You came to the right place!

Some folks on this forum are great with layouts and will give you lots of help. It will help them when you post an overview of the layout, drawn to scale, with measurements for all walls, openings, windows, etc. clearly marked. It will also help them to know more about your family and how you cook. (e.g., do kids help? just one cook? entertain? etc.)

Here's a helpful Read Me First post that we keep asking Houzz to make sticky. That's a good starting point.

Also, is there a downdraft vent for the cooktop, or no venting at all? That's another thing to fix while you're at it.

This is pretty tricky! You have the sink, range, and fridge basically in a straight line, which is no good. And the kitchen is broken up into 3 sections split by a walkway.

Best thing I can of, and it's not the most ideal; you would have to extend the kitchen where you currently have your dining table. Then you you can get rid of that sink area completely and move the island over to that side. I would rotate the island so the fridge is facing the range. The whole kitchen would be contained and nice to work in but it would be a big loss in terms of those windows. Unless, you kept the top half of the windows or something like that, so you don't lose all the light.

It'll help to have a layout for the entire floor.

Is there a dining room?

Yes, there is a dining room on the left of the front door.

The current layout is the best option for the space. Learn to love it.

live with it for awhile, then make decision on what to change.

Yes, I agree that the cheapest option would be to learn to love it & live with it. But we bought the house with the intention to remodel and make it our dream house. Granite and green cabinets just won't do the trick

The reason I said live with it for awhile, was so you can see what may work & how you use the space,flow, etc & then consult with a kitchen designer.

What is your budget? You are willing to change the windows and eliminate the dining area? You will also have to redo the electric, plumbing and flooring. Is it worth $75k to redo the whole thing? Maybe paint the cabs, remove the upper bar tier and new tops? You'd save tons.

Can you back out of the deal? After looking at the floor plan, I think the kitchen is probably the least of your problems.

If you can't get your money back, take your time before doing anything. You're going to need a good architect, a good contractor and a good kitchen designer.

We would like to have the desired layout drawn first and then bring in contractors for estimate. Not sure how much we want to spend. We need to hear the numbers from them first.

Yes, we would move electrical, plumbing, water. Put sink under the window.

What to you mean by "the kitchen is probably the least of your problems". What other issues do you see there?

Get a CKD (not a cabinet salesperson) to draw up a plan. You sit with them tell them your wants & desires and they do the plan. Right now you have the craziest layout basically the sink is not even in the work triangle.

krista_ara: "What other issues do you see there?"

The entire layout is extremely awkward. When you walk in the front door, you're in a foyer open to the dining room, with stairs bulging in from one side, kitchen counters pushing in from the other, and a door into a toilet. To do laundry, you have to run an obstacle course - down the stairs, into the family room, around counters and past an island. The family room and study have so many windows, doors and traffic connections to other spaces there's no room for furniture. Worst of all, the master bedroom opens into the family room - ugh!

Thank you, I love the suggestions. That is what I was thinking. Change the direction of the island and add more work space around the windows. When we remove the oddly shaped bar area we will gain space for breakfast table.

Skil367 - I appreciate the feedback :) The layout is most definitely very challenging. Any thoughts and ideas from you? We fell in love with the house and mainly the neighborhood. We are planning to make lots of changes for a better flow. We might change the designated dining room into a formal living room to have a nicer entry first appearance...and the small study/sunroom can be a smaller dining room with a nice round table. We don't actually need a formal dining room. We saw the problem with the windows the very first minute we visited the house. We don't even know where to put our tv. Furnishing will be a nightmare but it so nice to have all the natural light. I will post photos once everything is finished which will be many months from now.

Mama Goose, you’re the best!

You need to know the value of these "improvements" in your area.

Very nice plan, mama goose!

I would do this and leave the area where you currently have the double counter as a breakfast area, build a banquette or do a table

Wonderful. Love the idea of keeping the two windows.

A cook top smack up against a wall oven cab? And a fridge smack up against a wall, preventing you from opening the door wide enough to pull our fridge drawers? No. Just no. Sorry, that's harsh but Anthony Perez' proposed plan has some serious flaws.

