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Are Half Walls Back In Style?

Half walls, also called pony walls, can create separation and provide a degree of privateness. But for years, each time you watched a home preservation display, half walls have been the primary casualty inside the demolition technique. On the alternative hand, some designers are the usage of half of partitions to add architectural interest, storage space and wanted separation.

So are half partitions nonetheless taken into consideration outdated — like formal residing rooms — or are they again in fashion? It relies upon on who you ask.

Designers use half of walls judiciously

vancouver

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A 1/2-wall design with columns in Vancouver. Image courtesy of Synthesis Design.

“Creating areas that evoke a sense of region, scale and comfort can regularly require definition,” says Curtis D. Krahn, Founder and Principal at Synthesis Design. “In this era of open plans, which we love because of the power it provides the spaces, we're nonetheless tasked with defining the spaces.”

And Krahn says sometimes a 1/2 wall creates the delineation. “The half wall is difficult and now not a way to be dealt with lightly,” he warns. “If the utility isn't always correct, it could appearance dated earlier than the paint dries.”

“Traditional and Craftsman style homes — now that is where you may contain a 1/2 wall to, as an instance, help define an access. But it must be detailed in keeping with the architectural fashion,” Krahn explains. The photo above is from certainly one of Synthesis Design’s initiatives. “Detailed with raised panels, bases and a giant pinnacle, either stained to carry out the natural wooden or painted a glossy white, [a half wall] can be an fashionable interior finish,” Krahn says.

Half walls create visual strains

Half wall interest

A half of wall can add hobby. Image: Fuse/Getty Images

“Often, the 1/2 wall terminates at a column (or columns) framed with a lintel or a mild arch,” Krahn provides. “This enhances the sense of entry at the same time as nonetheless supplying glimpses of the adjoining rooms.” In addition, he says that half walls can include inset cabinets or niches for books and different gadgets.

However, Krahn might now not recommend the use of a half of wall in a present day house. “Modern houses, for us, are extra about the function partitions that make bigger, regularly above the roof, or horizontal lines that are big and enforcing to juxtapose the massive spaces inside.” While he believes they have got their area, Krahn recommends in search of the recommendation of a expert before making a decision to get a half wall.

When and where to apply half walls

Semi private wall

A 1/2 wall can offer a semi-non-public environment. Image: Tom Merton/Getty Images

“As a concept, one ought to be extraordinarily sensible in deciding on in which to use a half wall,” warns Melanie Giordano, Principal at Barnes Vanze Architects in Washington, DC. “There can be something actually stressful about this architectural detail, which came into fashion along side mid-century fads just like the communique pit.”

This pass through makes the kitchen feel larger.

This skip via makes the kitchen feel large. Image: 2M Media/Shutterstock

Giordano likens a half of wall to an implicit tease. “It stops you from shifting via a space, although it indicates you what lies beyond.” Half walls are common in lots of mid-century ramblers, helping separate the entry from the formal dwelling area. “In that case, a 1/2 wall short-circuits the ritual of accepting a pal or stranger into your home due to the fact the visitor can survey its non-public quarters with one sweeping leaf through the front door.”

Gibson Island MD

Half-walls in a Gibson Island, MD, master suite region. Image courtesy of Anice Hoachlander, Photographer.

However, this isn’t what happened in Giordano’s layout in a domestic in Gibson Island, MD, featured within the photo above. “The use of half walls in this lakeside master bedroom efficaciously separates a sitting area without last it off from the mild and the perspectives of the sweeping coastline off the rear balcony,” she says.

Giordano explains that it really works due to the fact the proprietors have already entered their non-public vicinity. “I designed the partitions with pilasters and columns that body an entry into the main bedroom so one doesn’t feel reduce off from circulating via the gap,” she says. “The left-hand half of wall also defines a relaxed corner for the armchair so it’s now not floating along the larger side wall.”

Half partitions in the bathroom

Portland

A half wall inside the toilet of a Portland riverfront townhouse. Image courtesy of Jenni Leasia.

“Half or partial walls are a exquisite manner to ‘display screen’ regions in a rest room with out completely last them off,” says Jenni Leasia of Jenni Leasia Design in Portland, OR. She created the layout within the image above.

Leasia explains that the homeowners wanted the level of privateness supplied via a wall rather than glass. “The top is roughly 50″, so it’s high enough to govern the splash but low enough so the person inside the bathe doesn’t sense closed in, and might see out of doors of the shower while using it,” she says. “The open, ethereal feeling is more advantageous by means of removing the shower door.” And there’s another gain to the usage of a tile wall rather than glass. “The owners don’t need to worry approximately water marks and the use of a squeegee after each bathe,” Leasia says.

What about resale fee?

Half wall too open

A half of wall can maintain a room from being too open. Image: Astronaut/Getty Images

“Half walls can be very elegant whilst used correctly to create separation or to offer flow to a bigger area,” says John Manning, Managing Broker at RE/MAX on Market in Seattle, WA. “For instance, a 1/2 wall can provide a pleasant barrier against which a couch may be placed with a hallway at the back of it.” While Manning doesn’t suppose half of walls are a amazing desire for bedrooms (for instance, used as stair transitions) he believes they simply have their place, mainly in extra conventional homes.

If half walls are making a return, Patrick Garrett, Broker/Realtor at H&H Realty in Trussville, AL, isn’t maintaining his breath awaiting their go back. “From what I were seeing, 1/2 partitions have now not fully made their manner lower back to being a sought-out attribute for brand spanking new home buyers,” Garrett says. “Many homebuyers are continuing to request open concept houses. In my marketplace, half of partitions might turn off homebuyers,” he concludes.

hanging trim on half wall

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