You are right! The kitchen is 12' x 12'- I had subtracted the 4 foot stairs in my mind, to 12' x 8'. So embarrassed. So I spent this morning checking the measurements-pretty sure it is correct now. robotropolis: to the side of the 36" refrigerator is a 3" plaster wall which helps incorporate the 4" square spiral stair case the previous owner installed. Ha, someday you could replace it with an elevator. AnnieDeighnaugh and smaloney-great pick up by you both, thanks. I hope the dimensions make more sense now. The kitchen sink/range run at 144" is cramped. Thankfully it is not limited by distance to the corner wall (48" is the narrowest, range directly across to corner wall edge by opening to the pantry) nor to refrigerator (82"). There are 3 doors: one to hallway by the stairs, and a pass by kitchen route from back door to the dining room. I did want to make the pantry sink a clean up sink, separate from the prep sink. If I replaced the current DW location to the pantry base area, this could be accomplished and I still am giving that serious consideration for precisely what you noticed, smaloney. Thanks. Here are the new photos with updated measurements. Kitchen 12' x 12': Kitchen stairwell wall: L Corner wall dimensions: Pantry: I started a "help with kitchen/pantry design" thread before this (and have updated it's photos too). I understand it is best to keep it all on one thread, but this "L" corner wall, like them all, is truly design challenged.

I think your new layout will help a lot. moving the fridge to where the stove is now, then running cabinets (upper and lower) from the side of fridge on around that corner will give you a good amount of new storage and counter space. you can put your mw there - close to the fridge for use. I'd mark off (maybe with tape on the floor?) what your 'new' space will be between corner of fridge and corner of stove (or side cab?) and see how close you come to it when walking thru that space. will you have enough space on the bottom wall to put a section of cabinet on both sides of the stove? do you plan to put in a new counter top?

I think your choice (b) is your best option. I have a friend who installed a duct after-the-fact, and it turned out not to be as big a deal as she had feared. Regarding your choice (c), it makes no difference in your exhaust needs whether you are cooking with gas or electric. You will generate the same grease and smoke. What makes a difference in your exhaust needs is HOW and WHAT you cook, not the type of energy. I.e., if you never stir-fry, or cook steaks and hamburgers, or fry anything, then your exhaust needs will be less. The rough rule of thumb for calculating the number of cfms you will need for your new hood is to add up the btu's of your rangetop, and divide by 100. E.g. if you have 4 burners, each with 15,000 btu's, totalling 60,000 btu's, you will need a 600 cfm hood. Furthermore, when installing your new ductwork it is CRUCIAL you install a big enough duct. It should be either 8" or 10" in diameter. Don't let a contractor tell you "6 inch diameter is fine". A duct that is too small will make your hood noisier, and be less efficient. That is often why two different people will have the same hood, but only one will complain it is noisy--the duct is too small. Also, the majority of hoods on the market require an 8" duct. You can find a few hoods that only need 6", but they are harder to find. HTH.

Hi again Mysteryegg -- have you run screaming from your own thread yet? Just a quick question so we can incorporate our various views into helping you find a LR-to-hall color that makes you happy...even though if it's one color it will probably look a little different room to room! can you share some photos/art/clothing that you're drawn to? could be rooms, landscapes, street scenes? can you tell us a bit about why you like what you're sharing? Sometimes that helps provide a great starting point when combined with a room's lighting, geographic location, "permanent" elements like floors or tile etc. Because if you're someone who's drawn to soft misty shades, or bold jewel tones, or earthy forest hues and your room's natural + artificial lighting isn't doing your favs justice...that's where compromise happens. You'll either need to get to a color that works well *enough* for your personality AND place or choose a side.* *see April, I did read your posts ;) Temperament: it may explain that Scandi love of white walls even when the snow's up to their chins.