Value add from open floor plan?

[Harman N.]

Hi all,

I'm currently living in a duplex that I'm rehabbing, and hoping to use the increase in equity to fund more REI (see my intro post here). The place is 3 levels: a garage with 2 units above it, each unit is 2BR/1BA, about 1200 square feet, and I'm living on the 2nd level. 

I wanted to create an open floor plan by (a) knocking down the non load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room, and (b) knocking down the load bearing wall between the dining room and living room.

I got plans from a structural engineer to knock down the load bearing wall, and estimates from 2 different contractors came in at ~$12K. 

I'm trying to decide if this is worth it or not. I already paid for the structural plans, but that's a sunk cost. 

What makes it difficult is that it's not purely an investment property - I love the neighborhood and plan on living in the place for some years...

Any advice would be welcome!

- Harman

P.S. I'm sure things will go in cycles, and in a generation people will want closed floor plans again :-<

[Jennifer Hubbard]

Is the kitchen small, or does it feel small? How are the three rooms laid out in relation to each other? Are there any charming architectural elements you would lose if you opened up the rooms? Do the rooms feel cramped as they are? Have you considered opening the wall between the living and dining rooms only?

This was an interesting article - http://www.oldhouseguy.com/open-kitchen-floor-plan/. You could also look at examples of open and closed on sites like Houzz.