I don't know what shape your existing cabinets are in, but if the boxes are okay, perhaps you could save money (or free up $$ in the budget for other parts of the remodel) by refacing them instead of replacing them. Here's a link to a place where you can get new doors (solid wood or furniture-grade plywood) and drawer boxes (solid wood, dovetailed, with solid or furniture-grade plywood fronts, and Blum soft-close slides) for a ridiculously reasonable price. That's what my mom used for her kitchen, and it came out beautiful. Drawer Depot is in California--southern California, I think--so right near you. They were great to deal with and the stuff was high quality. You have to very carefully measure everything, because you tell them down to the 16th of an inch how big each drawer box, drawer front and door should be. They mail it to you in pieces (except the drawer boxes, which they assemble and finish) and you paint or stain it and put it all together. If they're close enough to you, perhaps you could even save on shipping by picking it up yourself. Oh, and PS, add my vote to the pile of votes for expanding the kitchen into the breakfast nook. Don't worry about the low windows--a lower counter is great for a baking zone. Here is a link that might be useful: The Drawer Depot

Greetings all, Thank you all for the input and ideas. Some notes and answers to questions: * The bonus room is actually 11 x 8 feet , not 11 x 7. This makes it moderately more useful, but still an awkward space. * The black box between the dining area and kitchen is the fireplace. It oozes craftsman charm and we are hesitant to remove it. * Laundry in the garage is certainly a possibility, though we tend to do laundry at night. The idea of walking back and forth from the garage in the dark, especially with the exterior doors that we have, is not particularly appealing. A lighted breezeway is a possibility. * Enclosing the rear porch is a possibility, though the space is only 5.5 feet wide and there are a pair of steps from the bonus room to the porch floor. It would take quite a bit of work to enclose that area and incorporate it with the interior of the house, and I'm not sure how we could make that a useful space once enclosed. * Due to the odd roof configuration for the addition, all walls in the rear are loadbearing except the wall that separates the laundry with the bedroom, and the wall that separates the bedroom with the bonus room. I believe the wall between the bedroom and the living room is also loadbearing, because of the shape of the roof. I've attached a diagram of the latest iteration of our potential remodeling plan. The way it changes our current floorplan: * The hall between the laundry and kitchen is closed off. * The resulting closet in the kitchen becomes a pantry. * The old laundry room becomes a bathroom. The exterior laundry room door is enclosed. * The bedroom connects to the bathroom via a pocket door. * The bonus room is divided into two rooms, a walk-in closet on the right and a laundry space on the left. * The walk-in closet addresses our current problem of having very little functional closet space. The laundry room in this plan is intended to serve multiple roles. The floor would have some kind of resilient material: we have marmoleum in the kitchen and we think it's fantastic. The resilient floor allows this back room to be a nice transition room to and from the backyard. The laundry wall, which is 8 feet wide, has enough room for a linen closet, and a long counter with a sink over a compact washer + dryer. This layout gives us a linen closet, a place to fold clothes (the countertop), and a clothes bar to hang clothes to dry. These are all features we miss having in our current laundry room. For entertaining, we can use the countertop and sink as a buffet area or bar. We do a lot of entertaining in the summer, particularly backyard barbecues, and having the sink and counterspace in the backroom might minimize the amount of foot traffic between the kitchen and the backyard. Right now, most of that foot traffic goes through the laundry room which is, as you might imagine, quite uncomfortable. This plan is more in the direction of making the back of the house functional and comfortable, as opposed to trying to make the space work for a family with kids. We aren't sure a 2 bedroom house will ever appeal to a family with kids. The laundry + closet idea for the bonus room may not be the best solution, but I honestly can't think of a good use for that space. The 8 foot dimension makes it narrow, and the sheer number of windows and doorways is overwhelming. There's almost no empty wall space to work with. I don't know why the addition designer did not simply skip the rear porch and extend the house out the extra 5.5 feet. We really wish that we had a better way to get from the kitchen to the backyard. The ~3 foot wall between the kitchen and laundry has a considerable amount of electricity and plumbing in it; removing that small section of wall would be quite expensive. When we were designing the kitchen for the remodel we tried to include a direct door to the backyard, but we couldn't come up with a plan that didn't otherwise kill the efficiency of the space. We love to cook, so reducing the effectiveness of the kitchen to gain access to the backyard wasn't a compromise we were willing to make.

