One continuous space, not four separate rooms
Scripps Ranch was built out largely in the late 1970s, and the floor plans from that era share a habit: a galley kitchen closed off from the living areas, a fireplace anchoring one wall, and a ceiling held flat by the framing above it. The house works, but it lives smaller than its square footage suggests.
The brief here was to undo all three at once. Expand the kitchen and move it to where the family actually gathers. Remove the fireplace that was breaking up the main wall. Then open the living area into a single uninterrupted span.
Work of this kind is decided long before demolition. Moving a kitchen means relocating supply lines, drainage and the vent stack, and that dictates the permit package. We resolved the layout, the finish specifications and the submittal first, then opened the walls.
Open plan · After
