In the last picture, does the door on the left lead to the garage? So will you be leaving the tile floor there? I wonder if you can't leave the living room arranged the same as it is now, but with the chair where the tv will be vacating? It doesn't seem to bother you now to watch tv on the angle. Although, since you are losing the half-wall, you can just put the sofa across the room, between the kitchen and patio door. That creates a walkway along the long wall. This is how we had our FR arranged, though where you have a bookcase on the right, we had doors to a powder room and a laundry. If your new sofa won't provide enough seating, add a swivel chair or two, either in an L to the sofa or by the bookcases as you have now.

I would NOT touch this room - it is lovely. If you feel you absolutely MUST have the walls a painted color, then pay a professional to paint your paneling. Painting paneling is NOT for the DIY person! It must first be painted with BINS - this stuff smells to high heavens - have it done when you're out of town and remove all pets at the same time. I mean, this is "open all the windows" kind of smell! Then any knots are filled and primed; then 2 coats of a good enamel paint. It can look terrific. But I think the room is already terrific! The problem is your sofas that are the same color as the paneling. They're not very attractive. Leave the paneling as it is (it will save you a fortune!), and buy new upholstered furniture in colors that work better with the room.

I worked a design up that I think meets all your needs & wants except the cozy nook with comfortable chairs. More on that below... A few comments b/f I post my design. Pantry... You want a pullout pantry instead of a built-in pantry. However, a built-in pantry with shallow shelves (12"D) is much more useful -- it's more efficient & flexible storage, holds much more, is much more functional, and is much less expensive to build and maintain. In addition, you have very limited wall space and given all your wants, a pullout pantry would make your Kitchen function worse, not better. I do not know where your front door is (it's not one of the spaces you included in your sketch), but the "Front Closet" doesn't seem to be in a particularly useful location. Plus, with 5 people and the paraphernalia associated with them (especially school-age children!), it seems too small. We have one that's wider than yours (48" vs 40") and it's useless for a family of 4. It's turned into a catch-all for things no one knows where to put away -- something I should have changed when we redid our Kitchen but didn't think about. (I've been debating turning it into an auxiliary pantry instead of the one in the basement.) Based on above, I'm going to suggest that you merge the current Pantry and Front Closet into one Pantry. It could hold both food and small appliances and could also house the printer -- keeping it out of sight but still in the open for ease of use. (With the exception of my toaster oven, all my small appliances fit in my pantry on 12" deep shelves -- blender, breadmaker, coffeemaker, food processors (large & small), toaster, waffle maker, etc.) . Snack/Lunch Center (and Coffee Center)... For the Microwave, I suggest creating a "Snack/Lunch Center" to include either a MW drawer (my preference). a MW hanging from an upper cabinet, or a MW sitting on the counter. In the design below, note the location of this Center. It's located to the left of the Pantry and out of the main part of the Kitchen. This keeps snackers outside of the work area so they do not interfere with the preparing and cooking a meal or cleaning up. The Center is located near the refrigerator where most MW'd food and lunch foods come from and not far from the sinks. There is plenty of storage, both above and below for lunch supplies, perhaps a gluten-free bread drawer, etc. The upper cabinet is only 9"D to open up the area a bit. However, if you hang the MW from the upper cabinets, the one the MW is hanging from should be at least standard depth (12") and maybe even 15" deep. I prefer the MW below the counter so it's not "in your face" when hanging or cluttering the countertop...but I would definitely not put a standard MW below the counter since they are problematical to use in that location...instead, I recommend a MW drawer. There is also a coffeemaker in the Center since it's over 5' wide and plenty big enough for both a Coffee Center and a Snack Center. The "Snack/Lunch Center" also acts as a Tertiary Prep Zone -- it has no direct water access, but water is nearby. . Gluten Center... The "Gluten Center" is located far from the main area of the Kitchen and the Snack/Lunch Center to reduce the chances of cross-contamination. It does sit partly in front of the window to the deck, but I suggest putting in just one cabinet and leaving an open space directly