Interesting..... I had this vision in my mind to do the cabinets in a dark cherry to tie in with the bedroom and bathroom for over a year now. It was only yesterday that the designer suggested white and I immediately dismissed it, yet since then, the idea has been growing in my mind. There is a lot of white trim throughout the house with the doors and molding plus the blinds there now are also white so it is really not adding another woodtone look. I could see myself making it less stuffy too with a fabric valance on the bay windows. The other advantage is that it is less expensive and it puts the third designer we met with (who will work through Costco and most likely the less expensive of the three--we get a $10 cash card at Costco for every $100 we spend, plus we pay through Costco and it counts for our EOY rebates). I am just going to sit with this idea in my mind for a few days as it is a big shift in my thinking for this room, but this type of input is so impt. for me. I will call the other two and tell them to quote in both the african walnut and white, but as of today, I'm leaning towards the white myself for a more airy, less stuffy look. It is very hard to visualize how very small this is. It is only 8'9" (including the 3' bay bumpout) x 10' (including the step). Doing any type of cabinetry on the north wall would block the entryway. We wanted the desks to face out into a window so we have a view of our backyard while working. That way the blinds can be open yet no glare on a monitor. The desk locations are really fixed as all wiring and lighting has already been done with that in mind. funkart: You brought up some very good points. We are working with closet companies for now that have all the insides for offices and do the wire management so it's not fully custom without an upcharge. So choices really are either 20"D or 24"D cabs but the countertop will have an overhang of 1-1/2". Yes, my kids (3 of them) do use it occasionally though DS has his own laptop, older DD we are in process of buying a laptop for her and my 7-year-old will probably start using it more and more--just the computer. Everyone (all 5) will use the printer (networked) and we may add a second one for laser printing (either here or in DS's room who has greatest need right now), but the narrower depth should still accomodate that. The narrow depth will definitely make it easier to reach over and open the windows. DH wants 20" and I'm leaning towards that as well. I actually want to cut down on the desktop clutter so I'd say more impt. is having enough storage to put it all out of sight--that alone I think will have the biggest impact. I guess things get lost in the back of drawers/cabs. anyway. The uppers will probably be 14" deep, though only one upper. The one tall cab could be something different--could even be 24"D and desk cabs 20"... I'm still trying to figure out the size of the cab since the wire we put in for the plug mold is right smack in the middle where we would do two equal sized cabs and I'm not sure how much it can be move--so the tall cab may end up being larger--closer to 36" and we also need some filler of the left to accomodate the drawer clearance. I'm still debating putting an upper on the west wall or just leaving a bare wall as I don't want to feel closed in, though I'd really like some overhead paper trays over the printer to load it up. Today I'm going to head out to 2 of the showrooms and will visit the third tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a clearer idea then. It took me 6 mos. to design my kitchen (time well spent) though I'm hoping to do this one in much less time as we are so sick and frustrated with dealing with it as it is....

Thanks for the input. Just some more background, I will have a lot of help as my dad is a licensed contractor and has been building homes for years. But he is busy with his own project(s), and I wanted to make this project my own, which is why I sought the advice. He's in the middle of remodeling his own house and also works as a firefighter, so my issues won't be on his radar for some time. Of course he can advise on some of these issues, but I was looking for someone with more of an architectural-design bend to give me some good insights on scale, spacing, layout, etc, especially because I know how important maximizing and making efficient use of space can be to a small home. It can make a world of difference in the feel and livability. My dad is an excellent carpenter and finish carpenter and handles plumbing and electrical work too. For his own home remodel/addition he did his own re-design/layout and then worked with his draftsman/engineer to arrive at the final plans. I'm hoping to do the same but wanted to take this step first to get an idea of what to take to them (and have sound reasons for my choices). As for budget, given the equity I have in the home and neighboring home values, I want to keep the project between 75-100k total, if possible. There is some room for movement/error, but I think it is feasible. Again, once my father finishes his own project, I expect he will help me with a lot of the work, whether it is us doing it together or subbing it out to some of his guys. And I disagree with the implication above that if I dont have the money to hire an architect I dont have the money for the remodel. Just because you have money doesnt mean you need to spend it. You can plan a remodel without engaging an expensive architect. That is what I was hoping to do. Precision Carpentry and weedyacres, thank you for your responses. I very much appreciate them and will get something up soon. I realize that this is no small task, but the upstairs is somewhat finished (no insulation and drywall), but there is a floor down and it has already been plumbed. JMC101 the current stairs are really an afterthought. The aren't to code and I doubt they complied with code when they were originally put in. The prior homeowner squeezed them in between the front bedroom and bathroom, essentially taking over what was the front bedroom closet. I want to remove them from that location to create a real closet for the front bedroom and a linen closet in the hallway next to the bathroom. I'll post pics. I have a couple thoughts on where they could be moved, but again, that is sort of the intent behind my original post. Input on what others think is best. Pics and drawings to come. Thanks again for everyone's help.