I like your inspiration photo. In fact, I think you can glean some good ideas from it with your layout. Gosh, that angled upper-view is hard to work from, isn't it? The red cabinet is the new pantry. You will want to check your aisle spacing there. You may need to go with shallower cabinets to keep your aisles wide enough. Actually, that is a good thing as pantry shelves should be shallower to allow for better access and less risk of losing food that gets hidden behind other items. While that cabinet may need to be shallower than when it was on the other wall, it can be longer so I think, in the end, you have just as much storage that is also more accessible storage. I definitely like the lack of traffic through the kitchen so much better with the door moved here. I was trying to decide if it would be better to have a counter in the red cabinet area or just floor to ceiling cabinets. Your inspiration picture gives a good mix of both. I think I'd be inclined to make that area into a beverage/snack center. Maybe move the microwave there, built in over the middle counter area, the toaster, and the coffee maker. It would also be a good space for a fruit bowl and such. This way if you're making dinner....and let's pretend it's a dinner that is going to cook for a few hours, maybe even something you're starting around lunch time, the rest of the family can come in and make a snack to tide them over without impeding on the cooking space. DH can make the morning coffee while you're making breakfast. Whatever. It would create a nice separation of space for different tasks. Think about what all you would store in the "red" cabinets. You may not want so many glass uppers if it will be food pantry storage. If you anticipate any nice glassware or serving pieces being stored there, the glass would be nice. If mainly pantry items, I think the open shelves would keep it open enough looking without needing the glass, too. Again, it depends on what you're storing there. I think you should keep the fridge where it is for easier access for snacks but also for grabbing that extra condiment or anything else forgotten....this is more important if you're sitting at the dining room table but I think it just fits better there.. And I'm not really one who likes looking at refrigerators that much. I think they tend to be big hulks in the kitchen. If you move it to the lower-right corner, you will see it from the dining room. Is that what you want to look at? Or would you rather look at your beautiful cupboards? All that said, moving it to lower-right would better fit the ice-water-stone-fire layout which is a great work flow. We move from fridge to sink/prep counter to cooking. If you recall, this is why we have been pushing you to consider a prep sink. So...hmmmmm...I'm just musing out loud here. If it were my kitchen, and because I have such a dislike for hulking fridges, I would really have to think about the extra steps from fridge to sink in this layout and weigh that against my fridge dislike to make a decision. You will be walking extra steps in this layout. I walk extra steps in my own kitchen just so I could put my fridge in a less-noticeable niche and I'm quite happy with that decision. It's only about 1.5-2 steps farther than the previous fridge placement but it has allowed me to have a baking center and made the view through my over-sink window better and easier seen from the rest of the house without the fridge sticking out and blocking it. So carefully consider whether those extra steps will be a bother for you. In the end, most of us have to make a compromise or two to get what we want. And, in the end, since we're all different, only you can make that final decision. It's really best to have as many options as possible to consider before pulling the trigger. If SIL is willing, I think you should have her draw up a plan with the door moved to the lower-left and the fridge in lower-right and share it here so we can all give you feedback on that plan. Or maybe someone else will pop in here and create one. I'm better at seeing problems than I am coming up with solutions so I'm not seeing a good way to do that and keep your sink under the window that you so desire which also keeps the DW out of the prep zone. And, to me, those issues are more important than a few extra steps to the fridge. Oh, gosh, sorry to ramble on so long. I probably wasn't much help, was I?

Thanks for your kind words about the house. :) awm03, I believe you're correct that this house is post-MCM. It was listed as such on Zillow. "Just noting, though, that both the dining and front rooms seem to be visible from the family room, so I'm wondering about visual...symmetry with one very dark and the other very light. Also, painting the dining room dark will make that one set of windows especially dominant during the day." hamamelis, good points! "Curtains aside, they also seem to be asking me for a console or some such thing under the single panes..." I guess that would be possible if the console or some such sat far enough from the wall so that the drapes could move behind it. "Regarding the glass and mirrors, it occurs to me that the front room would change light and character dramatically with all of it gone. And that it can be beautiful when well done and lit." Excellent point. I think I'm not liking it now because there are so many things on it. I was looking at the listing photos and I much prefer it with a few select pieces of art. "Why is there what looks like a little wall sticking out in the middle, though, with the glass continuing on?" It does have a little wall that divides the glass area into two sections. It's just decorative and has been there since the house was designed - no doorway removal. justerrilynn, I like those styles of rugs. I've been eyeing them up on Overstock. I'm going to mull over the light-colored leather sofa idea. My set is getting older, but it's still in good condition, so it might be a hard sell to the BF. Lighter colors and a more MCM design would fit better in this house. I think after digesting all of the advice given, that I'll stick with light, neutral colors and hold off on the deep blue dining room. I suspect that a new coat of paint is going to go a long ways towards making things seem fresh and inviting. Thank you!

I am a HUGE fan of Timberlane shutters in PA. The quality of these shutters is extraordinary. I have had them on my house now for 16 years - had them painted by my local painter, still look great. My DD got them about 3 years ago and they now offered the color she wanted in a factory paint job. The rep told me that these same shutters had been on the outside of their building in PA (harsh winters there!) now for 19 years and still looked great. One of the things they offer is copper guards that slip right on top of the shutter. Shutters tend to rot from water getting into the seams where the shutter dowels are held. This prevents that from happening. I think this is part of their success. Yes, they are expensive, but they will last for many decades with little if any maintenance required.

When we moved into our house, I considered putting up a dividing wall in our lower level family room to create 2 rooms. Space is about 26 x 16. Decided not to because the big space seemed so open and we thought it would be a great family room. Ten years later, the reality is that it was never really comfortable or functional. Might have been good as a pool table/ping pong type family room, but for hanging out & watching tv (with fireplace), it always felt awkward and not cozy. A month ago we rigged a temporary wall diving the space, kind of a trial run, and it's a thousand times better. I feel like we put on an addition. The family room with very large tv and fireplace is now about 16 x 16, which actually feels just right size-wise. I was concerned it would feel small, but not at all. The other room (about 10 x 16) has fairly large double window, so stil has egress as bedroom. We are going to build wall and not worry about closets. Will use the room as storage, as we are sorely lacking. Septic would allow for another bedroom, but easier to just make it a "room", and down the road new buyer could add closets if desired. Still need to build final wall, but we are set on plan and wish we did it years ago. I guess my point is that sometimes that big space seems more appealing than it actually is, and a little division of space can create a more functional situation. I would go with option c.