thx for the thumbs up on it idie! I just gotta get to lowe's soon. planned on going last wk and didn't make it there. I'd sure better this wk! I did manage to get the 2 lower shelves up in my bdrm closet today. it was rough going tho. It took about 5 1 x 2's to finish it. 3 tossed to the wayside with a screw stuck in 'em. couldn't get them to back out. will leave that for the 'strong man' to deal with. When I looked closer at them it seems they are from a harder wood. why didn't I pay attention to that when I bought them? ugh. i thought they all came from the same stack. i did have 2 of softer wood that I could get up on the back wall. One side of each ended up with just a partial support underneath. I'll change that out when I get 2 longer pieces to put in. I could have had them today if I weren't chicken to run the saw. It looked really great to have those 2 shelves up in there. that gives me 16.5 ft of storage space (the floor and on each 5' plus shelf). I think I'll put a metal brace under both of them at about the middle point - just to be safe. Tomorrow I'll double check what I'll need to finish up the shelves and make a new list - including a stud finder.

WOW! Thank you all soooo much! You all have made me so much more zen about everything. And you're all 100% right--it's not as dire as I thought when I first got the photos. There IS room and I know I can make it work, with lots of help, of course! Desertsteph, yes, I understand about not being able to get down and get to stuff in the back of base cabinets! So much space is wasted because I never want to use anything beyond about the first foot or so. Apartment base cabs are the worst! You have to use them because usually you don't get enough uppers, depending on the apartment, of course. I like the two big windows too! One thing I will say about this little place is that it has a LOT of windows. The previous owners have replaced the LR window, the LR bay window, and both kitchen windows with the good double pane ones. I will need to do the bedroom and bathroom windows. Historian, thanks for the recommendations; I'll be sure to check them out! Omelet, thanks for the kind words. I'll get out there ASAP to take measurements, photos, video, the whole works. Scone911, so true! NYC is maybe the worst, but if you don't have a lot of money, renting in any large urban area can be challenging. There are still some good deals in the Seattle area if you know where to look or have connections. I'm lucky to have those big windows! I remember the first little apartment my husband and I had in 1980...full of huge jumping spiders, no natural light...but I guess when you're 20 and in love you make anything work. ;-) bpathome, smiling, practigal, I think an induction cook top is a good idea. Also, I saw an oven hood/microwave that also can be used as a convection oven. That might be worth considering. Dhygarden, indeed! People in much of the rest of the world work with much smaller kitchens than we do here in the U.S. Haha, that often seems to come up on "House Hunters International"--Americans can't fathom the tiny kitchen. And you're also right about not having an electric appliance for everything. I can't wait to tell my best friends in Zambia the phrase "appliance garage." (They both work for American diplomats, so they'll just shake their heads and laugh.) I recently bought this really cute Jamie Oliver knife set; it's just three knives, but really you can do everything with them. I've always sort of dreamt of the European way of walking to the market every day or every other day to buy everything fresh. Though there are reasons I like the location of my new house, one disadvantage is that the closest grocery store (or anything, really) is about 10 miles away. Believe me, I never pictured myself living in the tulies...I always thought I'd end up in some downtown flat in a big city, but life is funny. I really do want to get a freezer if I can figure out where to put it...we can get snowed, or iced, in out there and it would be good to be stocked up on a couple weeks' worth of meals. I'm still holding out hope of getting a year long visiting professor gig in either in France or the UK, because I'd love to live in Europe for a year. Writersblock, first of all, let me just say I loooooove that cat!! What breed? Is he (she?) named Batman? If not, why not? ;-) Thanks for the advice on staying away from the 20" ovens! I haven't purchased my own appliances in a couple of decades, and I'm really not familiar with what's what out there. I like your under cabinet lighting too, very nice! My daughter and I are long overdue for a trip to Seattle, so we'll have to head over the mountains this spring--I'm a wuss when it comes to driving over the pass in the winter, haha! I kind of thought the same thing about the IKEA cart; I'm glad you've seen it and could tell me about it. I can't shop at the Evil Empire (Walmart) for political reasons, but I do know there are options--I can check out Fred Meyer, Lowes, Home Depot, BB&B, etc. Also, thanks to you and everyone for tipping me off to the "Little Paris" show! YouTube is completely awesome. Crl, ah to be tall! :-) I'm barely 5'1", and can't stand up straight because of my arthritis, so although I really love the hanging pot racks, they probably aren't the best for me. I think a microwave with oven or convection oven would be OK, at least for now because it's pretty much just one quick move to put something in and then take it out. Crl, also thanks for the suggestion of the toe kick drawers, and thanks to Chicagoans for the illustrated version! Very, very clever! Amazing how much space we have in houses that we don't think to use, like whomever came up with the brilliant notion of recessing things back between the studs. Chicagoans, I'm assuming you're from or live in Chicago, I have enjoyed visiting Chicago twice in the past few years for an academic conference. It's a beautiful city. Although I must say I've never truly known what cold was until I walked around in Chicago! :-) lferg92, I was looking at a super susan the other day; I think it was on the KitchenAid site. They look really wonderful. I'm glad you're enjoying yours, and thanks for the recommendations! Funkycamper and everyone else who mentioned the dishwasher issue, thanks for your honest assessment! You're probably right. Our first dishwasher when I was a kid was a portable--we lived in a tiny little house and it was a tiny kitchen. When we finally moved to Seattle from California we thought our built in dishwasher was the coolest thing ever, lol! I will seriously reconsider a smaller built in. And cpartist, point well taken about the stackables. The w/d that are there now are about 7 years old, I think, still in perfect working condition. But they are monsters; I've never seen such big machines, and both top loaders, ugh. LOL when I was staying there with my friends I practically fell head first into the dryer one afternoon trying to get stuff out. I have to use my little grabber/reacher tool, but that's OK. But as soon as I can afford new ones, they'll definitely be front loaders! Cawaps, "truly awful clutter management," haha! If you knew the half of it, but I'm going to remember that phrase! I'm very anti-clutter and kind of a minimalist. I really like the clean counter look, nothing sitting out. And you're right. When everything is moved out of the house, a feat I still don't know how will be pulled off, except they're getting another storage unit (in addition to the two they have now), and when the extreme cleaners have worked their magic, and when the ghastly china cabinet is knocked out, I know the space will look much bigger. Thanks for the encouragement! There was recently a huge debate, but I can't remember if it was this forum or something else, about pull-out bread boards. I'm pro-bread board, for the record. :-) buehl, thanks for the link. I'll be sure to study the instructions! Desertsteph, that makes a lot of sense, sitting at the table to do prep work. I have a wooden stool that I have used in my last couple of kitchens and that has worked pretty well. Sounds like you got a great deal on the bisque appliances! Ilovered and practigal, you've pretty much talked me into an 18" dishwasher! :-) Thank you all again so much! I'll get a floor plan up as soon as I can! I hope I can overhaul the whole house, roof to subfloor. The yard is also a mess; it's not actually a yard, it's more dirt with weeds. Since I'd like to be a good neighbor, something's going to have to be done next summer on that too. Luckily, the bones of the house are good. No leaks, siding and skirting in excellent condition, etc. The eat-in kitchen and living room will be my biggest and most expensive projects, and I want to do them first because that's where life is lived. I'm very much looking forward to getting your community wisdom! :-)

