Clearly I created the image above early this morning before coffee!! Could not figure out what was wrong. I will try to insert an image later with 36" doorways rather than 18".

About those doorways there appear to be two leading to the same foyer. You gain valuable wall space in the kitchen if one could be closed, could it be closed?

It could, but it really makes the space feel disconnected and cramped, losing those long lines of sight from the living room and foyer. I'd rather it was one doorway, wider than 36" but potentially smaller than both combined, but that's really involved. It isn't just closing that wall but the feeling of closure when walking through the remaining doorway, which would start to feel like a little hallway because the wall would need to come out to cover the side of the fridge. I feel strongly that it would make the kitchen feel like it was squeezed in but didn't really belong to the original house. When my husband and I came up with our very first plan 2-3 years ago, that is what we did, but the more I try to picture it when standing in the foyer or living room, the more it feels wrong to me.

Here is a revised footprint:

Here is a floorplan of the entire level for perspective:

I clearly made this on zero coffee, too, but I can't really fix it at this point without redoing it, but the narrow rectangles are openings EXCEPT between the kitchen and dining, where they are the walls.

Well the truth is, that the one door leads into the dining room, and the dining room does double as a hallway. I have a walk-through living room/hallway and the hallway aspect makes it a really frustrating room to do anything with. Now that I see the overall picture I would definitely work on the addition first. Once I had absorbed the cost on that then I would convert the entire current kitchen dining room space into your new kitchen with an eye towards the homeschooling situation, you could add a generous sized island that would seat four as well as run a countertop across the entire window wall and add four stools under it (not sure how that would connect to the pantry cabinet but it may work to have a portion of the countertop flip up while school is in session and be dropped down with the pantry needs to be in use).

I'm not sure what you mean, practigal. Do you mean turn the porch into the dining room first?

This is what I have been thinking.

PHASE 1

Yea, porch to dining room first. I don't think it is cost effective to move plumbing in phase 1 and then again in phase 2....I must not understand your goals. I like phase 2 as posted. It is a good use for your large household-although that is all kitchen, not kitchen plus homeschool space. Does that still give you enough home school space.

We have a table in our family room for schooling, so fitting that into the kitchen isn't an issue.

My husband will do the plumbing, so while not free, not as expensive as hiring a plumber. I see what you mean, though. When I say Phase2, though, I'm thinking we won't be doing phase 2 for at least 5 years, probably more like 10.

I just don't see how we could afford to enclose the entire porch with lots of windows any time soon. I need a new kitchen and we do fit in our dining room now. I would like the option of a bigger dining room down the road for family meals that include future friends, spouses, etc...

Can you move the whole kitchen/dining to the living room, move the living to the dining and the homeschool area to the kitchen?

In theory, you can have a more efficient kitchen area if you don't have to accommodate three doorways through it.

We've considered it, but the space is not as large as the current space by about 4 feet. It means the porch would never be a convenient dining room nor would the kitchen be convenient to the kitchen garden or grill or anything outside for outdoor entertaining. I had considered making the living room a temporary dining room for the time being and using the family room as our primary living space, but it is down a level and not convenient when someone stops by or to someone who is elderly, but I haven't ruled it out.

Is your house a back-split type of layout with the upper and lower levels a half story from the main? I ask because Our last house was a Tri level and it was a challenging layout to improve. We ended up just moving.

Windows seem to be the holdup. And they can be $1000 each theses days. You're doing cabs so maybe fixed insulated units wouldn't be beyond your capabilities.

CRL has all the supplies. http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/offerpage.aspx?Productid=14216&GroupID=2020&History=39324:1930:1935:1944&ModelID=2020

Use laminated glass- Contact a glass supplier.

You did the research for cabs so you can do the same for windows and save thousands.

Yes, Benjesbride, there is a main level, which is what I have in the layout, and a lower and upper level behind as well as a fourth level above the kitchen with two more bedrooms and a bath. It does boggle my brain how, even in the 1950s, they built such an awkward kitchen for a 4 bedroom home. There is a lot I love about our home. For the most part, the layout suits our family, and we have entertained large numbers (75+) well, but the laundry room and kitchen are challenges. We have a 1.75 acre lot that back to a nature preserve within 20 minutes of my husband's work, which is quite a find! I'd like to find a way to make this work. And really, if I have to use my original plan, it will still be an improvement over what we have.

dan1888, that is really interesting. I will definitely pass that option along to my husband.