I can see doing a wider french doored (or pocket french doored) opening to the left to increase the accessibility of the kitchen to the rest of the house, but PLEASE do not make the mistake of "opening up all the walls" in this home! Part of any older home's charm is the distinct closed off rooms that are cozy discoveries. If you do the fireplace "keeping area" in the lower ceilinged part, that will be the most highly sought after gathering spot in the house and you won't want or need to "open it up" to any other room. It will be a destination area. A retreat. As far as layout, it's a no brainer than the sink can go along the right where the tall windows are currently located and the range and fridge can go on the opposite wall. I like the idea of a farm table in the middle, but my back does not if you would use it as a prep area! I would need a 24"x36" prep area that was at least 36"-38" tall. Now, if the farm table were to be T'd off of that prep area, that would be the best of both worlds. That prep area could be a chunky created butcher block, or other antique cabinet. Good luck shopping! I think that's more than half of the fun of an unfitted kitchen.

I've looked at the fabrics. Fabrics are SO hard to choose, for a lot of reasons. One thing I learned when I was doing this for myself was to absolutely NOT select a fabric without seeing it in person first. They look completely different in person. You want to hold them up to furniture in the light of the room in which they will be. Light affects colors and fabrics dramatically. If you're doing this strictly online, you should be able to request swatches from Smith Bros. Better still, if there is a retailer near you yo can actually walk in and look at the large swatches and take some home, do so. Other considerations. Cleaning. It is my understanding (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) that the fabrics that are 100% man-made materials ,i.e.: polyester, acrylic, etc., are very hard to clean, that you want a fabric which at least has some cotton or wool or whatever in it. Also, you want to feel the fabrics so you'll have a sense of how comfortable it will be to sit on. Will if "feel" too cold in winter? That sort of thing. And wear: you don't want to have to reupholster the pieces in five years! Re: the fabrics you picked. Love, love, love 334211, the chair fabric. Beautiful. gorgeous colors, and it'll look stunning on that carpet. You absolutely can do the entire chair and ottoman in that fabric, and should, IMO. I love the chocolate brown/muted gray/blue color combo. Didn't particularly care for the second patterned fabric you chose for pillows, but that's just a matter of personal taste, of course. I do think the two patterns clash. re: the sofa fabric. I'm really not sure about it. It strikes me as being too dark for the carpet you've chosen, but it's hard to say w/o seeing a swatch in person. I think that with such a dark carpet, I'd want a bit more of a contrast. I think you're right, though, to go with a "railroad" pattern for the sofa, rather than jacquard or floral or whatever. I believe in being conservative with sofa fabrics (so they won't get dated and need to be recovered fairly quickly) and dressing sofas up instead with pillows and throws. Okay, I've gone through all the fabrics, matched them back and forth by using multiple windows, and this is what I came up with. For the sofa, purely by coincidence, I kept coming back to #329511, and it's the only one I settled on. It also has some cotton in it, which is good for sofa fabric. It'll look stunning on the dark brown carpet, and it goes very nicely with chair's 334211. The herringbone pattern gives it some texture, which you will like on a large piece like a sofa. For the sofa pillows, I love the Palm Island counter fabric, 334311 OR the same fabric you'll have for the chair, 334211. These fabrics contrasting with the richness and starkness of the deep brown rug will be gorgeous, in my opinion. but again, ALWAYS look at swatches in person before making a final decision. If you were to get a set of wood slat blinds for the two windows on each side of the fireplace, I think that would be the icing on the cake for that room (see link). Room with this color combo and these blinds would be warm enough in winter, cool enough for summer, serene…just beautiful, IMO. and why won't you use the wood-burning fireplace? Oh my! You must! Just remember to close the flue in the morning so your heat doesn't escape up the chimney! It's gonna be gorgeous, Carol! Here is a link that might be useful: Fireplace window blinds

Potential view from your kitchen oven through to your back deck. Front of the house again. Suggestion: Make the front deck at least 6' out if you can. Mine is 6' out and I sincerely wish I had made it 7' but oh well. Furniture suggestion for the back deck. :-) I didn't have a Grand Canyon pic in my 3D design program so I put the pieces you see hoping they would come close to the colors you were looking for. It seems as if it's close but I don't have the blue in them. Also please know that the furniture colors and style are not so much what is being presented for your consideration but the potential layout. Yes, I am suggesting balancing the room out by having the sliders on both sides instead of windows then sliders. It allows you to have a better view and access to your back deck. Yes, I divided your back wall into 3's - two large sliders and one direct vent gas fireplace to center and balance out the room. Just a thought for your consideration and viewing pleasure. Hopefully literally. So here it is. I hope you enjoyed the visit to your virtual home. Let me know if you want me to change things around, within limits, for you to see what it could look like. I will be happy to be of help in anyway I am able. And, I am sincere when I say; thank you both for your service. My husband and I are truly grateful. Husband was a deputy for 30 years and I was a nurse. Marcie :-)

Small spaces, and spaces with traffic through them limit the placement of large pieces. Traffic passes from the patio door to behind where you took the photo. And there is regular traffic in and out of the door to the garage. Correct? Pathways need to be a minimum of 36" wide, though 42" is better. Most sofas are relegated to long walls. If you place a sofa on the shorter width, one arm will likely need to butt against a wall to allow traffic to pass on the other side. Accent chairs might be better suited to this space. I like Charlene's ideas, but her layout failed to show the doors to the patio or garage. I do think the TV might be better against the outside wall with the sofa opposite it. The patio door takes up a lot of wall space. However, I recommend you draw a floor plan on graph paper (also called quadrille paper). Here is a SITE that lets you print whatever you need. Mark the walls so that 1 foot = 4 sections of the graph paper; each section = 3 inches. Place door positions and the fireplace as accurately as possible on the floor plan. Now, measure your furniture, and on a separate piece of graph paper draw the outlines of each piece using the same 1 foot = 4 sections. Label each, and cut them out. Now you can move the pieces around your floor plan seeing where they fit best.