Answering questions: Drawing not correct - trash can fits perfectly there. KD just left - we decided to make the small cabinet next to trash a 3 drawer stack. Sink cabinet will still be blind corner - it's where I store extra paper towels. Thinks in existing cabinet can go elsewhere - even in one of the drawers if I decide they still need to be next to sink. Other narrow cabinet is a blind corner with drawers next to it on refrig wall. I use that blind corner to stow things I need every year or so. I would not want to trade built in dog food drawer for a Super Susan. I can't wait for that drawer! I need the upper blind corner for extra crystal stemware. Works like a charm! Remember, I'm old and now vertically challenged. I only put on top steps things I rarely use and are easy to get down while coming down a small ladder I keep in the kitchen. My present cabinets are 33" tall - new will only be 36" as I only have 8 ft ceiling. So I'm really gaining no extra storage - they'll just look better going to ceiling with no soffit. Cabinet 24" next to stove has top drawer with built-in spice holder (rev a shelf cut to size). Cabinet below has an internal pull out drawer for pot kids and extra pot holders. Below that are multiple slow start for trays/cookie sheets etc. it also holds my bottle of dry vermouth for cookin! Next to it will be the Rev a Shelf 7" pullout for utinsels etc, then 29" stack of three drawers. i would rather have cabinet space than food pantry next to refrig. I'm ending up with two 36" cabinets, plus a drawer in a drawer for canned goods. That's more than I gave now and I'm not lacking space! What I wish would magically appear is room for more dishes - I am the Dishes Queen. I'm hoping one of these drawers can be used for a few plates. Right now, the refrig drawer extends 2" beyond countertop. I will gain it on one side but lose it on the other. I'm used to the 24" - only gave 25" between stove and countertop at back door. No one has ever had a problem and we gave some tall/ big guys in our family. Fortunately, no one is grossly obese or it would be a big problem in many places in this house! Weird size cabinet on wall at right angles to the sink was custom designed by me. I literally laid things out on brown paper! It is 36" wide, by 21" tall by 8" deep. It holds everyday glassware and mugs...perfectly. It can't be deeper or it would extend beyond the frame of the bay. It is actually centered on the wall (or as closely as possible with wall phone I still like having). Why is it so short? First, I don't need more glass space - couldn't reach it if I did - and on top, I gave a small collection of antique copper (newly polished and lacquered) that my mother collected when I was a young child, usually hauling me along. Huge sentimental value plus it warns up the neutral colors of the room. No other place in house to display it. Someday, I'll find the perfect antique hanging cabinet but in 32 yrs, it has yet to show up. I've tried to keep the area around the sink light and open. If I didn't gave two dogs, I might gave put open shelves there but not anxious to gave to wipe dust and fog hair off a glass when I reach for it, it would look "heavier" if it went to the ceiling. KD will Fax order tomorrow so it's now a done deal. I've learned SO much from this process!

Talk to a competent general contractor. It absolutely is possible to make that wall narrower and/or to reposition the entire wall. If the wall is load bearing, then you need to do some more complicated framing work. But as you said, more likely than not, it is not load bearing at all. The contractor should have the experience to tell you that with 90% certainty without doing any additional tests. Moving the wall and the door opening is not incredibly difficult. And alternatively, a wall can always be made a little thinner. Nobody is going to bump into the wall from the looks of it. So, it doesn't need to be super strong. Turn the studs by 90° and install really thin sheetrock. Or get creative with metal studs. That'll buy you several inches. Not something you would want to do for a more exposed wall, as it weakens it. But fine in this scenario. A good contractor and sheet rocker can do this so that you'll never be able to tell what happened. The upside is that it'll fit a lot of standard sized refrigerators. So, you are investing into the future. The downside is that this won't be cheap. It's too small a job for most contractors. But big enough that it might be more money than you are willing to spend. Your best bet is finding a contractor who wants to establish an ongoing working relationship and is willing to take on a smaller one-off job for you. Ask your neighbors for referrals.