Changing the opening to go into the living room instead of the dining room will make furniture placement in the living room very difficult. The traffic pattern will go right through the best spots for seating, which you should have placed to take advantage of the fireplace. in fact, your living room will essentially become a hallway. Also, you'll have to carry everything from the kitchen to the dining room THROUGH the living room -- unless you plan to stay in the kitchen and serve using the pass-through like a short-order cook. Keep the galley lay-out.

5 yrs goes fast-what is your budget for this. I'd eliminate wall ovens and try to use that corner for something. Get a range/think about microwave above, new frig/dishwasher-do a matching appliance package. Guess the cabs need replacing-hard to see how they can stay. Get updated lighting. That's plenty to do:you sure you want to mess with walls? don't see a net gain by making liv room a pass thru as Chi stated.

What is the climate in your location, and what is the rental population?

In my area there are some students so they would probably accept having to walk outside or through the garage to the kitchen, but most families would not. Most parents would not want any of their kids to have a direct outside entry, nor would adults use it and be separated from the family like that.

So, I would consider using budget to get a connection between the house proper and the workshop, unless you have a rental population for which it would work as is, and then keeping the rest to what budget allows even if only cosmetics.

I get why you want to open it up and bring the wall between the LR and kitchen down, but I especially agree with the comment about furniture placement in the living room. It would then become very tricky.

I see the scale on your graph paper but it confuses me a little. What are just the plain dimensions of each room - ie kitchen 9'x12', living room 16'x16'. I'd also like to see a picture of the other side of the living room and the front door. It would give me a better sense of the space and what layout changes might be possible.

I'd consider leaving the galley layout but removing the upper part of the wall in between the LR and kitchen. That way you would open it up but still have a functional LR and traffic flow. Put the fridge where the double wall ovens are and do a free-standing range between base cabinets on the other side. Just my intital two cents.

My opinion is that your current kitchen layout is pretty good. I agree with the suggestion to buy some counter space by eliminating the ovens and putting a range where the cooktop is. That would give you more prep space near the sink. Or you could move the fridge where the ovens are, though it puts it a little farther from the dining area (I find it handy to have the fridge near dining). You could open the top part of the kitchen/LR wall, but be careful about range placement in that case -- island/peninsula hoods are more expensive than wall/ceiling hoods, and you would need some sort of barrier like a higher pony wall between the cooking surface and the people on the other side.

I completely agree with Pal about the workshop/BR conversion. We have children, and for us a BR in that location would be usable only as guest quarters. One thing to think about would be the insulation and HVAC requirements of that space if you convert it. Even with HVAC run out there (if it isn't already), the room is likely to be colder in winter than the rest of the house just because it sticks out by itself without the thermal mass of the house helping insulate it. (Speaking from some experience here.)

There are some gorgeous galley kitchens that have been posted on this forum. Sharkbyte's springs to mind. I don't think you'll be able to have that exact same layout (fridge next to range) because of the location of your garage door, but I'll link it so you can see how beautiful a galley can be. Very functional, too... galleys can be great to work in (just be sure the DW door won't block you in when it's open).

Here is a link that might be useful: Sharkbyte's kitchen

Thanks for the feedback!

Here are a couple photos of the other side of the living room.

The existing kitchen is 10' x 14' and the living room is 15' x 22', the area of the kitchen, dining area, and living room together is 25' x 22'. The fireplace is 7' wide and 5'6" tall, it is a behemoth.

Removing the wall and changing to any layout other than galley are my two highest priorities. I cook every day and even if the only gain is in my own increased happiness during that time I think it will be totally worth it. We live in nice neighborhood with some million dollar homes, so I think spending the extra money to make the kitchen really nice would get us higher rent prices than just doing the minimum. I realize that my plans are ambitious but the time frame is flexible and 5 years is the earliest we would be looking at. In the 3 years we've been in the house we've averaged about 20K a year in improvements, we have two incomes, no children, and we don't take vacations, so right now we're able to focus our finances on reaching our real-estate dreams.

We live in a Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. There aren't any universities nearby so it's not a student rental area, but the house located conveniently close to a highway, an airport, and several business centers so it would be good for professionals. It also has a very large backyard with vehicle access, and a nice, big shed with a workbench and built-in storage set up for a carpenter, and we are in an area with lots of auto enthusiasts and car shows.

