If you are doing a genuine remodel, put one of those corner carousel cabinets in that corner. Shift the sink a foot to the left and the stove at least a foot to the right to make room for that handy spinning storage space. How far you shift it depends on the wiring and how much counter space you think you need to the right of the stove. Getting rid of that ugly tall thing and replacing it with counter space and cupboards/cabinets would provide more usable cooking space, too. Maybe going to a single sink with a dishwasher to the left of the sink would fit in the available space. Maybe you would need the less common 18 inch wide dishwasher to fit it in. Note that while I am not a professional kitchen designer, And my preferences are very much for kitchen functionality rather than decor.

And, dude, you need to change your refrigerator doors to hinge on the left, not the right. It's an easy thing to do, there will just be cover plates over the mounting location on the other side.

Thank you, Cathy. The problem with moving the stove is the hood, or more specifically, the hood vent and where it passes through the ceiling. Those ceiling panels are just short of impossible to replace and patching them so they look good is pretty much impossible.

I like all your ideas though. I particularly like the single sink idea. I'd also like to take out the pantry (the ugly tall thing), but I'm not sure yet about food storage -- I'm still working on that one.

Counting this place, the last three houses we have purchased, all had the fridge door hinges so the door opens to a wall or a walkway. Like you say they're easy enough to swap. We're not keeping that fridge though. The wife likes her freezer drawer on the bottom. It's taller too, so the cabinets above the fridge will come out or we may move the fridge, although that's unlikely.

Thank you. I appreciate the input! You got me thinking...

It seems to me that you have the vertical space between the ceiling and the top of the cabinets to put in a couple of 45 degree angles and thereby get the hood vent moved a foot to the right, which is all you need. And bear in mind that you could always put in a ventless hood, although it's not as good as a venting hood.

Is there space for a small island? You might try buying a cheap used microwave cart and placing it as if it was an island to see if it is usable as a work space or is just in the way.

I hadn't considered a ventless hood. Hmm...

After you got me thinking, I had the thought that to hide the hood vent I could frame in and drywall that area above the cabinets. I'm not sure how that would look -- I'm not one of those people that can visualize concepts in their mind, but it would certainly hide the vent and the 45's.

As a kitchen user, do you think it'd be odd to have the sink set off from the middle of the kitchen window?

Oh, and thanks for the idea on the island. If we did an island, it would have to be very small. I'll think about that too.

In general, having the window badly offset from the sink Looks Funny. It looks okay, although not the best, if the sink does not extend past the edge of the window. Example: move the sink 12 inches left, so that 12 inches of counter extends under the window. Put in a 33 inch double sink. Sink extends out past the window by 15 inches or so, assuming a 30 inch wide window. Result is ugly. Example 2: move the sink the same 12 inches left. Put in a single sink 18 inches wide. Sink does not extend past the window, and merely looks a bit odd rather than genuinely terrible. If your window is 32 to 36 inches wide you have room for a fairly standard sized single sink without crossing the Ugly line.

Thanks, that makes sense.

I got to see the house for the first time this past weekend (yes, I bought a house I'd never seen). The hinges on the fridge are on that side because the fridge is truly stuffed into that corner against the wall. There's no room for the door to swing open on that side. If my wife wants to keep her french door fridge, we will have to come up with a different plan.

That kitchen is tiny, and I'm a bit sick of poorly designed kitchens. Right now I'm inclined to tear everything out and start over. I'm still not sure about moving the hood vent and that wall to the right of the pantry houses the a/c so that stays.

I do think I'll pull that pantry out and modify an existing wall in the hallway, the one on the other side of that wall that houses the a/c. That will be the new pantry. That'll give us a tiny bit more counter space in the kitchen.

Thanks again, Cathy. You've been very helpful.

Paint the whole shooting match. Paint it a light color. Then merchandise the tops of all the cabinet. I would place a silk plant over the pantry. I would also put some pergo in the kitchen. One of your problems is that the space is just too dark. I would use a light colored pergo. Just adding some light in the area would make it seem less awkward. Good luck.

Hmmm. My French door fridge is hinged so that it needs almost no clearance, and it is in a corner, too. When I open a door it opens out to be less than an inch wider than the closed door. Check you wife's beloved French door fridge to be sure.

And please post pics when you are done!

You know, the more I look at your kitchen, the more convinced I am that you ought to move the stove only enough to put in that corner cabinet. The counter to the right of the stove, with the pantry removed, would then be long enough to be the primary workspace. Think cutting board and seasonings there; the coffeemaker can go on the other non-corner counterspace next to the sink. The corners are always underutilized. I don't think an appliance garage there would work due to how far you would have to move any appliance to use it. Maybe you could make the upper corner style cabinets come down to the countertop there, with handy carousels in those, too. The upper corner units are smaller in width, so ought to not crowd the sink and and stove.

I have already re-done 75% of my kitchen with IKEA - two cabinets to go; I did one corner carousel, and instead of door cabinets have installed drawer cabinets - truly wonderful. They are full extension drawers and 'soft-close' also. I LOVE them!!!! the two remaining ones will replace a 2-door cabinet and both will be drawers, one 3 high and one 4 high. counter tops came from IKEA also. My sink is slightly off center from the window due to the corner carousel but it is soooo worth it.

Pictures, new-beginning, pictures! Preferably both before and after!

I love Ikea cabinets. They use them a lot on the TV shows about remodeling. Which style and color did you choose?

sorry, no before (the kitchen was in really terrible shape), I'll get pics up in a couple of days. I DO NOT have a range/stove. I live alone and love to cook but cooking for one is done with: microwave, induction plate, convection countertop oven. Still have to install the backsplash but waiting to finish the cabinet install first and remove the terrible 'bar".

Kitchen currently on hold while my brother replaces the leaking bath tub in the 'small' hall bathroom with a walk in shower and my son in law builds 8 x 16 ft extension off the smallest bedroom - my 99 yr old Dad will be moving in with me soon!

My personal instinct remodel commences a few weeks. We are selecting Cordell cupboards. Our own Gc offers other gc's that he knows of which declare they provide an incredibly large boom to the profit. Middle to reasonably priced, properly designed and definitely will last providing you would like these.