• 9" DIY open wall & base cabs like these to the left of the range for cookbooks & decorative items.
• 30" wall cab above range altered to accommodate the vent will store cutting boards & baking sheets.
• 12" wall cab to the right of the range for oils & spices; corner wall cab for casserole dishes, trivets, and oven mitts; lazy susan base cab for pots & pans and mixing bowls.
• Utensils crock and small microwave on the counter.

• 18" wall cab to the left of window for baking ingredients and supplies such as cookie cutters & measuring tools.
• Current window is 36" and not centred on the wall (55" of space to the left, 47" to the right). I'd like to extend it with a wider 42" window so that it's somewhat more centred (49"/47"). Would those two extra inches on the left side look terribly odd? To me it'd seem excessive to move the existing opening over one inch and have to patch my siding for the sake of perfect symmetry (48"/48"), but I'm all ears!
• I don't mind the sink not being centred, but I'd like input on the following options: A. Standard sink somewhat "centred" on the right half of the window as shown, or B. Sink with drainboard over the dishwasher with the faucet placed to the left of the basin/somewhat centred on the window.
• 24" sink base cab has a hidden drawer for sponges & gloves, with cleaning supplies stored on one side below and a trash pullout for compost & waste on the other (recycling bins kept in the porch).
• 18" wall cab to the right of the window for mugs & glasses; corner wall cab for plates & bowls.
• 24" base cab to the right of the sink would store cutlery in the top drawer, with a shallow hidden drawer for things like ice cream scoops & bottle openers; dishtowels, baggies, and plastic wrap in the middle drawer; tupperware containers in the bottom drawer.

• Breakfast section with three 27" open shelves for teas, sugar, cereals, and spreads. Fruit bowl, electric kettle, and toaster on the counter. Really excited about this area! (Shelves shown are not what I have in mind, just what would fit in the program.)
• 47" blind-corner base cab for slow cooker, stand mixer, and blender.
• 6" DIY wine rack in the empty space to the right of the base cab.
• 30" wall cab above fridge for extra paper towels & pet food.
• 15" pantry for people food. I currently keep all my non-perishables (+ oils + baking ingredients) in the 12x30" wall cab next to the stove, so this will feel palatial in comparison! Drawers below for onions & potatoes and... hopes & dreams? I clearly don't NEED this pantry, but when I realized one would fit there (with the removal of some of the hallway door's trim) I fell in love with the idea.

Along the bottom wall I'll have this kitchen cart for additional prep space if needed, and to serve as a landing zone for my purse and mail.

I've been dreaming up this reno for ages but want to be sure I'm not missing any glaring issues or improvements before I bust out my sledgehammer! Any input at all would be appreciated.

I’m not a kitchen design guru like others on this forum, but I looked at your design and don’t see any big issues. It looks like you have the right workflow (ice, water, stone, fire) and enough prep space between sink and range. You already recognize the potential issue of having the dishwasher in the prep zone, so nothing new to note there. You might consider a smallish workstation type sink to maximize your prep space. I would also suggest using drawers for the lower cabinets. You said that storage isn’t a problem, but if that were my kitchen I’d need more pantry type storage, so just something to keep in mind for resale. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck!

I prep over my DW, which is in about the same location relative to your range. It wasn't feasible to change it when I changed the location of the range to vent it to the exterior (love the vented hood!). I's not the worst thing ever, and one adapts. I'd suggest keeping dishes in the cabinets to the right of the sink, so that you don't have to squeeze into the space in the corner to unload the DW.

Eliminate the 9" and 12" cabinets around the hood. The 9" is virtually useless. I can't tell what's in the corners--diagonal cabinets?-- but I'd run the left uppers straight to the range wall. Use wall cabinets at a right angle in the other corner. Use a larger sink base. You are working too hard at creating symmetry on that wall.

Gosh it looks like my comment with the elevation pics & storage plan from last night didn't post, and my response just now disappeared! I will try to upload the other pictures when I'm home from work but in the meantime here's some clarification:

@cyc2001 The 24" base cab to the right of the sink has four drawers and the 15" cab to the right of the fridge is a full-height pantry with three drawers on the bottom. This is much more space than I'm used to but would you suggest more pantry room?

@mama goose The dishes will be stored to the right of the sink, yep! I currently keep some in the upper-left corner cab and it is such a pain having to reach over the dishwasher to unload them!

