does traffic come in thru garage door routinely then on to where? can't tell which way thru den people move to.....or through dining room to living room and then bedroom wing?Traffic winds thru kitchen....also-the arch window above table-no light coming in-is it a real window?

Yes... traffic comes in through the garage door - usually into the den as that is the route to both the upstairs bedrooms and the downstairs bedrooms. We go through the the dining/living OR the den to get to the front door and check the mail.
However, at present, I live here alone... my son is gone to college and only home in summers and holidays. So there's no problems with with doors being in the way of traffic thru the kitchen.

Sorry - didn't answer your other question - what you see in the breakfast nook is a mirror. Which I love. It reflects a little of the light and makes the space feel bigger

I really think because of a 2000 sq foot home you have to think more than "just yourself" living there. Situations really can change....this is a family home,meaning design this with 4-5 people in mind. A mirror on the wall would not prevent me from thinking of other things to do with thewall. Extend the kitchen all along garage wall, and think about an island in the foreground to den ..enough space for traffic to move around island and do away with the obligatory wind thru middle of kitchen. You can keep sink at window, cooktop on island or elsewhere, and use table area walls for storage. I just don't think I would cut back into infrastructure of garage,unless I changed the flow and enhanced the space overall. There's a few ways to do things without "swapping kitchen with table area".The window to left of dining room passage-is it a "mirror" as well?In truth, if I were on my own, I might leave the space as is, save the money except for a new bottom freezer fridge, range inserted into cooktop space since you aren't concerned about venting, place the ge spacemaker mwave mounted under a wall cabinet or place a small mwave on counter.......save the money of a kitchen redo and travel or do other things,if you're not going to do a kitchen that really enhances flow and works with the den being adjacent.

You have a number of good features beginning with an open plan, but I would like to see more of your first floor and garage layout to be able to offer some suggestions on how to get the most out of it.
I'm not seeing design value in the flow and interaction of what you have now. I wouldn't build that today.
35-50k without some layout work seems like much of that would be lost at resale. What are you getting for that money?

Herbflavor -

I do agree about adding storage to the breakfast area... maybe that didn't show up well in my plan above. I do want to add a couple of tall cabinets which will add a LOT of extra space. Honestly, adding modern cabinets (mine are original to the 1950s home) with more efficient storage space and drawers will make a huge difference all by themselves.

As for an island, I've worked out several plans for this over the years, but do not feel they work. And not just for cosmetic issues related to the silly beam that runs through the rooms.

Since the den wall near the dining room door often has furniture on it, the island cannot be much longer than than the existing peninsula or it would block walking space.

Meanwhile, I would lose 3' on the opposite side (by the outside wall) to allow passage from the den. Plus, any open cabinets on that outside/window wall would block entry to the kitchen.

If the island includes an eating bar, then I have to allow 50-60" of clearance between the edge of the bar and the den furniture (to allow for chairs and walkway space. That would leave less than 10-11' of width for the entire den.

That's too tiny for me, for ADA reasons and as the stairs are in the back corner of the den- meaning we need a walkway on the far wall of the den as well. In fact, the den needs the MOST access ... Every "corner" is either stairwell, patio window exit, doorway to front hall/bedroom hall, or opening to kitchen/dining, so I dont want to make it get ANY smaller. Here's a sketch - hope its not too small to see:
{{gwi:1906987}}

And here's a photo of the wall with the stairwell that requires access from the front hallway, patio, and kitchen (kids rooms are up there right now).

Lastly, we very much like having seating in the kitchen area. And like that people can face each other while sitting there. And I like that I can sit there to eat, while working on my PC doing homework (grad school), and periodically glancing at the TV in the den. Yes... too much multi-tasking. :)

Traffic from the garage door is a LOT less problematic than the traffic through the den. Trust me! :)

Plus... I've lived here 24 years. I plan on living here another 10-15. So with a few nods towards resale, I do want this remodel to be all about me. My turn!
(BTW - the family before us had 6 kids. And some friends with 4 kids have the same floorplan - kitchen traffic to the garage is a very minimal problem.)

So - given the basic floor plan will remain - have you ever seen a raised counter for an oven? Its ADA compatible... but I'm not sure how it will look/work in real life. Thoughts on that?

no,I would not do the raised counter for the oven.

Dan -

I was also very surprised by the large costs quoted to keep basically the same tiny footprint. I've nothing to compare to but it does seem high.

That said, I would be excited to hear any different floorplan ideas but I've been through a lot of them and there are some things I really prefer to keep.
1. I like that I can watch TV while cooking at the peninsula.
Moving the cooktop to the back/garage side wall would limit that.
2. I like having an eat in kitchen that allows face2face conversations. Keeps everyone connected. No backs to the family room.
3. Can't move the sink or dishwasher without incurring huge $$ to reroute plumbing under the slab.
4. Replacing the peninsula with an island would incur big $$ to reroute the electrical under the slab. Assuming the cooktop stays there. (To say nothing of impact on space).
5. Not willing to give up formal dining room space. It is open to the formal living room (which is more formal) and I enjoy the different personality of all my rooms.

I don't mean to sound churlish... but I have been around and around with ideas on what would fit/work in this space. It's designed weird, current cabinets were custom built into the odd spaces (cabinets/drawers wrap around the support post, for example).

I also cannot afford to totally rebuild the space. The house isn't appraised that high!

That's why I finally gave up and decided to find a way to improve on the footprint the house was built to have. Just make what I have work a little better. THAT's when I got stuck.