Our lakehouse has an open plan where the kitchen is completely open to the living & dining areas. There is a big sunroom/dining space which is divided from the other rooms by glass panel doors (so the kitchen is still in full view).

To control visual clutter, I kept the kitchen pretty simple - no busy backsplash, for example. I wanted to be able to change out rugs, art & decorative accents in the other spaces according to the seasons and didn't want the kitchen to be out of step.

Of course, this is a wooded lake retreat, so it might not work for your style. But it's an idea to give you some perspective.

You can find it in the Finished Kitchen Blog under "amck's kitchen."

Note: I went to the Finished Kitchens Blog after posting to confirm my kitchen was still there. The blog has been revamped since I last visited. To get to the pictures that show kitchen views from the other rooms, you have to click the photobucket link.

This post was edited by amck on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 14:57

Here is a picture of our kitchen.

I personally love it. It works really well for our family and I like the openness of it. It also allowed me flexibility with the kitchen layout because I wasn't concerned about putting a window in the kitchen.

This post was edited by senator13 on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 16:11

Here is a picture showing the view from the kitchen.

Ours too is one open room. We wanted to use the island as a piece of furniture creating some separation of space - and that's the feel we get. We love the way it has made the best use of the space. Only drawback: sound travels throughout the rest of the house a bit more than when a wall surrounded the kitchen.

You can see it in the finished kitchen blog as AnnaA's kitchen.

Our kitchen is competely open to the only dinng area and our family room. We do not have a separate living room. We do have a library that we use as a quiet retreat rather than entertaining space.

It was a challenge, bc I had never lived in an open floor plan before. For example- I needed to pick one paint color that went with everything. And colors and fabrics all needed to coordinate. It had to be casual enough for everyday but formal enough for entertaining.

Our kitchen is relatively simple. No backsplash, no upper cabinets. I also have some art work on the wall to make it feel more like the rest of the house. Our counters are clear with minimal appliances.

From dining room into kitchen:

One thing that helped was to have headers and walls outlining each space. that defined the different areas and it also hides the mess near the sink.

From dining room into family room:

From family room looking into dining room and kitchen.

wow PPS7.. what a beautiful home! I love how understated yet pulled together everything looks. You have such a relaxed, comfortable looking home, yet you've maintained such a high level of elegance as well. That's exactly what I'd like to achieve in my home. :-)

Our kitchen (link below has more pictures) is open to our only living area on the main level. We do have a den on our lower level, but it's used by DH in the mornings.

The linked post has a link to a house tour - pictures were taken years ago and many things have been added. Here is a picture of LR area last year, minus curtains added.

Here is a link that might be useful: French Grey Island Kitchen

We have a small house with an open floor plan (about 1200 sq ft total)- my whole house would fit into some of the kitchens shown on GW! When we moved in, I had 3ft of counter space in the entire kitchen and only 2 drawers- one of which was only 6" wide. Remodelled about 16 years ago- in process of an update due to a water leak- please ignore the mess of paint cans, holiday stuff and lazy dogs...

Went with white cabinets. I've never regretted that decision- blends into the walls. Even after the leak, when I replace the cabinet doors, I'm going with white again. Wood is nice- but I've seen all the colors change over the years from pickled oak to cherry to painted and stained. One thing I have always seen is white. I even had all white appliances until this year- Dang new stove only came in SS, then the fridge gave out- all they had in stock was SS. So here I sit with SS appliances. This will be our last hurrah on redoing the house- let our kids do it next time when they inherit it!

Don't miss kris_ma's kitchen. It is one of my favorites. The link shows pictures of the living area.

Here is a link that might be useful: kris_ma's kitchen

Pic taken from the... I guess you'd call it the great room. The only other rooms in that house were bedrooms and a bathroom.

pps7, I love your kitchen. What is the wall paint color, please?

pps7 - beautiful home. At some point in the not too distant future we will be downsizing and I have been dreading it. But your space, being on a smaller stage, gives me hope and inspiration. Thanks for posting it. Do you happen to know the entire length and width of your space? thanks

thirdkitchenremodel - what an imaginative way of putting together a two-tiered eating area - using two different heights of stools. Amazing. Again an inspirational idea.

Thank you for the lovely comments!

kaysd, the kitchen wall color is Benjamin Moore gray wisp.

Blfenton, the space is about 20x41. To me it feels huge as we came from a 1900 square foot home and this one is twice the size.

I have wanted a white kitchen all of my adult life. When I decided to do this kitchen reno I wanted the classic white kitchen that I always dreamed of. The house wasn't having any of that though. I knew that the white of my dreams was not suited to our home. We went with stained and glazed maple which is lovely and suits the house.

I have wanted a chocolate and vanilla color scheme for years and was moving in that direction but once again this house is rearing it's head and telling me to go with greens and a touch of blue. I am trying to smack the house back into subservience but I fear it will win this battle as well!

PPS your home is stunning. I want a home that is simply and casually elegant. You have pulled that look off beautifully!

Thank you everyone for sharing the pictures as I have an open kitchen to my family room so I am having to make similar decisions. I love how pps7, covered two end chairs to blend the area with the white kitchen.

Lovely rooms. If it were mine, Aloha, I would treat the cabinetry as if it were part of the living room walls, which, after all, it is. No sudden mass of cabinetry filling up one corner or side. Actually, the entire kitchen would be "living room" style,

Cabinets would be very similar to or, most probably, the same color as the walls.

I'd keep lines and finishes simple since kitchens are so visually busy at best. Refrigerator and/or sink/cleanup to the side and not viewed front-on if at all possible. Almost not there drop-in stovetop, rather than elaborate range.

I'd use art for decoration, not kitcheny finishes like distinctive backsplashes or admire-ME! counters. Actually, in my case, I really like counters the same color as the lower cabinets, so I'd probably do that. Simple and serene, adding the art for excitement. Things like corbels or pilasters only if they echoed ones on the fireplace or bookcases, which echoed the architecture.

Since this would be where I'd live all the time I was home, I'd also make it a priority to keep decor flexible so I could "redecorate" just by carrying in new items. This would be big for me.

I notice that the kitchens shown tend carry the living room look through very nicely, although in a couple the cabinets echo the floor finish instead of the walls. Which also works. Pps7's is most like what I'm imagining, though.

Or this since you asked for a picture. Not mine and not my style, and it's actually a wet bar, but it could be a kitchen. :)

[Traditional Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by Clearwater Home Builders Arthur Rutenberg Homes