Our Own Open Concept Cottage: First Floor

So here's the thing.  At one point in our lives, we threw formal dinner parties, with fancy place settings and multi course meals.  But nowadays, the idea of hauling the silverware out and polishing it seems like too much work.  We do much more casual entertaining and everyone likes to gather in the kitchen to chat with the chef (that would be Richard, not me!).  We just want to throw everything in the dishwasher at the end of the evening!  Is this just a phase of our lives?  Or does everyone entertain more casually now?

So for our own house, we wanted to have the ultimate open concept floor plan  - essentially one big room, including the staircase.  That give us the maximum space for living and entertaining.  And it really suits our lifestyle.  To be honest, I'm not really sure where the silver is anymore!!

So here are the photos of our house.  The living room, dining room and kitchen all blend seamlessly.  With no walls, we have lots of space for people and pets (ha, yes, that's Petey in the photo below!  And the rug at the bottom of the steps?  That's because he likes to fly down the stairs and come to a screeching halt with his nails!).

Petey really wanted to be in the picture!

We spent a lot of time designing the fireplace wall to get the proportions right between the mantle, bookcases and windows.  In the end, it was worth all the planning, because we love how it came out.   It's reminiscent of Arts and Crafts homes, with windows high up on the walls.  And it mimics the kitchen with the white woodwork and cherry tops, as well as the marble fireplace surround and hearth.

In fact, we used the same marble and glass tile from the kitchen backsplash - but in an elongated running bond pattern around the gas fireplace.  These tiles also have slightly different thicknesses, which adds a nice 3 dimensional aspect.

The dining room has lots of windows, to bring in light all day long.  We reused the original antique beams across the ceiling.  They are a nice design element, but they also clearly designate where the original structure was . We love that nod to the house's history!  For dining, we've used a simple trestle table with a mix of chairs.

The light fixture might look familiar - we used the same one in our Craftsman Bungalow that we did last year.  The compass rose on the ceiling medallion is the perfect nautical touch.  Oh, and I discovered that painting above your head is incredibly difficult!












We bought the linen chest years ago at an antique shop in Pennsylvania.  It's an American chest that dates back to the early 1800's and it's one of my favorite pieces.

Mike Stiler Fish

The only downside to an open floor plan?  There aren't a lot of walls for artwork.  And of course the artwork and colors really bring the space to life.  We tried to use pieces by local artists, to really give our home a local flavor.

Catherine Breer and Margaret Ford

Jeff Barrett

This little guy just makes me happy!

There are quite a few doors in the open space - to the basement, the bathroom, the closet and of course outside! We wanted the staircase to be an integral part of the space.  It drove a lot of design considerations up to the 2nd and 3rd floor, but it was worth it!  And I still love the big, chunky newel posts.  

This is an easy house tour.  Just one room!  So what do you think?  Are you an open concept fan?  Or do you prefer walls and clearly defined rooms?  

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