I insisted upon opening the wall between the dining room and living room.. I like the wide open feel.

making sure that it wasn't a load bearing wall.. I had fun taking it down..

After

Finished

Another idea I had was to make the ceiling look like it was open to the sky.. the first step was to make boards

for the ceiling to make the grids.. I used foam insulation, cut and painted and glued to the ceiling.. Later I will paint

Trompe l'oeil clouds, birds and trees to create the effect.. but that will come in time.. One photo is a sample of the boards during the painting process.

After