This is a proposed layout from the ikea kitchen planner (considering ikea boxes and semihandmade fronts). It is from the opposite perspective of my general layout, sorry! Thanks in advance for any comments or advice you may have!

I can't read the dimensions on the bottom plan, but I do have two quick suggestions - move the main sink to the same run as the dishwasher, and move the prep sink closer to the refrigerator end of the island.

Thanks hockeyfan! I know, I know the sink is squished with the range. The reason I had it that way being, I love the idea of dish storage in an upper that comes all the way down to the counter on the end of the run (what are those called?), and I don't think I have room for sink, DW, and this dish hutch on that run. But I did have my doubts about that corner.:) This layout is far, far from final, I'm just trying to get ideas and start planning!:) Also I had the prep sink drawn in there because I had picked up from other threads that it is a good idea to have the entire width of the island for refrigerator landing space. And to have it in the smack dab middle of the island seem to limit what it could be used for. For example, multiple racks of holiday cookies to frost or something of that sort. Maybe a thought would be to have it 18" or 2 feet in from the refrigerator end.
The proposed addition would bring the combined dining and kitchen space to 21' 7" x 28' 4".

How out of scale is the plan of the whole house? It looks as if if the proposed addition (which would be the kitchen, right?) would be significantly larger than the living room. I think that would look odd in person.

And is that a bedroom opening directly off the foyer? What is the big empty space above the garage?

Jillius- the living room is 14' x 15'. The dining room includes the original, original kitchen space so it is a bit elongated, but not nearly so long in relation to the living room as I have it drawn! The combined kitchen and dining room would be larger than the living room, but we would be opening up the smaller archway between the two so I think it will look okay. We stretch out our table for large gatherings frequently so we need the space there.

The room at the back of the house is our office/laundry/sewing room. The previous owners used it for a type of family room but I don't want it for that. It is awkwardly large for what we are using it for but there isn't much else to do with it. Someday I would like a large craft/laundry table there and some built in cabinetry but for now....It would make a nice sized kitchen, but is too out of the loop.

The front bedroom does have a door to the foyer and one to the hall by the bathroom. It doesn't serve much purpose but my daughter loves to have two doors on her room:) Some day we will use it for a guest room.

Thanks for your input!

Well, without proper proportions or measurements, here is a suggestion:

It involves moving a bathroom and taking down some walls (fewer than you'd expect for such a change, really), but it is my guess that it's still cheaper/easier than an entire addition. You lose your craft room, but you have more bedrooms than you need now, and more room in the basement, so I'm sure there is another nook for that.

You gain a large eat-in kitchen, a pantry, a large mudroom area, and a laundry room.

Nice, Jillius.

Again, not knowing the measurements or proportions, a variation on what I suggested would be to do:

1) Swap the kitchen and dining from where I had them. So now you have a galley kitchen where the dining room was. This would put the kitchen next to the garage entrance, which is desirable. The caveat is that you'd want to the kitchen aisle to be probably 5' wide so people entering the house through the garage and walking through the kitchen can easily pass people working in the kitchen. Also, if the dining were moved to where I had the kitchen, you could have a wide, open doorway between the foyer and the dining. So when you walk in the house, you'd immediately have sight lines to both the dining and living room. That would be nice in terms of how spacious the foyer feels.

2) Put a half bath where I had the pantry. The door to the bathroom should be directly across from the stair entrance in that little hallway there.

3) Put a kitchen table or banquette in the bump-out between the new galley kitchen and the living room.

Wow thanks, Jillius! You definitely see possibilities where I hadn't. How nice to get an open mind perspective.
I really like what you have done with the "bonus" room on the back. I had considered putting the kitchen in the existing dining room, but I decided it gets too much traffic and has too many doorways. I can see the potential of putting the kitchen in the front bedroom space, that is something to consider. You have given me lots of ideas to ruminate on (and run by my husband!).
Our only expense with renovating or adding on would be materials so I don't know how they would compare. I think hassle-wise, the addition would be easier since we could get it up and airtight and then take our time, doing the work as we had time. Less disruptive, maybe. What had me most excited about an addition in the proposed location is the east and south exposure with two walls for windows! I love me an east window!
Thanks so much for your time and your thoughts on this! Amazing to have people so willing to lend a hand (or a brain!)