I totally agree the 2nd floor bedrooms are off balance, but in my mind the secret room does make up for some of that plus I've found that boys don't tend to care so much about bedroom size the way girls do. My son would be happy with a mattress & a steamer trunk for his clothes while my daughter owns more bedroom furniture than I do. Maybe we could partition it off a bit to add a sitting area so it won't look so huge? I know we have to take resale into consideration and life is full of surprises, but since this land has been in the family for over 30 years already, we don't plan on selling while we're alive. I'm already envisioning grandchildren enjoying the secret room and my oldest is just 11! :) We are pulling the garage out several feet toward the front so BR3 will get a bit longer, too.

I'm guessing you end up with 50 ft of kitchen, counting appliances and island- 400 ft of flooring. Assuming you are moving toward the exterior of the house? That may make the gas line not a big deal. Don't see the structure as likely a big deal but then I haven't looked at it :) Venting out could be an issue. Then budget might look like (in thousands): Cab 50 ft kitchen 30-65 counter 8-15 electric 6-8 install 20-30 floor 400ft 6-9 structure 0-2.5 gas line 0.6-1.5 sink(s) faucet(s) 0.8-3 misc 1-3 venting 0.6-2 total 73-139 These are all off the top of my head- Hudson Valley NY. The most accurate are the cabinet numbers-still a guess based on my brands semi custom to can't get much better (but can spend more) Looking at the house my guess is the higher number is more appropriate. Then pick a number and talk with someone to see if they can do what you want for the number you want. If you end up doing it would love to hear back where it ended up- like guessing how many jelly beans in a jar :)

If you feel you need to renovate in order to keep your condo rented, or have some other reason for wanting this done sooner rather than later, here's what I can offer. What do people think of pass-thrus? Pass-thrus are a bit passé. And are white cabinets at the end of their popularity run? White cabinets will never go out of style. That said, you have many other options. Are full-overlay cabinets pretty much standard now? Full overlay is pretty standard. What about inset doors? You will pay a premium for inset doors - beautiful but expensive, for the most part. What would you value more -- more cabinets or a two person eat-in kitchen? If there is another eating space in the condo, I'd want cabinets in the kitchen. Besides, there's really no view in the kitchen as is. What else are people putting in these days? The trash cabinet is a nice idea, but the biggest change for you would be drawers. In a newly renovated space almost all of your lowers would be drawers nowadays. I get that you might want to use the same guy your neighbors have used, but the layouts and finishes are really not that nice. Tray ceiling is fine, layouts and cabinet choices are not that great.

Yes but its not just the desired look. If cost is not a factor, anything is possible. But if you have not done a lot of remodeling, you may not be aware of all the associated costs with changing all this. The ceiling, the lighting, framing out the window and wall, matching and replacing the existing exterior. While maintaining the exterior design balance. Moving plumbing, gas and electrical. Your house was built for this kitchen so everything you are considering has major expense to change. You might be better off as far as function and design to bump out the back and redo the whole thing.