adjacent to the window. It may need a "leg" to help support the countertop, but it doesn't have to be very big. That open space could be for a small trash can or just left open. It shouldn't block too much light. If you like to keep things off the counter, the toaster and other paraphernalia can be stored in the drawers when not in use. . Island... The island holds the Cleanup Zone and the Secondary Prep Zone. It also seats 5. . Cozy Nook... I was not able to put in a couple of chairs and table. The doors being spread out really constrain the space. I know you said no structural changes, but if you were willing to move the french doors from the Kitchen to the Dining Room, it would free up that corner for the cozy little nook you're thinking of. That corner would be a nice place for a couple of chairs and a small table (see the "Nook Option" layout to see what I'm talking about). . ++++++++++ The Layouts ++++++++++ Layout #1: . Layout #1 - Zones: . Layout #1 - Nook Option: . . Layout #2: . Layout #2 - Zones: . +++++ Additional Analysis +++++ The three primary work zones (Primary Prep, Cooking, Cleanup) are separated from each other. This allows several people to work in the Kitchen at the same time -- prepping, cooking, and cleaning up. Each primary zone has it's own "space" so there is no conflict. Prep Zones...There are two Prep Zones with direct water access and one without direct water access. With multiple prep zones, several people can be prepping at the same time (in addition to someone cooking in the Cooking Zone). The Primary Prep Zone is on the perimeter b/w the refrigerator and range and contains a prep sink. While working in this Prep Zone you can easily move from the refrigerator to the sink (for cleaning/rinsing food) to the prep counterspace to the range in the Cooking Zone. There are over 33 inches b/w the sink and the corner and over 30 inches b/w the corner and range for work space...all nice and close to the range. This flow follows the usual Kitchen workflow: Refrigerator --> Prep Zone/Sink --> Prep Zone/Workspace --> Cooking Zone The Secondary Prep Zone is on the island and uses the cleanup sink as its water source. -- In Layout #1, the DW is in the middle of the Secondary Prep Zone. Unfortunately, this means if someone is prepping there, it will be difficult for someone else to clean up. However, the DW is close to the dish storage both next to the range and in the island. -- In Layout #2, the DW is not in the Secondary Prep Zone and there can now be someone prepping and cleaning up at the same time. However, now the DW is now too far from the dish storage next to the range and the island dish storage is in the middle of the Secondary Prep Zone. In addition, the 13" thick wall is somewhat in the way. -- I'm not sure right now which I prefer! I kind of lean toward the 2nd, but if I were cleaning up I wouldn't be very happy about the dish storage being so far away! The Tertiary Prep Zone is in the "Snack/Lunch Center". While it has no direct water access, it does have sufficient counter space to help out with preparing a meal. As the Lunch Center, someone can be making lunches for the next day while others are preparing/cooking a meal and/or cleaning up. The two sinks make it possible for you to have multiple people working in the Kitchen. To work effectively, you need the two sinks to allow people to be able to work at the sink at the same time and have their own counterspace. Sharing a sink doesn't really work that well, even if you have a giant sink -- especially with kids working together! The Cooking Zone...The Cooking Zone contains the range and is next to the Primary Prep Zone and across from the Secondary Prep Zone (whichever option you pick). The Cleanup Zone...The Cleanup Zone contains the sink and DW. Normally, I would move this zone to the perimeter and moved the Primary Prep Zone to the island b/c you spend far more time prepping than you do cleaning up (over 70% prep/20% cleaning up), but two things worked against that... You don't have enough wall space for both the refrigerator/range and the cleanup sink/DW. You stated your preference for it to be in the island. The reality is, though, that you don't actually spend that much time at the sink during cleanup. Cleanup includes clearing/wiping down the table, clearing/wiping down the counters, sweeping, loading/unloading the DW, etc...in addition to hand washing a few dishes at the sink. With only one sink, prepping & cleanup are done at the same sink, so it's understandable that many think they spend a lot of time cleaning up...it's actually the prepping.

Whatever you decide about taking down the wood sounds good...it will change the look of your room completely. But please rethink putting your TV on the stone fireplace....there are so many better places to put it and art would look great above the mantle.