You Don’t Need to Take Out a Wall to Open Up a Kitchen

The owners of this beautiful Eden Prairie Minnesota home were looking to enjoy their beautiful backyard garden and forest views from their kitchen. The problem was the wall between the kitchen and the dining/great room with its three huge windows and great backyard views.

Removing walls to open up rooms and ease traffic flow is a common home improvement request. But there are less costly ways open up a room. Rick Jacobson basically put a hole in the wall of this kitchen. He designed and constructed a window above the stove, connecting the kitchen and great room and enabling a great view.

One challenge was venting the stove and still having the wall opening as large as possible. Rick built a custom header over the stove, boxing in the range hood and exhaust fan with the same design as the existing soffits. The range hood is vented to the outdoors sideways through the soffit.

Dimmable under-cabinet and in-cabinet LED lights add a touch of functional beauty. One highlight: A custom glass door cabinet with glass shelving and white tableware creates a clean, stunning look.

The interior design includes a solid Oak floor, white paneled cabinets, glass tile backsplash, and Forest Fire Granite countertops.