I'm not exaggerating when I write... this is one of the most challenging floor plans I've seen. No wonder your frustrated!

Is the reason for not removing the corner pantry because of budget concerns? Do you feel the need for an island/peninsula to add more counter space? because that pantry is a space hog.

Is the nook your only eating area?

I know. I'm upset with myself for buying this house! We'd been looking forever and our old house sold so quickly we had to buy another and viola... we bought the wrong house.

We may be open to removing the pantry. Yes, I agree its a space hog. We do want to keep the budget as small as possible. We'd like to put some money in, make the house nicer (as you can see the builders cheaped out on everything... flooring, etc. you name it) and then sell it and move on.

What do you suggest we could do if we removed the pantry?

And yes, that nook and area in front of it is our dining area. Currently our round table sits under the light. My plan is to do some built in seats along the windows with storage underneath.

If it were my kitchen, the pantry would go, and I would put 12-15 inch reach-in pantries along the stairway wall. I love islands, but I do not see how you would have the space for one unless you went into the nook area. I wonder if a peninsula would make me a tad claustrophobic in the space.

I tried a galley style layout, but I don't think it's the best choice. Here are some images so you can see what I mean (that's just a microwave to the right of the fridge)...

@benjesbride

We are planning to use an IKEA kitchen actually! I wonder if we could do full cabinets (like the 80 or 90 tall) beside the fridge as part of the old pantry space?

I just don't know what to do about the actual corner for cabinets/counterspace without creating a strange void.

Ikea has corner cabinets. Do you not like corner cabinets? Have you checked out ikea cabs in person yet?

Those high cabs are expensive. I'd rather spend my budget on getting all drawer base cabinets and try to maximize the counter space.

Do you know your ceiling height? Just wondering if you have clearance for the 40" upper cabinets or if you need to use the 30s

Its more for storage, I'm a baker and need places for flour, sugar, etc. in larger containers.

Yes, we have checked them out in person. They do have corner ones, its just that if we put a high one beside the fridge, we will have a corner base cabinet with an upper and then approx. 24 inches of counter tucked behind the high cabinet.

Will your large containers fit in the 15" deep base cabinet drawers? Your larger appliances can fit above the fridge or tucked next to the fridge (in my drawing above.)

We have 8 ft ceilings, they can fit with 1.5 inches left above for trim.

In case you missed it above, rantontoo's suggestion of adding a shallow pantry to the stair wall is worth considering. I'd discourage you from adding a 24" deep high cab in your kitchen.

Oh, Yes I meant to reply to that as well. We do plan to add a narrow grouping of cabinets as a coffee bar/bar area there!

Would this be okay, or have I created an awkward useless corner?

You will get a lot of user-friendly, easily modified storage in a row of reach-in pantries. I suspect you will regret a corner like the one you proposed. Just using regular cabs does not lose you a lot of space compared to the tall cab on the end. You could face a shallow 15" cab into the walkway on one side of the fridge, that would give you 9 more inches of space in the corner.

My kitchen is a bit smaller than yours--around 7.5x12.5. I did not install a high cabinet in my ikea kitchen. I don't miss it at all. I have tons of work space with about 15' linear feet of worktops. You will find that 15" deep drawers, the corner cabinets and the above the fridge cabinets have tons of space.

The pantry is 5' x 5'?

@rantonroo

We still plan to put narrow cabinets along the stairwell but I wouldn't want those for food storage as that is too far from the cooking area.

If I got rid of the pantry I'd need to add food storage in that area but I'm uncertain how to design that corner.

@cpartist yes, it's 4 ft 6 inches for inside dimensions so overall is taking 5 ft each direction .

I'd put the fridge on the end and just put upper cabinets around the corner from the range. If you're installing yourself that's probably the easiest thing to do. The suggestion to put a shallow cabinet against the side of the fridge cabinet is a very good one, but for us that hack would be beyond our skill set and patience.

I'd put the fridge where the pantry is, nothing on the current fridge wall, and lengthen the island.

We went through the same struggle with our kitchen (but our kitchen was slightly bigger and wider so we were able to accommodate a peninsula and we love the end result). In your current layout, a peninsula wouldn't work because where would you put the dishwasher? The island would be too small to serve its purpose. I would just leave it open (no island, no peninsula), to make it more open concept.

I would go with an L shaped layout.

Put a narrow 29" wide island in with an 18" x 18" prep sink.

Put the pantry where benje indicated.

Put a second small pantry on the end next to the fridge. Keep the rest of the layout as it is.

Use all drawers for lower cabinets.

Have the uppers die into the window wall.

Dish storage can go in the island cabinets.