Can you get rid of the soffits? Then you could stack a cabinet on top or redo all of your uppers to have tall cabs to the ceiling.

I considered that initially and really would like to, but right now we cant really tackle that. Too big of a feat with a little one running around. That would have to be down the road some.

Just some thoughts how to get a little more out of your space without redoing everything.

What's in the soffits? Those can be taken down and used for extra storage - but that would require getting additional cabinets.

See if you can get one deeper cabinet to go over the fridge especially if you'll be getting new doors for the rest this can be done well to blend it in.

Is the little cart/cabinet by tthe trash can always there? You cab probably get a tall and narrow cabinet to put there to use as a pantry, Pantries don't need to be super deep - 12 inches will be enough - or see how wide your biggest cereal box is.

You have a wasted corner space in the corner on the right of the sink. Is that accessible from the other side of the bar? If not then maybe there's a way to make it accessible and more storage space for rarely used items like big pots, or pantry type things like big bags of rice etc.

I kind of like the bare wall, perfect to hang art or kids pictures or a mini command center for mail etc. You can put Ikea or other narrow ledge shelves and stack some cookbooks there to free up space and as a design choice. See link below where they did it with kids books.

http://thesweetestdigs.com/2015/07/07/nursery-hack-ikea-picture-ledges-as-bookshelves/

I know many people hate over the range microwaves because they are a compromise in function and beauty -- but they do effectively get the microwave out of the way. In a situation like yours where you are trying to make an existing small kitchen more workable I'd strongly consider putting one in. You could also mount a microwave under the wall cabinet over the peninsula -- but I think that would be my second choice.

Also consider replacing the door pulls if you didn't do that when you painted the cabinets. You'll be amazed how far replacing the pulls will go towards changing the look of a kitchen. You should be able to do it for about $100 and 30 minutes of time. Replacing the bulky window covering would also help make the room appear less cluttered. Could you get by without any covering on that window?

Agree with replacing the short freestanding cabinet (jack-o-lantern on top) with a floor to ceiling pantry/utility closet. I think that's your best choice for getting more storage into the area if taking out the soffits isn't in the cards right now.

You could replace that short cabinet with something taller, perhaps a Hoosier cabinet. And you could hang a pot rack in the pass through. Spice storage could be hung on that wall, either inside or outside the pass through

I think the most basic solution to not enough storage is less stuff. Our first house had an 8 X 8 kitchen with two doors and a window. I had virtually no kitchen "gadgets," very few small appliances, very few pots and pans, etc.

Thank you all for the suggestions. My wife just threw that window covering up that she found in the basement to keep the sunlight from coming in. That window faces direct sunlight the majority of the day.

I considered putting in an over the range microwave, to do this I would have to cut down the existing cabinet. I measured it out and there is barely any room for a microwave the way it is now.

The cart is normally in the dining room but we painted that room the other night.

The blind cabinet to the right of the sink is not accessible
from the other side, I really like that idea of opening that up for pot/pan
storage or something.

All the hinges and pulls will be replaced.

CRL_ less stuff is definitely the best solution, but you've never met my wife!

The blank wall--is there enough space to hang pots there? Like Julia Child... I can't tell how deep the corridor there is, though.

Base storage--do those cabinets have rollouts in them? It's a ton easier to get at the stuff in the back if you put in rollouts (Drawers are, of course, better, but not something you retrofit!). And "easier" generally means you can fit more in.

And like CRL_says, reduce--if it's stuff that's needed once or twice a year, do you have garage/basement storage space you could move it to?

I'll dissent and suggest NOT to put a shallow cabinet where the jackolantern cart is now. That's a passage way, and doesn't look very wide to begin with, and it'll make a pinch point at the fridge.

If you can open up the blind cabinet on the other side, consider opening up the other cabinets on that side, too. It almost doubles your storage because we you can reach everything in the cabinet! My folks keep the cereal on that side because it's near the breakfast table. They also have drawers where your blind cabinet is for placemats, salt and pepper, etc.

I vote for a purge first ... let US talk to your wife.

Installing "between the studs" shelving on that blank wall, or even slightly wider shelves if you can lose an inch or two, could get you storage for tableware and serving dishes.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/woodworking/shelves/built-in-shelves/view-all

You seem to have a really awkward corner cabinet at the bar. Can you make a door under the bar into that area for storage?

You already have the most important element of kitchen design. Does your kitchen match your dog/pet?

I just thought you needed a little bit of humor. ;)

The between the studs storage is a great idea--I have a cabinet like that in my kitchen, and it holds lots of canned goods, and boxes of pasta. I used adjustable shelving tracks, and re-used doors from the old kitchen cabinets. If you can find used doors on craigslist or the Habitat Re-Store, then paint them to match your kitchen, you'd have little investment in money--just time spent.

For function, could you move the fridge to the wall and add base cabinet and extend counter to the left of the range? You could put open shelves below the shallow above-fridge cabinet.

Quick and awful Paint mock up.

Wow! I think your kitchen has a lot of cabinets, more than my second house had and we had a similar problem. We built a pantry closet on the wall where your cart is about 15 inches out form the wall. The microwaves were deeper then and we used the stud space to increase the depth of the pantry by about 3 inches so that it was 18 inches deep. You could do less if needed depending on microwave you choose. My husband put in shelves according to our needs and installed doors on the top and bottom. That pantry was a lifesaver. That could be a very cost saving solution.

The less deep you do it, the wider you can go. Use boxes to get a feel if the pantry would work there.

If you were able to move your doorway to the DR and move your fridge to the cart wall and flank it with a pantry on one side and a cabinet with on the other side, that would be nice. It would really help if you drew your layout on graph paper with door cabinet walkway measurements listed.

As far as investing in new cabinet doors, my advice would be to hold off on that until you can remove the soffets. It will save you money in the long run. Removing the soffets will really open up your kitchen & add storage. Totally understand that it's something you can't tackle now.

How to start the purge? Box up everything that is not used on a daily basis and move it to the garage. As you realize that you really need something pull it back from the garage, at the end of six months everything in the garage goes to a charity.

That is great advice practigal. I didn't do it quite that way, but I did it, and it's great! (when we remodeled in 2006, I threw out/gave away everything we didn't actually use, so when we moved in 2012, and to this day, I really have nothing in my kitchen that isn't used).