Is there enough space to put the fridge and DW to the right of the sink in its current location? Could the DR be moved into the dead space of the FR? You could move the peninsula to the other side of the kitchem, where your husband would have a sight line to the TV. Pantry cabs on the BR wall would give the BR entry some privacy.

Double-checking -- did mama goose correctly identify where the TV is? I couldn't tell from the floor plan where it is within the living room.

Yes @Jillius, mama goose did guess where the TV is. Sorry, I thought I had marked everything on the diagram. Forgot that. Also the stone looking thing in the Family Room is a fireplace wall with stone accent.

@mama goose_gw zn6OH There is enough room to move the fridge to the right of the sink. There is not enough room to move both the fridge and dishwasher however. And I can't move the window above the sink in order to slide the sink to the left.

There is enough room for a table in the family room dead zone, the only downside to that is that it would be hard to expand the table to accommodate additional people at holidays etc. Where the table is currently located we can just extend into the living room. I had thought about this configuration but it really doesn't add much space. But I'll admit it would be much cheaper than removing walls!

Is there a TV in in the family room too that would serve the chef's viewing needs just as well if he could see it?

Well I posted a whole bunch of photos yesterday but they apparently disappeared. So I'll try adding just one...for now. Here's a picture of the kitchen.

another kitchen picture. Like the above picture, this is taken while standing in the family room. You can see how the counter extends into the family room and the bar stools that I never use.

Now a couple shots of the living room. I'm standing by the front door. You can see the front windows, the TV in the wall unit. The kitchen is out of the picture to the right.

Standing in the living room near the windows. The wall with the framed art on it is the kitchen wall. You can see the back of the coat closet behind the tree (which I made for my cats who of course ignore it completely). Entrance to the kitchen from the dining room is at the far left in the photo. This is the wall and closet I'm considering removing.

And another shot of the dining room and entrance to the kitchen. Note the two framed photos, you can see them in the previous living room shot for perspective.

@Jillius I took your suggestion and added some photos. But I guess I must have scared everyone off since no one has responded, lol.

Ha, I am sure they will be back! Weekends just get busy. I will take a look this for you later this week.

still hoping to get some ideas

Your idea of expanding into the dead zone seems good on the face of it, but if that one-foot bar strikes you as an obstacle to the walkways, how much more would an actual bunch of counter and other stuff?!?

You could put an L shaped banquette in the dead space. That won't give you more counter space but it would make use of your dead space.

Also, it's virtually impossible that you could remove both of the circled walls -- something needs to hold up the middle of the house. Mama_goose did well to open just one.

Your problem is way too many doorways. If you could close up the doorway in the family room, accessing the Florida room from the dining area, then you could have nicer seating in there and easily expand the kitchen in that direction -- you might even be able to put the TV in there, making the living room more of a conversational zone (or vice versa). But if you try to keep the walkways while making the dead zone into kitchen, you'll end up with long walks from, say, the fridge in the corner to the sink where it is now. I mean, most natural would be to put a stretch of pantry in that lower-right corner, with the fridge closest to the doorway from the hall, but it still means a long walk and the possibility of people barging through your work. I dunno.

Here, I set it up essentially as a galley with lots of counter, and storage is in the corner. Easy for family to grab a drink from either seating area without bothering the cook. If you just open the doorway by the stove a little wider, the TV view might be possible... (or add one in the family room)

The trade-offs here might not be worth it to you. But it's another idea to consider.

@acm thanks! You got me thinking out of the box. It never occurred to me to close off that access to the FL room. You are right, that would improve the seating in that room. I've lived in this house for more than 30 years and I'm not quite sure I could convince myself to do that but it's making me think. As for the fridge, I'd rather put it to the right of the sink. It fits. Yes I'd lose a bunch of counter and cabinet space but I agree that having it where you suggested would probably be awkward. I'm seriously considering putting the pantry where you have it and perhaps other cabinets in that dead zone as well.

As for moving the walls, yes, they may be load bearing. I'm going to get a contractor to determine that. If they are, I might still be able to open up that space but keep a post or two. Moving the fridge and pantry would allow for more counter space.