@mayflowers The 9" cab will be open end-cap shelves for decorative items, and the 12" cab is for oils & spices. The upper corners are diagonal cabinets, yes, I just couldn't figure out how to draw those lines in google sheets! A blind-corner upper to the right of the sink would be frustrating for me because it's where I plan to store my everyday dishes. My current sink base is 20" so I feel that 24" would be sufficient, but would you recommend a narrower bank of drawers to the right of it in order to go up to 30"?

Thanks so much for all the feedback so far!

Hi, comelyhomely

Would you be able to extend the porch a little to be under the window (in the lower left corner of the kitchen)? If so, then you could move your porch door down where the window is to have more space for the range wall. Just a thought I had.

Additional questions. Where is your main point of entry? From which direction would you enter the kitchen with groceries? Do you use the home office or would you be interested in using that space for another use?

A 20" sink base is smaller than a vanity sink base. I have a 27" kitchen sink base and I wouldn't go any smaller than that. If 30" is the next size up for Ikea then, yes, go with that.

Open cabinets aren't recommended near stoves because of the grease issue. I've only seen the curved one you selected flanking a window. I would put oils in the upper cabinet on the sink wall by extending that 18" cabinet and having it die into the range wall. I put my spices in a drawer near the stove. It's so much easier than digging through a 12" deep cabinet for small bottles of spices. That wall would be very pretty with a nice chimney hood, which won't break the bank like a decorative wood hood. You could tile to the ceiling there.

Isn't it more practical to store your dishes in the cabinet closest to the sink and DW than to store them in a corner cabinet? I don't know Ikea cabinet sizing but a straight cabinet is always better than a diagonal where you have to dig through to find stuff or use a lazy Susan. If you can extend the 18" cabinet you should be able to store all your dishes in there.

Does Ikea make an easy-reach corner cabinet?

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Hi @zmith - The porch is in fact walled in (better described as a small mudroom) so moving it would be a big structural undertaking, and shifting the door down that extra foot or so would require electrical work as the mudroom's light switch is between the door & window in the kitchen. That is my main point of entry. The front door to the house is at the other end of the hallway, but I use the back door through the mudroom to come & go on an everyday basis.

I do use the home office as I work from home a few days a month, and it's also where I store all my paperwork / bills. It has my bookcase and reading area as well. But it does not need a closet (previous owner had converted it to a bedroom and added one on, I can still see the old kitchen flooring in it)! So I'll be removing it and rebuilding that wall to add more space to the kitchen.

@mayflowers Good point about open shelving near the range! I keep my spices in a carousel-type holder which would fit in a 12" cabinet and is currently just out on the counter. I will be updating this evening with elevation pics & my storage plans for each cabinet, but my idea was to keep casserole dishes, trivets, etc. in the upper-left corner cab and baking ingredients & supplies in the 18". Of course this could also work in a wider wall cabinet along the top wall, perhaps with oils & spices in the pantry instead. Something to consider for sure!

Unfortunately IKEA does not make easy-reach cabinets. They do look so convenient! But having had diagonal uppers all my life I find storing bowls & plates in them easy enough. My plan would be to store glasses in the 18" cab between the upper-right corner and the window, and cutlery in the drawers below so that all my dishes are in one area. Between the upper-right corner cab and fridge I'd like open shelving for a little tea / breakfast station, which I suppose I could still do with a straight run of wider cabinetry along the top wall. I'll sketch those ideas out later today and see how it feels.

Ok. Doorway to the porch/mudroom can't move, got it. You've got a good proposed layout. Looking forward to seeing the finished space. :)

For some reason my comment from last night with additional pics & notes is showing up for me now. Are you guys able to see it? Not sure if the site is being finicky or if I'm just not used to its quirks haha.

Hello! I feel for you. A nice size room but wasted due to doorways. I know you said no structure BUT you are planning on getting rid of the office closet. A window is not a small task so I suggest a change to that energy :-)

Hi @Mid America Mom - Could you expand on what you meant about the window? I am interested in two structural updates — removing the closet and expanding the window over the sink — but I think moving doorways would be too much to take on.

This will be my first-ever home renovation and, to be honest, if the existing cabinets were in better shape & easier to match I'd just add some more to the upper-right corner and call it a day. However, since I'm replacing the cabs & counters I'm willing to take on a bit more work for a dreamier space :)

Eliminate the hallway and change the office closet. If indeed your hallway entry inner width is 41 you can can the fridge in there and recess. The middle part of the hall will now be the closet for the office. At the front you will now have a closet.. yes small but you did not have one there before. I would also move the dining room entry to the basement door area. Then this wall is free to add cabinets or a two seat bistro table set.

