Sorry for the mix-up, pepper. I guess I think of "adjacent" as having a corner between the sink and range, and "next to" on the same straight counter run. I think it would be very convenient to have one just around the corner from the other as it would only require a couple of steps from one to the other, as long as there's enough prep room. I was so disappointed to have to stop the project, just after the plans were basically finished and just before we signed with a contractor, that I put everything dealing with plans into a box in the garage. Therefore, I'll have to rely on my memory-- uh-oh! I considered the possibility of adding a lowered section onto the island to serve as a kitchen table, as I don't care for island seating. In that way I thought I could use the current nook space in some capacity, but because it bumps out from the other wall and has a window, I realized that I wouldn't be able to put a longed-for hutch there (close to dw,) nor the fridge, which would have freed up space elsewhere. If I brought the opening to the entry closer to the sink wall, I could reconfigure on the other side of the door, but that would force me to use a prep sink, which I'm not sure I want to do, as well as have the traffic flow take a turn. Right now, my galley kitchen has the sink and stovetop separated by the doorway which means traffic is constantly in my way when I'm cooking. So, back I went to the original plan. My restrictions that force me back are: --Sink under the window (I get so bored too!) --Stovetop or range close-ish to sink and not on island, due to my messy (Indian) cooking style. --Traffic out of my way while cooking! --A separate kitchen table (I just feel more comfortable with this.) --Still can't decide whether a prep sink will be helpful to me --Enclosed kitchen, meaning not open to the family room because of forementioned messy cooking. --Hope to have a raised dw due to back problems, but probably no room for a counter between it and the sink. This is what led me to consider using the nook space for more counter space and/or hutch. My traffic flow goes from what would be your dining room/living room door to family room (almost same location for me.) We intend to move a door that is currently near the table that leads to the garage, to the family room instead. What is your doorway to the basement, study, etc. is mine into the dining area; (it's too small to be called a proper dining room--I'm in a ranch in No. Cal.) You have more space than I will (someday!) but mine will also be mostly a square with the same doorway locations. Those doorways dictate quite a lot! Hope I didn't go too off-topic.

Thank you all some much, you help me a lot and psychologically to feel better that I am going to leave my country style kitchen. Also you helped me understand what are my main dislikes in this kitchen. One thing I realized from your comments is that it is all too "orange"(cabinets and floor) and black, two colors that I really don't like . Also I feel too that is not worth to paint the cabinets or replace the handles(probably it would be very expensive or a disaster to do so DIY)..so i would focus first in taking out the doors or even the whole thing of the upper cabinets to see if it make a change together with all my country things, or even order new doors for these two upper cabinets, if you have any suggestions in colors in the grey area(I liked last photo in Irene's comment and the backsplash in the Asian kitchen by housegal) would be more than welcome. Also I would love if you could advice me regarding replacing the black table/island with a table(probably my own country style table wouldn't match/you can have a look in my old kitchen photo). Thanks a lot!!! *the space you see next is a small kitchen living room area(can being used as TV room or eating space), the "formal" living room and dinner area is in another room that is not being seen by the kitchen.

Thankfully I'm not a Realtor...I'm a flooring professional. Sorry to be the one to tell you the sad news...I'm going to guess I'm not the only one thinking the same thing. But if you insist on keeping the flooring, then go ahead and paint the reducers and the molding the same colour as the background colour of your floor. That would be the charcoal gray. This is the colour I would recommend along the kitchen cabinets. I would leave the trim white when it is up against the white wall base trim. The white looks very handsome in that situation. How thick is your vinyl? Do they make reducers for the vinyl that you can purchase? You will need a reducer at the wood/vinyl interface that is equal to the thickness of the vinyl.

I'm also embarking on a rowhouse kitchen renovation. Baltimore too! I spoke with several renovators who all came back with big budget proposals (wildly beyond what I wanted to spend and didn't include appliances and so forth). My agent then recommended a licensed contractor she uses for small renos and home repairs and I had a long and frank discussion with him and realized that the most cost effective way was to use him as my main builder/installer, while subcontracting out electricity, plumbing, flooring, tiling to specialists. So I'm effectively acting as the general contractor. You can also talk to cabinet stores and kitchen stores like Stuart or Cox and they likely can offer a full remodel too. There's also a few places on the east side of Baltimore, out towards Rosedale off Belair Road or Eastern Avenue. And Ikea / Home Depot. In short, I'd set aside a month or two to talk to as many people to get a sense of what's involved and the costs of everything. It's not for the faint hearted but the more you learn, the more you will also save. Planning is important. Rowhouse kitchens can be frustrating because every square inch counts. And some things will be inflexible or cause problems you may not think of. For example, party walls can be complicated. Old houses often directly plastered the party wall, so there's no framing space for adding wiring or plumbing, so you might need to add a shallow 3/4'' framing against the party wall, then drywall, for your new cabinets and utilities. Then again, maybe not. It depends on what's possible.