I totally see what you are saying, Lily, and I agree. Our 5 boys will be huge soon, lol. We are doing all our own labor, and even closing in the current porch is something dh could do if we could afford the materials, but adding on changes the scope of the project to such extremes! Using the current porch as-is is just so simple compared to a new foundation and rebuilding a roof, changing second story windows, etc... I simply don't think we could afford to do the kitchen right now if all that was involved, but I do think we *might* be able to add on that little alcove IF it meant a big improvement.

As we get closer, I know I am driving dh nuts, but I really just want to make sure I have considered everything.

I have also considered that the "glorified foyer" of the entire original porch might be worth it for a place to keep a second fridge and bulk produce (we buy things like apples a couple of bushels at a time locally). Then I could simply access it as currently without the access through the kitchen, and it needn't be a part of the kitchen remodel but something we could do next year.

Yes I'd keep the screened porch for now, but as to the addition- when completed- how big would the screened porch space be? If it's not big enough for a table and chairs it may defeat your purpose.

It would be nice to have a bifold door rather than a slider that way the dining room table could easily be moved between the dining room and the porch.

I'd be watching craigslist regularly for materials for the porch project.

I wouldn't start on any changes until I knew with certainty about the fridge fitting.

Given the size of your garden I would have considered a "back" porch with its own sink for dirty fruits and veges and a root cellar or similar.

In the house, I would put the DW on one side of the sink and pullout trash on the other.

Do you need two doorways to the same foyer? I would consider blocking one and getting additional wall space in the kitchen. You could probably back the fridge there and gain some additional cupboards and countertop.

Thanks! The screened porch in total, including both the original porch and the add on, is 14x22, so it would be a generous dining room when we are able to make it happen. We normally do look to Restore and Craigslist for projects and affordably replaced a rotting wall of windows in our family room that way, but I can't imagine finding all the windows and doors necessary to do a space of that size and have them match.

I have always wanted French doors instead of the slider, but it always seemed an aesthetic choice that did not justify the cost, but I love the idea of that space opening to accomodate the moving of the table!

I do have a sink set up in that potting bench in the garden for washing dirty veggies and deslugging the lettuces (my least favorite thing about gardening, blech). One inside would be nice so it can be used year round, but not strictly necessary.

The fridge will fit, I just don't know if we'll be able to recess it into the studs. There is a vent back there going to the level above, but we think we may be able to re-route it. Those are also 6" studs, so it really would make a huge difference, and I'd rather have a standard depth fridge if possible, but we are also looking at counter-depth options, too, in case that doesn't work, but we feel we would need a second fridge if we went that route, and our laundry and "garage" (Dh's workspace) are tiny. It is fine as it is, there is enough space even if it weren't recessed, but it would certainly help the space feel more streamlined and give us that much more valuable floorspace to have it flush with the cabinetry.

I am planning on an offset drain sink so the garbage can be under but on the side away from the dishwasher and accessible from the left side of the sink where we will do most of our prep work. I'm planning on two faucets because as unusual as it is, the people who have them in busy kitchens love it. I don't have room for a prep sink, but two faucets with the prep space separate from the dish space means multiple workers can avoid interrupting each other. I had the dishwasher to the right of the sink, but I moved it over to the other side next to the cooktop so that we could scoot the peninsula out and gain those 6 inches in floor space in the kitchen. I think it will be awkward, but not more awkward than other solutions I've seen in tiny kitchens (like having it shifted over in a perpendicular run to the sink), and we'll keep the dishes in the 36" wide drawers and shelves across from the dishwasher, so what I lose in loading, I gain in ease of unloading. In weighing conveniences, I decided we'd rather have it be a little less convenient to load but unloading is easy and neither will interrupt the primary prep space, so meal prepping can happen at the same time. Really, the possibility of using that little alcove totally messes up my plan in that regard, lol, but as I said, I want to consider everything, especially because I know my choices are somewhat unconventional.

We put versions of the kitchen blocking the doorway into sketch-up, and it really doesn't feel right with the other architecture in the home, especially extending the wall from the foyer to meet the front of tall cabinetry. It feels like a thing changed to accommodate a kitchen and not natural to the space and very closed in both in the foyer and the dining room. It closes up lines of sight that do a lot to make the smaller space and transitions work. If the wall between the two doorways (the one extending between the kitchen and dining where we currently have a header) weren't load bearing, and we could easily make one wider opening that also incorporated the space between the doors, it could work, but we simply can't afford the kind of engineering that would involve. When we recessed the fridge into the doorway, the ovens were squeezed in. Plus, it makes the peninsula shorter by 30 or so inches, and I do like having that space as our primary prep area. It is nice to be able to have younger helpers doing tasks across from me so I can assist when necessary or to converse with a child doing another task at the dining table easily. I feel like I need to keep that space at least 42" to keep it useful for things like cookie making, and it is 45" right now. I'd gain counter space, but not where I'd most want it. Anyway, I liked the kitchen space that afforded for the most part and was open to adjusting to working more at traditional counter space at a wall, but I pretty much hated how cramped and unnatural it made the foyer and dining room feel.

I was looking at the Martha Stewart kitchens catalog I grabbed at Home Depot, and I was studying the layouts and laughing about how convenient it would be to be able to design a small beautiful kitchen that didn't need to fit a refrigerator or maybe a sink or a dishwasher, lol.

There is so much wisdom on this forum, and I am so grateful for all that is shared, but I am sheepishly admitting, as someone who thinks out loud, that I also appreciate a place for putting together ideas. So many things people have suggested have made my plans come together in unexpected ways, and I had a sort of epiphany that made me more content with my current layout. When we do make the porch the dining room, having scooted the peninsula out means I could feasibly open the kitchen to the dining room, leaving a tight but manageable walkway with easy access to the dishwashing side and dish storage. It was refreshing to think that something I'd been seeing as a disadvantage (dishes being at the far end of the kitchen away from the dining room) could potentially work out perfectly when we are some day able to implement phase 2!