I'm no expert, but I would try to swap a pantry for the fridge, to put the fridge closer to the peninsula and the presumed prep area, and also people hunting in fridge for stuff wouldnt be walking through your area all the time.

Great point! Take two (move fridge, add small closet inside current footprint - much easier construction (bump out next to entry door), allows more space to side of range and allows for a normal, less expensive, dishwasher)

What you have is fine, however, if I were you, I'd stop thinking about what you have for floorspace there and just start describing A) What your family is comprised of/stage of your life B) What your dream kitchen would be.

For instance, if I were you, with that space, I would probably make a mud room area near the back door....put up a wall (and I see you have bookbags hung there, so you could probably do with one as well). That would reconfigure your floorplan, giving you some interesting options with countertop and appliance placement.

Great points.

Family of 5 (all school age kids). Obviously, I'm not a neat freak :)

Would love the kitchen to flow well, which for me means:
1. Get space to both sides of range
2. Find a spot for the books/bags/shoes during the winter. This means either something near the door or heating the current breezeway (which is really spacious ~ 200 ft2).
2.a. Which begs another question, anyone out there in the upper midwest - have you converted a three season room into year-round space, and if so, how did you go about heating (no crawlspace)? I'm not really concerned about air conditioning in the summer, as it's pretty well shaded and not oppressive.
3. Willing to move the entry door and/or window
4. Dream kitchen = pretty but livable. With pets and kids, I don't think white cabinets nor pure white/high maintenance countertops are for me.
5. Definitely need to lose the white floors. Would like something warmer
6. Can't constrict the eat-in area any further than it is right now.

Thanks!!

I almost forgot - I also want the recycling (two wicker baskets), pop storage, counter food storage, etc. to have a real home)

I think there are SO MANY options here. Could you please tell me the dimensions of the current built in pantry (can't make out of the numbers) and also can you tell us what the two doors in front of the pantry lead to? Thanks!

Sure!! I'm thinking there's possibilities that I can't see having lived here for 8 years.

Built in pantry = 36" by 41" (the 41" wall is the one with the door).

In "real life," to the left of the pantry is a door that leads to the garage, via a "breezeway," which is a approx. 10' x 20' room (long and narrow, so 10' from pictured door to garage door). Door to the right of the pantry (on the wall between pantry and range wall) leads to the finished basement (family room, laundry, bedroom).

In my first option, I put in a second door on the basement wall door, which would be to a small coat closet, This could be built into a corner of the breezeway, however, wouldn't be straightforward, as the floor of the breezeway is about 1.5-2' lower than the kitchen (2 steps down).

Other dimensions (clockwise from bottom left) - current wall with sink, from double doors by table to top = 16'6"

Wall with entry door to the built-in pantry (not including pantry) =5'4.5"

Built-in pantry (width) = 3'5"

Built-in pantry (depth) = 3'

Door with basement door, from pantry to corner (not including pantry) = 3'10" (Basement door + Frame = 35", leaving 9" to corner)

Wall with current range = 6'3"

Wall with current refrigerator (to opening to living room) = 7'4"

Hope this makes sense. Thanks!

This post was edited by hawkeyekitchen on Sun, Feb 2, 14 at 23:18

Should also mention that the double doors by the table lead to a sunroom. I briefly considered converting this to the dining room, but decided it's too expensive a proposition. It's a raised deck construction, with (again) no easy way to heat/cool. Between insulating underneath and installing comfort cooling/heating, I decided it was better off as a nice spot to enjoy the spring and fall.

This was fun! "The problem is you want too little. That's the hardest thing in the world to get"

When you list your wants/dreams now, it should really include function, and not style for now. The style headache can wait for after the floorplan get's nailed down :)

I've reconfigured it 3 ways. The bold lines show what you already have, the lighter lines are adds. I personally don't like to move things I don't HAVE to (like the pantry or the doors/windows/sink) b/c I'd rather spend my money elsewhere or keep it if I can. That said, you can assume all of those things are exactly as they are in your kitchen today (I didn't feel like drawing them all in, but you can assume they're in exactly the same place you have them now).

I've put up a wall between the back door and the kitchen so you could create something like this if you wanted to:

[Farmhouse Entry[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/farmhouse-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2114) by Guilford Architects & Designers CK Architects

It'll be easy with any of these configurations to have a designated area for garbage/compost. I haven't constricted the eating area. You'll note that I have extended the countertop all the way to the double doors of the sun room.

I will say, you need to dream bigger. Stop restricting your kitchen to these walls b/c you're limiting yourself alot (which is probably what makes your want list so small). There are so many things you can do!! It's an exciting space. I was even thinking that it would be fun to get the kitchen table in the middle of the kitchen and then have a breakfast bar or a ton of storage along the 138.5 inch wall.......maybe even find an awesome buffet on craigslist and save yourself the cabinet cost. From what I can see, you already have a great table for it. It could look something like this:

[Farmhouse Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/farmhouse-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2114) by Newport Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Wendi Young Design

(If you click into the floorplan image you can see them a little clearer)