Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

We have a cape. You open the door, stairs right there. We were thinking about possibly knocking the wall into the bedroom (our playroom) and the wall between that room and small back bedroom to make that one big livingroom and our current living room the dining room. I know this will require structural changes but wanted to see if anybody had pics. Thanks!

Anybody go

I have a cape but my stairs are in a different spot. We took the wall down between the front bedroom and the living room to make a open living dining room. Love it open.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

We are going to knock down our living room wall, get rid of a hallway closet and move our front door. I'm also trying to convince DH to knock down the kitchen wall too so the whole downstairs will be open.

We don't have a dining room so the extra space will allow for a table at least.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

We made our first floor completely open. Except our stairs are in a different spot. I have some before and during construction pics in my album. I can try and upload some finished pics. But you'll get the idea.

Anybody go

We have the same layout as you do in our cape. We are going to knock that wall down (which is our coat closet and shared wall of our Master BR) and have it as another LR with piano. We are also going to knock down the kitchen wall and are contemplating knocking down the dinette & LR walls to expand into the garage to create one huge great room.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

My cousin has a cape, same as you, the stairs are right in front of you when you walk in. To your left there was a wall, behind it a bedroom. They opened up that wall and made it their living room/den. You can now walk into her house and go right to the left into that room. The bedroom next to it, if you go through that living room and out the door, is the playroom.

When you come in the front door to your right, she made that room her dining room and to the back right is the kitchen which is mostly open to the hallway and dining room. On that dining room wall (to the right of the stairs) they opened up the wall and put railings so so you can see 3/4 of the way up stairs to the 2nd floor.

Her house feels much more spacious since they opened it all up and all of the rooms flow into each other nicely now. It's a much better floor plan.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

I think most people prefer a more open layout, and sometimes the issue with capes is that there are a lot of smaller rooms and a lot of the square footage in the home is in the bedrooms, not living space.

So if you can take away a bedroom on the main level to have more living space, I think that's great! Many people do what the previous poster described (knocking down the wall next to the stairs so then you have stairs in the middle and two living spaces on either side of the stairs (a living room and a dining room). It usually makes for better flow. Then, in most capes, you have a bedroom downstairs and 2 upstairs (or if there's a dormer and there are 3 bedrooms upstairs, all the better!).

I'd just caution you NOT to go lower than a 3 bedroom. In opening up the living space, you definitely add value and make the home more modern and desirable for most buyers. But don't do it if you would then have a 2 bedroom home. You really need at least 3 bedrooms (or the value of the home goes WAY down, no matter how nice it is!).

Anybody go

my mom had a cape and opened it up.

it used to be : LR to the left, BR behind that, BR at far back right & BA at mid back right. Kit to the right of stairs.

Now: Left = open LR & DR, Kit open to DR to the right
Right= open hallway to kitchen w/ a 1/2 BA & closet off of it

She dormered the top first to add a BA and 3 BR first.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

We have a cape - we opened the wall between the bedroom and living room. We left some of the wall up though by creating an archway that way there was additional wall space in each room. Now its a dining room and living room.

We bumped out our front door 2 feet so the door was no longer on top of the stairs.

Anybody go

We have a cape with the stairs in the middle, we start construction on Monday. We are opening the living room and bedroom and closing the bedroom and closet doors. Leaving the little bedroom and the stairs in the middle.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

I have a farm ranch- it looks like a cape

my stairs are where yours are- but my layout is different (3 bedrooms on the left- living room, dining room, kitchen and den to the right)

it's all open on the the right side- I love having it open! Ive never had a buyer complain about an open concept

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

We have a cape and opened up the wall on the side of the steps. Our staircase is not directly in front of the door but a little to the left.

Here are a few photos. First shows the wall when we first bought the house and then how it looks open. We are so happy we did it. Changed the entire feel of the house. It's so much more airy

We have a 3 bedroom dormer upstairs and a small bdrm downstairs so we were ok with losing the bedroom downstairs and making it a dining room.

Our next big renovation will be the kitchen. We plan on either removing the wall completely between LR and Kitchen or leaving a half wall/peninsula there

Message edited 9/23/2014 10:37:17 PM.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

P.S. We have considered opening the wall between small bdrm and dining room and making that the LR and turn LR into DR do it's next to kitchen but I need that small bdrm for my office. Instead, we are most likely just going to extend out a little or add all season room off to the side and then switch.

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

Re: Anybody go "open concept" with a cape?

Beautiful pics! I'm so jealous that your door isn't directly in front if your stairs!!

Anybody go

We had the same layout and we did it - it provides so much room. I will try to find pics at work to post.