- Alexa Occhipinti grew tired of her open-concept living area in late 2025.
- She decided to break it up by adding a pony wall between her dining and living area.
- The addition broke up the space without making it feel smaller.
Alexa Occhipinti's family has been through a lot in their home.
Occhipinti, 34, and her husband, Doug Occhipinti, bought their house in Sacramento in 2020, where Occhipinti works at the Sacramento County Department of Technology. It became the backdrop to huge milestones in their lives: getting engaged, married, and welcoming their two children.
As their lives have evolved, so has the house. For instance, Occhipinti turned a second-floor loft into a bedroom for her son, helping to move their home from an adult-focused space to a kid-friendly one.
And in December 2025, Occhipinti was ready to change another part of her home: the open-concept living area.
Saying goodbye to the open concept
Occhipinti told Business Insider that when she and her husband first bought their home, she loved the open-concept layout on the first floor, which combined the kitchen, dining area, and living area into a single rectangular space.
"Initially, I loved the open concept because I was just young and I was like, 'Oh, it looks so big and open,'" she said. "Then that kind of changed over time, especially with two toddlers."
Occhipinti said that as her living room started to double as a play space for her kids, the whole main floor felt less inviting.
"I see toys everywhere," Occhipinti said. "It's just overstimulating."
Likewise, since the TV was visible from the table, she said her children would try to watch it while they ate meals, which she didn't love.
It was time for a change.
A new layout
Occhipinti wasn't a stranger to enclosing spaces in her house when she decided to switch up the main floor. She had hired Primespec Construction to turn a loft on her second floor into a bedroom for her son, which made a huge difference in the space.
"I was really scared it was going to close in the space," Occhipinti said. "It was super open upstairs. It felt big and had a lot of natural light."
Adding the wall created a real hallway on the second floor, which Occhipinti said made the whole floor seem much larger.
"Putting up the walls is actually making the house feel bigger instead of smaller," she said.
Closing up the home's main floor, however, felt a little trickier. Occhipinti didn't want to create three separate rooms, as the main level isn't huge to begin with. The house is just under 2,000 square feet total.
"I still wanted it to be open and airy," she said.
A partial change
Occhipinti wasn't sure how to break up her space until she stumbled upon some Pinterest images of pony walls, a half wall that can divide a space while keeping it partially visible.
She thought it could be a perfect fit for her home, as it could make the living area feel separate while still maintaining an open flow.
Occhipinti tapped Primespec Construction again to handle the renovation of her living area, sending them her inspiration images. It took just one day and $2,500 to put up the wall.
"He got there at like 9:30 and the wall was built and done by like 4:30," she said.
The white pony wall dividing the living room from the kitchen and dining area has a column on one side and molding for a design pop.
Occhipinti has the couch leaning against one wall, and the dining table on the other. She hopes to make the table into a nook with bench seating down the line.
She said the renovation "completely changed the look and the feel" of her home, making it more traditional and cozy.
The wall has also made her feel less overwhelmed when her kids are playing with their toys.
"This really helped to feel like we could keep the toys in the living room and not see them from the kitchen counter," she said, adding that her children don't expect to see the TV from the dinner table anymore either.
Plus, Occhipinti said she loves that she has more freedom to switch up the decor between her living and dining areas, not worrying as much about the distinct spaces matching.
"I'm so excited now for each season because I can decorate the living room and then do something separate for the dining area," she said.