And for all of those who are like what? take out the hallway? We had a kitchen with 4 doors. The back one was to a mud porch which was our main entry, hall to the front entry, basement and dining opening. No entry closet. We took out the hallway (hey look at any episode of property brothers in Toronto with those semi's - they did that). When we sold there was NO feedback on the lack of hall to kitchen from the front entry.

Not sure of your skills but changing a window is something I would hire out. You have to worry about the materials matching, getting the flashing to be right, reframing. Do it wrong and you have water. You already are commited to some interior reframing with the existing closet..

Yeah, NO. Don't do that. Just don't. Circulation is an important component here. Closing off the hallway means whenever OP is in the office and needs something from the kitchen he/she will have to circle around the entire floor.

Comelyhomely, is there a bathroom or powder room on the first floor?

Interesting layout concept @Mid America! Sounds like you've had a very similar space to mine in the past. I do think that removing the hallway and changing doorways would alter the flow of the home too much, in addition to being outside the scope / budget of my plans, but thank you! My father is an experienced home-builder and has a contact for windows who I'd likely be hiring.

@zmith There is no bathroom on the first floor. It is a 2-bedroom 1-bathroom house with all three on the second floor.

Ok. If in the future you decide to add a powder room to the first floor, carving space from the office space might be the best location for it, which is another reason to keep the hallway.

I tested out the suggestion of having a longer run of cabinets either side of the window instead of diagonal corners, and while it looked great on that wall I felt it made the side walls look strangely bare. I would also need to shorten the open shelving (breakfast station) next to the fridge considerably in order to accommodate the nearby cabinet's door. I do wish easy-reach corner cabs were offered by IKEA. I may look into the feasibility of mixing & matching frame providers, as I will be sourcing doors elsewhere to get the shaker look I want anyway.

Really appreciate all the ideas! I am open to considering anything I haven't thought of :)

The range wall would be all tile and a feature wall. In your right corner, could you do corner shelves as your beverage center? I've seen photos of those and they look nice. It would be the same idea as an easy-reach but with open shelves. Search Houzz for examples. Then you could have a 24" cabinet to the right of the window and another large cabinet adjacent to the fridge, which would look much better than shelves adjacent to the fridge, an unusual location. I don't see a panel on your fridge, which you want because some fridges don't have stainless steel sides. Also, change the door swings around your window so you can access them from the sink. Right now you have the doors opening in your face.

Quick search on corner shelves adjacent to cabinets:

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This pic was my inspiration for the shelves by the fridge:

But I really like the idea of mimicking the style of easy-reach cabinets with open shelves in the corner! I'll mock that up this evening too. Perhaps something like this:

Thank you for pointing out the door handles, I didn't even think of that! Surely I would have noticed at some point before installation but it's always good to have the details worked out in advance.

Would you keep the cabinet next to the window if you used corner shelves? I would, and I'd also put a cabinet on the fridge side. You could also put the wine rack adjacent to that cabinet, a better location for it than as a base cabinet.

Here are some narrow cabinets with attached shelves. 15" should be the minimum width for a wall cabinet.

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Here they've done a good job of integrating shelves next to a fridge with upper cabinets. The accent color paint is a really nice touch.

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I would build the fridge cabinet with a 36" counter depth fridge in mind. There will be fewer 30" choices in the future. Eliminating the 6" base wine rack would give you room for a 36". I'd also consider an 8-12" deep pantry that butts up to the side of the fridge with double doors opening in front of the doorway. A shallow side pantry is easier to store in than a counter depth pantry and is cheaper than a pull-out pantry. By using a side pantry, you could move the fridge down several inches and get more breathing room in your breakfast corner. You'll feel less squeezed in between the corner and the regular depth fridge. The side pantry could have open shelves up top for pottery or cookbooks.

Love these ideas mayflowers! Thank you for all your input.

My current 30" fridge is newer and I don't plan to replace it until it kicks the bucket, but it is good to be mindful of future appliance sizes. Would I just have temporary filler pieces along the sides of my fridge if I were to go with a 36" cabinet?

I don't actually drink wine myself so the 6" base wine rack was just a workaround to extend the countertop and find more breathing room in the corner as you said. Very intrigued by concept of a shallow pantry turned to the side to broaden that space even more! Will definitely look into that further.

Yes, you could use filler pieces on the side of the fridge.

I looked through several pages of Houzz to find a photo of the side pantry but couldn't find any. They've been posted here on Gardenweb many times and they were Houzz photos. Maybe you'll have more time and patience than me in finding some. I personally would go shallower than 12" because almost all canned and packaged foods fit on an 8" shelf. The side of the pantry is trimmed to match the door style because it faces front next to the fridge.