I feel your pain. It is just so hard to know what to do with this stuff. And in my bathroom, all the little extras are in that peachy pink color. Toilet paper holder, towel bar holder, toothbrush thingy.... Looks like we have the identical tub: and maybe toilet, too. Ours is American Standard: Different sink - yours looks like there might be storage somewhere under the sink. Instead of exposed plumbing. "You can't get a mud job like that these days" I tried to take closeup pictures of this weird paint job on the walls, but really the second to last picture in this post shows the colors best. Pink, peach, mint, and LAVENDER. I really detest this paint job, although I'm sure it took forever to do. So now I'll prowl through savethepinkbathrooms.com and elsewhere to get ideas about what to do with these walls. I'd love to know what you come up with! bean

Aynb-- Exactly the same thing (major water damage to our kitchen) happened to me a year ago. I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. You are so lucky you found this site early in your process. I know your pain about living without a kitchen, but I just wanted to tell you that for us it was really, really worth dealing with the kitchen-in-the-garage situation so that we had enough time to make plans. Take some time to set up your temporary life with temporary kitchen (we used downstairs powder room for washing dishes, microwave meals, take out) so you can get your kitchen right! In the FAQ on this forum, there is a lot of really good advice about reconceiving your kitchen and planning well. The only things I regret about our remodel are things where I rushed or had decision fatigue from the fast pace of decisions. Good luck!

I love your current kitchen so much I just want to come to your house and chain myself to your cabinets so when the demolition crew shows up, I can scream "NO!!!!!!". If you like the cabinets and if they are still in great condition, why change them all? Of course, it's your decision and I won't hunt you down if you decide to make a total change. But be aware there is a market for used vintage cabinets in good condition so, if you do decide on a to-the-studs remodel, please have those cabinets carefully removed and either donate them to something like a Habitat for Humanity store or sell them. The RetroRenovation.com website is one place to visit and post about them where you might find exuberant buyers. And, of course, Craig's List. So I came up with a plan with minimal changes, allowing you to keep most of your cabinets. Notes on the plan. It should get bigger if you click the photo so you can read it better. Basically, the only thing that changes is the stove wall. You could easily have a good cabinet maker make the additional cabinets you need to match the current cabinets. You may, however, need to paint all the cabinets to get a good paint match if just painting the new cabinets doesn't result in a good match. I didn't figure out how far down you can shift the stove but it looks like you could get a good 12-20" of extra prep space there. That increase should give you a nice prep corner with enough space to spread out. I would keep the charming countertops you have for all but the stove wall and splurge on counters that are cooking/hot pot friendly on that wall. Stainless would be great there and will really compliment what you currently have so it doesn't look odd or like a thoughtless add-on. Soapstone would also look great. Since you're done doing a lot of counter, these higher-priced tops would still be a minimal expense. The yellow is for a cart idea, similar to what MamaG came up with, but not inside the bottom of a wall cabinet. It is simply there so it can be moved to block access for visitors. A flip-up counter can be installed that hangs down the side so there is a place there for chairs and for someone to sit and visit with you while you cook and have a place for their coffee, appetizer, dessert, etc. It can also be used to help with food service at the table for items that might not fit on the table with people eating there. You say you like the peninsula because it does provide that barrier and place to sit but, really, it is the only real obstacle you have to an efficient kitchen that feels spacious. Removing it and just moving the stove down as far as possible to the end of that wall, even to the edge of the wall, should give you good prep space and make your kitchen far more enjoyable to work in. Anyway, just a thought, if you want to preserve what you have and just improve it. Of course, a good, well-designed and executed to-the-studs remodel would also be super-awesome. I just wanted to give you an alternative to consider.

You guys are awesome! I tried to incorporate everyone suggestions (because they were all great!) and this is what I've come up with. Since I'm not sure which of the kitchen walls are load bearing, both designs incorporate the possible need for a beam to extend down, which is fine. LAYOUT A: large pass-through looking into the living room and the doorway to the kitchen has been expanded. Basement stairs and corner coat closet have also been removed and the doorway into the addition has been widened. Hoping the outer facing cabinets around the beam can act as a place to put keys and bags, otherwise, we have no entryway. Concern: I'm a messy cook and with that being said, I'm questioning whether the stove should be below the pass-through because I'm envisioning grease splattering and sauce flying into my living room. LAYOUT B: The same as layout A but with a smaller pass-through that begins after the stove. My concern for this is despite the pass-through being just shy of 5ft wide, based on this mock-up, it doesn't look like it does much to open the room. Would this be a waste of money to even bother with? Here's a loose floorplan of both A and B. What are your thoughts? The fridge jams me up a bit because it seemed too bulky near the kitchen entrance and moving it towards the addition opening made it too crammed again.