CEFreeman I love free money--I call it play money and remember my brother and me riffling Monopoly play money and feeling so rich when we were little. Enjoy rewarding yourself. Yep, that's what I paid. I bought the shop vac from Amazon Warehouse Deals for $80.95, I think, with no tax or shipping plus a $10 off coupon from DeWalt through eBates (also thanks to you). So, a great deal for $70 when/if I get my rebate. (The vac is officially ''used'', but the sales slip doesn't say that. Maybe the rebate will go through. It isn't really used, just a returned sale.) Amazon Warehouse Deals listing for Shop Vac: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0000CCXTN/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1345489243&sr=1-1&keywords=dewalt+shop+vac&condition=used The vac is great. Easy to carry around. I added two extension wands to make it work even better as a dog hair picker upper. No bargain on them--just Home Depot.

With all do respect, I would not invest too much into new cabinets, until the floorplan can be fixed. You'll get more bang for your buck later when you can adjust the window height. To get the kitchen better use until then use a piece of furniture or shelving on that wall. So, it can easily be moved & used elsewhere when a whole remodel can be done. Getting this kitchen updated with a better floorplan will add value to your home in future. i have been in the real estate & remodeling business 12+ years. I try to advise clients to put their hard earn $ where it could bring the most return. In my market, I know this kitchen would be an issue,but it has sooo much potential. I hope you can find a good deal getting at least the smaller window adjusted.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5874997/small-tight-u-shape-kitchen-layout-not-many-choices-got-any-ideas From ""Buehl About pantries...several years ago, there was a lot of discussion about pantries, with an emphasis on shelf depth. The consensus was that 12" is the "sweet spot" for shelf depth. 12" is deep enough to hold all food (cereal boxes, 2 or 3 deep cans, etc.), pantry storage containers (e.g., Tupperware), and the vast majority of small appliances (KA stand mixers, blenders, breadmakers, etc.). 12" is not so deep that things get lost in the "depths". Even 18" is too deep -- I had that in my old Kitchen and things got lost all the time! Plus you end up putting things in the front that are unrelated to those behind them. The most efficient pantry storage is one that 1. Allows you to see everything in it with one look 2. Doesn't "let" you stack unrelated things deep (e.g., cans of peaches in front of cans of green beans or pantry storage containers holding different things, ...) 3. Utilizes the entire space floor-to-ceiling, or as close to that as possible Pantry Types: 24" deep pantry cabinets don't meet any of the three above, made even worse when over 18" wide. Even if they have doodads that swing/pull out (and are generally expensive), storage is limited b/c of the need to accommodate the hardware and other parts to the swing out. 18" wide x 24" deep pullout pantry cabinets meet #1 & 2. BUT, they have to be pullout pantries, not shelves unattached to the door or roll out tray shelves (ROTS) (which don't work above waist level or so anyway). They work only because you can see everything when you pull the door open fully by looking at both sides. If you had to move things around, they wouldn't work. 15" deep pantry cabinets meet #1 & 2 and have the added advantage that you can look without moving things around. The 15" depth includes the back wall, so the shelves are really only 14" or so deep. (In non-IKEA framed cabinets, both the back wall and the face frame are included in the 15" depth, so shelves are 13" deep or so.) Built-in pantries, whether reach-in, step-in, or walk-in, are the most efficient and meet all three above.""

Maddie Victoria, Don't blow off Buehl's request for some additional information. She's a very experienced planner. You will be getting some great advice from her. If we told you that there was a way to get both a walk-in pantry and an open or semi open plan kitchen at the same time for less money, would you be interested? In order to properly advise you and present viable, cost-efficient options, we need to know where your windows, doors and walls are located. We need to know where the front entry and rear exit are located. We also need to know where the fireplaces are located. We also need to know some general, basic measurements. We aren't talking about a full, time consuming CAD. The easiest way is to hand draw it with labels on a piece of graph paper with some general measurements. If a specific measurement is needed later on, you can add it. I really think there is room to get everything you want. You just need to give us the tools to explore the project.