or nothing at all) and I also love the idea of wrapping the counter around the wall of the nook (like Renovator said). You would then be able to have another stool there and it would tie the rooms together better.

  • Lara
    10 years ago

    I think the beam is a great way to keep the rooms separate but still have that "open concept" (if that's what you're going for).

    Is he talking about something like this link below? without the side beams on the walls.

    You also might ask him to go on Houzz and find some examples of what he's talking about. That always helps me visualize what my architect is suggesting.

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Beams example on Houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-kitchen-rustic-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~105945)

  • njordan56
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I realize this is 1.5 years later, but thought's I would comment anyway :) .If you did end up going with one beam and thought, gee I wish I had taken the beams across the breakfast and/or living room, they have these products called faux beams now. You mentioned budget constraints kept you from doing more beams initially, but the faux beams I've seen are but a FRACTION of the cost of traditional wood weight bearing beams. I'm sure there are many suppliers such as Home Depot, etc, any many online, but here is one particular website worth viewing. http://www.fauxwoodbeams.com/beams-custom-rough-hewn.php

    If you posted after pics and you did multiple beams, sorry for the redundancy, but hey, maybe there is another room you'd like beams in and this is a legit consideration. :)

    Cheers!

Sponsored
MAC Design + Build
Average rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars18 Reviews
Loudon County Full-Service Design/Build Firm & Kitchen Remodeler