Door-less

Why didn't we think of this sooner!? Since we moved in to the house we've had a swinging door that led from our kitchen to our living room/dining room. For the most part it remained open towards the living room. I stored our dog bowls and some TV trays behind it but that's about it. The kids thought it was fun for a short bit to practice opening and closing it but really, it just stayed open. The exception was if the dishwasher was loud and we were watching TV.

Here it is below in some very old pictures...

As you can see, it blocks the built-in corner cabinet and causes dead space behind it. Plus it just screams, "Look at me! I'm a big white door at the end of the room!"

While my parents were here for Cole's 1st birthday, we were talking about Christmas presents for the boys. One of the things I wanted to get them was a toy kitchen. Now some people have already expressed concern questioned why I'd get that for a boy but almost everyone in my immediate and extended family cooks. My brother and uncle border on excellent gourmet chefs while many others (uncles, cousins, etc) are all excellent chefs in their own right. My great grandfather even used to sell smoked sausage and BBQ as far up as New York. So for me, it's just normal. Plus Charlie already loves to "help mommy cook" as he likes to say. But the big dilemma was where to put something that big. Then it hit me. Why not remove that door and use the space for the toy kitchen? We have absolutely no room in the kitchen for it but being right at the kitchen is the next best thing.

So before my dad left to go home, he and Daniel removed the door and it currently sits in our shed. It was super simple - simply unscrew the bottom screws and then it just slides off the top. The top section is fixed so it just sits in the top and the bottom is what holds it together. I think it took them 3 minutes. Check out how much of a difference it made!

See how much more open it looks? We can even see the entire dining table from the kitchen now. Before it was always blocked off. Now the little wooden kitchen set will fit nicely in that little nook and I've already ordered the play food and pots/pans that will reside in a nice basket beside it. I think they boys will love "cooking for mommy and daddy" for years to come! I may even put some of their toy food in the kitchen so they can "help me" when I cook each night.

Amazing how a quick change can make a huge difference. How about you? Anyone else made a quick change that transformed their room? Or had an epiphany and wondered why you haven't done something sooner?