I don't understand the reason for the slanted wall on the fridge wall. Your original floor plan does not have a slanted wall, so why would you take down the dining room wall and then build it on an angle? Its seems like a pantry could be incorporated in this plan without having to have a slanted wall. "***Instead of a range, we plan on a 36" rangetop and microwave/combo wall ovens to the right of the rangetop." This is going to change the look of the range wall and I am not sure how it will look with a wall ovens / mw stacked between hood and window. IF I were you, I would mock this up in your renderings to see how it looks. "If you look at my main floor plan, we are removing the foyer closet and opening up that space for a foyer table of some kind (possible built ins)." As someone who has no closet in the foyer, I dislike this idea. When you have guests, it is nice to have a place to hang coats, etc. (assuming you use mudrm closet for daily use). Unless you live in a warm climate, consider this decision carefully. IMHO, I think your plan to squeeze in a small coat closet that is walled into the kitchen space but opens to the foyer is less than ideal as well. Do you really want a quirky little closet instead of your nice tucked away closet that exists now? If you take out your existing closet will you have the banister for stairway showing? That is the only possible reason I can think that this change could be beneficial. But again, just my opinion. Your layout is somewhat similiar to mine. Where your fridge wall is, my DH wanted to slant the wall as well for optimum tv viewing. I am so glad I won that battle. Good luck. I think you are going to love the openness you your new kitchen.

Thanks for your responses everyone! I appreciate each and every one. Kippy -- looks like your pantry will be super functional! Unfortunately can't add any more width to our pantry. Stan -- thank you for your input. I think I agree with you on the 8" counter. No can do. Also thanks for your suggestion on the 4" shelves just on one side. That might do the trick! Practigal and Looklake -- the 18" pull-outs sound dreamy, but I really really really want a 36"x24" countertop. Those appliances need to be out of my way. I would leave them out if I used them consistently at least once a week, but there are times when I use them every other day, or not at all for weeks at a time. And Looklake, the size of the pantry is hardly ideal...we are turning a coat closet into a pantry and the size cannot be changed. Karenseb -- when you say pull-outs, do you mean drawers or roll trays? The roll trays would waste more space, right? And any idea what the weight limits might be? Also would it be ok that the pull-outs couldn't fully extend? Since I only have 45" total pantry depth minus the 24" depth of the base cabinet.

Those aisles are very narrow, but with such a challenging space maybe the rules have to be overlooked. The kitchen aisles in my older home are similar, although the appliances are arranged so that it works better. I was working on a variation of the above plan, without altering the pantry (1)--bengiesbride's plan has emboldened me ;), so I'll post it. The work area can be flipped, so that the DW opens into the long aisle (1a), but in that plan the dishes could not be loaded directly to the upper cabinet. If the trash and DW are flipped (1b), the DW can be unloaded to the upper cabinet to the right, and there is a little more prep space, but the DW is in the prep space. The sink is more centered on the window in that plan. Plan 2 uses bengiesbride's suggestion of removing the walk-in pantry, but instead of the one-wall kitchen, I drew a peninsula with a backsplash to contain splashes, and the built in seating the OP mentioned. The pantry is recessed into the long wall, protruding 6" into the kitchen--if it can't be reframed with a header, you can work around individual studs. I have a similar pantry in my kitchen, only 6" deep. It's more work initially, but it holds a lot of canned goods and boxes. Click to enlarge New to Kitchens? Read me first. NKBA guidelines Cindyandmocha's pantry--scroll down in this thread for more info. ETA, another 'out of the box' idea. The shallow cabinet could have by-pass doors to hide the folded table, and it would add extra storage for canned goods or hanging utensils a la Julia Child.

Could be something like one of the following pics. Pretend the fridge/oven walls are full-height pantry storage, and the counters are to the left. Before I posted the earlier suggestion, I stood in the opening between my LR and the kitchen, where I have a stud-bay pantry. The opening is 28" at counter height, 29" below, and 30" above because that's the side of my cabinets. It doesn't seem tight to me, but--I have narrower than recommended work aisles in my small home. At the other end of that run, where I stand to use the KA mixer, the aisle is 31" at counter height, and 42" at head height, with open counter behind me, and the space behind me feels expansive. The shelf above the mixer is a few inches higher than the standard 18", to accommodate the tilted mixer head. At the narrowest point, in front of the stove wall, you'll have 41" at head height (if you have standard 12" deep uppers and a 1" counter overhang.) If you need more elbow room for certain tasks, you can step toward the sink, where there will be more space behind you. You can also make the uppers above the baking counter a little higher, to give you more head room. Eta, I meant to add that it will also depend on the size of your family members. I, and my grown kids, tend to be thin, so you should take size into consideration.