These days it's become popular to squeeze out a little extra space in your home. An open floor plan with little to no barrier between kitchen, eating and sitting areas is becoming a more common sight all the time.

Unfortunately for those of you in older homes, their builders liked everything separate and walled in. This doesn't have to be permanent though, and it doesn't have to break the bank either. With a little knowledge and preparation, you can just tear those bad boys down yourself.

Step one: Consult a professional.

I'm not about to start handing out advice on how to locate the load bearing walls all by yourself. Get someone who knows what they're looking at to tell you which walls you can actually remove. That way you can get that open floor plan look without caving in your ceiling.

Step Two: Punch a hole in your wall.

Go ahead. It's fun, and you're getting rid of that one anyway. Check around for any electrical wires or pipes. They'll have to be rerouted, but today we're just removing the wall.

Step 3: Now we remove the drywall.

Don't forget to lay down a tarp so you can just drag the garbage out your front door.

Step 4: Take out the studs.

You can either saw them off or knock them out. Once they're removed, you can pull the top and bottom boards off.

All that's left to do after that is to patch up your ceiling. Once the cleanup is done, you'll have a modern looking layout you can be proud of.