@anj_p A banquet would probably look good but to be honest, I really don't need more seating. There's plenty in the dining room. I do need storage so that might be a good place for additional pantry or cabinet space or even some more counter. It would be nice to move my breadmaker out of my Florida room, lol.

Debbie, does the family room have a TV? If so, where is it? Alternatively, would a TV in the kitchen work? It is proving very difficult to make the living room TV visible from the kitchen.

Here is a plan that could work. You could keep the same basic kitchen layout (the appliances work where they are, IMO), just remove some walls to open it up, essentially transforming it into a galley kitchen. Some of my measurements are off and the cabinetry could likely extend a little more to the left as you have it in your plan. On the right of the kitchen, bring in the peninsula and cabinetry so that they end at the wall (otherwise the passageway between the kitchen and pantry becomes too narrow). I would skip the overhang for benches, and fully use the space for storage and extra counter space. Remove the uppers above the peninsula. Remove the pantry around the fridge and add uppers and more counter space on that wall between the fridge and range. I would consider mounting a small TV in the kitchen somewhere, on a full motion/swivel wall mount so that you can push it against the wall when not in use. Or use a tablet computer, and get a stand/mount for it.

Removing the hall in front of the bedrooms and bathroom, and the overhang for the peninsula, gives you enough space and clearance to add a pantry and more cabinetry, or just a wider pantry and no cabinetry. Alternatively, you could also place a desk, wine bar or message center against this wall.

Moving the entrance closet by the front door provides separation, no more "walking into a big room" feeling, and improves the flow between the living room and kitchen. It also give you a wall for your tv, making it easier to lay out your living room. I would replace the wall unit and purchase one that is less substantial. Consider mounting the TV on the wall and having a unit underneath, and maybe shelves on each side.

Do you currently use your living room or your family room more often? I would suggest making the larger one the family room, and the smaller one with the fireplace into the more formal living room or sitting room. Mounting the TV above the fireplace (or removing it altogether) also makes that room much easier to lay out. The master bedroom door is in a awkward location in terms of natural flow. Even in an open space, it would make more sense to have it accessible through the "hall" passing from the entrance between the kitchen and family room.

A few cost efficient ideas

@jabaz and @Jennifer Hogan Wow! Thanks! Those are a whole bunch of ideas that never occurred to me. I really appreciate it.

The idea of moving the closet by the front door to create a wall in the living room is intriguing. We don't really need a coat closet in Florida. We don't wear coats, lol. But we certainly do use closet space!

As for the ridiculous outswing front door, that was an insurance thing. After we were hit by hurricanes in 2004 insurance companies had a list of updates to the building codes they insisted on so you can get discounts. That was one of them (after all, it's much harder to blow in an outswing door). I think they've backed off on that one by now.

I cannot move the master bedroom door. It would enter into the closet. So that's not an option.

My husband would be thrilled with the wine/coffee bar idea.

@Jillius yes, the family room currently has a TV in the wall unit. And yes I am considering moving it above the fireplace but I can't do that without remodeling the fireplace wall. The mantle is just too high right now. It's on my list of things to do if there's any money left over.

I notice no one suggested moving the fridge to the right of the sink (leaving a small counter space in between). That was my idea to get it off the side where the stove is. Why is that a bad idea?

I do agree that the kitchen "triangle" (sink, stove/oven, fridge, dishwasher) should remain in the galley portion - i.e. without having to cross a hallway to get to any of them.

Once again, thanks so much for thinking out of the box!

well, mama_goose put the fridge to the right, but then you either have no dishwasher or no counter space. we're trying to give you a higher % of what you want, while working with your constrained layout...

In the plan I posted, the fridge is where your pantry is currently. You would then have a counter between the fridge and stove with uppers. That will maximize your counter space around the sink and the stove, while keeping the fridge nearby. If you place it on the sink wall, you lose a lot of practical counter space, and you cannot really expand beyond the current wall space without making the layout awkward, IMO.

You will regain pantry space and then some by building a walk-in pantry with floor to ceiling shelves in the dead space, and then some cabinetry in the front of it for a beverage center/wine bar (you can include uppers to maximize storage).