NKBA recommends at least a 12" of landing space on one side of a range or cook top and 15" on the other. Plus, AFAIK, every manufacturer's specs include a minimum clearance between a range or cook top and an adjacent combustible surface.

Here's why it's a bad idea to put a fridge against a wall.

This is how wide I need to open my fridge door to pull my fridge drawers out.

I pull them all the way out to wash them in the sink on a regular basis. I couldn't do that if I didn't have enough room to swing the door wide.

mamagoose's plan is much, much better.

Yes, I agree on the refrigerator. We ran into a house that had the same issue with the door. I appreciate all the feedback, it is helping me tremendously to create "a must list".

Are you familiar with the NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) guidelines for kitchen design? If you aren't, get to know them and try to follow them as often as possible so that you end up with a kitchen that functions well.

I will look into that. We are remodeling our two bathrooms also, but they are not as much headache as this awkward kitchen.

thank you so much!

kristi_ara

My pleasure I think this will provide plenty of counter without sacrificing natural light

don't get cough up from advise coming from homeowners that read a catalog or a guide, use your own judgement but do look at the appliances spec you are planning to use or already own, to make sure about the clearances, refrigerators against the wall are done successfully on a daily bases, and cooktops with less than 15" as well

hers a sample of one brand that requires clearances of 3"

https://www.ajmadison.com/ajmadison/itemdocs/BRFD2230SS_Spec-Sheet.pdf

thank you Anthony, I am all for learning as much as I can about these things. It's our long term house and we will be living with our decisions for many years to come. Getting ideas from more people is so helpful.

"...don't get cough up from advise coming from homeowners that read a catalog or a guide...."

I've done more than that, Anthony. I'm not a pro but I'm also not a novice, not by a long shot. I know what I'm talking about per the CMKBD I hired for help with my kitchen and a CMKBD who's also a dear friend (I've edited 2 of her books).

kristi_ara, we can help you narrow down what you like, and give you pointers and ideas to help you through this process but I think you'd benefit from hiring a KD. IME, their expertise is worth every penny. Kitchen design mistakes can be very costly.

FYI, KD = kitchen designer. CMKBD = certified master kitchen and bath designer, minimum of 25 yrs in the biz.

Yes, sure, feel free to show me your suggestions about the space. Thank you.

Yikes kristi - What you are talking about is going to cost a fortune. Do you have any idea what this would cost? All without adding value to the house? Is this your forever home? I can't see how it makes sense.

Yes but its not just the desired look. If cost is not a factor, anything is possible. But if you have not done a lot of remodeling, you may not be aware of all the associated costs with changing all this. The ceiling, the lighting, framing out the window and wall, matching and replacing the existing exterior. While maintaining the exterior design balance. Moving plumbing, gas and electrical. Your house was built for this kitchen so everything you are considering has major expense to change. You might be better off as far as function and design to bump out the back and redo the whole thing.

kristi_ara: <<Any thoughts and ideas from you?>>

Well, no, I guess not. I've read all the comments and your responses to them since yesterday and it seems you like the neighborhood so much, and have enough money to spend, that nothing else matters. Good luck to you!

I seek help online for ideas and suggestions about the layout. We have a budget, everyone has a budget. But I never asked for help about how much this could cost or if we should do it or walk away from this project. Remodeling and house layouts is like art. Different things work for different people. There are hundreds of ways how to do something and I wanted to hear more options.

kristi_ara, I was working on an idea when mama goose posted her suggestion. I couldn't improve on what she suggested - her suggestion requires no wall changes while mine did, which translates to more $$ - so I didn't post it.

I didn't say walk away. I can give you better options if I can move your exterior walls. You would gain square feet so that would add some value, but you won't recover what you spend no matter what.

I think you can somewhat fix the family room by removing the french doors and turning it into a wall. You could put the TV there and then swap out the windows on each side into glass doors leading out back. You can't close up the patio or study so I think that's your only option if you want a TV in there.