The workshop is an addition that we built for my home business, the exterior door was a requirement of the building department and is not something that can be removed. It is already well insulated, and we were going to install radiant floor heating when we converted it. I think despite the odd configuration and exterior door it would still be more valuable as a bedroom with en suite bathroom than anything else. It is already plumbed for a bathroom and it has a gorgeous view of our majestic, 200+ year-old oak trees.

I did consider adding a second, smaller addition to provide a better entry to the workshop/bedroom. Mainly because it would allow me to remove the door to the garage (or move it to the other side of the fireplace) and have an L-shaped kitchen, which is my favorite kitchen layout. If we were to do that, what would be the best use of the new room? It would have to be small, like 9' x 14' or so, I was thinking it would be a laundry room, dining room, or breakfast nook.

Thanks again, everyone! I really appreciate the insight and difference in perspective that comes from other people's opinions.

Do you really want to spend 75K-100K on a future rental?

100K is a lot, but if it increases the monthly rent it will pay for itself in the long run. Before we begin the project we are going to consult with our real estate agent, but I want to have a better plan before we call her.

And from a less rational perspective, it's not just a 'future rental' it's my first home and I have a strong desire to improve it. We'll have the mortgage paid off in 5-10 yrs, it is a nice property because it is located so conveniently and yet it also has over half an acre of land, so I have no intention of letting it go. We've been doing one or two large projects a year, so I'd like to have most of the things that are important to me done early enough to enjoy them for a bit before we move on. It will also serve as practice because when we are ready to move on we will be buying land and building our next house ourselves.

Besides, plans always change by the time they become actual projects. There's no harm in dreaming big and then scaling down when we're ready to make it a reality.

In our area, a bedroom cannot open into a garage, it is not up to code. You're getting some advice here!

Yeah, no sleeping areas off of garages. And that would not be a good location for a bedroom unless you add a bath to it. If you did that and added a kitchenette addition and an exterior entrance, it could be a studio rental unconnected with the rest of the house. If you want to create an income producing situation, that would be a priority over any interior changes as you could manage to get a tenant for that right away---as long as it meets your current building codes to be able to have a rental unit. Many places would not allow that.

Modify your plans to put the range and the fridge on the back wall, the sink on the interior wall, and just keep the overhang in the dining area. That leaves the back of the pony wall in the LR to be able to put a sofa up against.

I would really consider a one-wall kitchen with an island in front of it. Do not make your living room any smaller, just bring the island further into the kitchen's footprint. You can incorporate any necessary posts into the island if necessary.

You don't want a 6' wide aisle in the kitchen anyway - about 3.5' is better. If the LR stays the same size, you can have a sofa, loveseat, or chairs float and still have a walkway behind between them and the island.

Put some pantry storage in the Garage if you need to.

Here's an idea. I've also thrown in some LR furniture and DR table to get a sense of what will fit.

Best part - no space-wasting corner cabinets!!!

Honestly, you have a great opportunity in that you really don't have to move plumbing, water or gas - if that oven was gas, put in a gas range, if electric, get an induction range.

Also.. I hear you on wanting the renovations done now, I really do. I was in a similar situation to you 2 summers ago, and I am really getting tired on the mess and expense of the renovations. If your BF won't have regular help for all the projects (my fiance doesn't), it's going to take a long time. If I were you, I seriously think about leaving the existing bathrooms as they are, layout-wise.

Here is a link that might be useful: scottielee's finished kitchen, similar layout

Galleys are the most efficient form of kitchen there is. Everything you need is right there, just a step or two away and there are no awkward corners. However, to take down that wall you will need to create a pantry elsewhere. A substantial pantry. You will not have room for very many uppers.

I moved the range and fridge to the wall, because the fridge has to be, and the range will be much easier and MUCH cheaper to vent on the wall than in open space. Moving the sink to the open wall will be a bit of a costly PIA, but it will still be cheaper than a good island hood and trying to duct it adequately. You will do all of your prep (70% of kitchen time) next to the sink on one side and all of the cleanup (20% of kitchen time) on the other side. The fridge is easily accessed from the living area and the exterior patio door. You have a couple of stools to keep the cook company, but the eating space is right there if you need to seat more than 2. The pony wall (with possible open shelving above) at the entrance will help with furniture placement and to create a sense of entrance rather than just entering straight into the living space.