I know the trend is for opening everything up, but that doesn't work well here. It's not that big of a deal, and would only cost maybe a hundred dollars or so, but I'd add some studs and drywall back, and re-create some of the wall. It works much better to have two separate spaces open to each other, rather than wide open, but not integrated. Creating one space out of two here doesn't work because they haven't been unified into ONE space well, and you have to deal with the plumbing chase. And thus, you get lots of people who will think Marcolo's comment about the range being in the DR, but not actually say that to you. It feels like the kitchen is busting it's way into the DR way with no separation. The kitchen needs to be separate and feel separate from the dining area, or else you need to do a LOT more work here to make it into a real single space. Adding enough of the walls back to accomplish the separation. Still maintaining a larger opening than originally there will actually make the space more cohesive. It feels choppy and awkward with them flowing into each other with no delineation now.

Most of the threads I've started on my kitchen remodel are lost. They cannot be retrieved even with the URL or even via a highly-specific search. All the great ideas, answers, responses I received there are gone. I remember some of them, of course, but only some. There are always ideas that I don't "get" without time, experience, and re-reading. Those are gone. It is discouraging and aggravating. Also, this site is consistently the most sluggish, balky, likely-to-crash-my-browser forum site I have ever used. Have you ever lost a long post that you'd put considerable thought into, because the site froze up right before you clicked "submit"? I have, many times. These problems have definitely reduced my participation here. Despite some of the nicest, most helpful, creative people I've ever seen in any forum - and a subject of great interest to me. The forum's constant problems are just too much of a pain. On "free": Yes, this forum is free to you. But the flip side is that your posts, helpfulness, experience, energy are free to iVillage. The business model of these forums is that users provide mountains of "content" and an appealing "community" that draws more users, and the company "monetizes" what the users create by selling advertisements. Done right, it is a win-win for both. But if the company doesn't invest enough in the systems, software, and site administration, choosing instead to keep more profits, then it starts to become more of a win-lose.

Another piece of advice make sure if you have your appliances picked out make sure you or your builder or GC has all the trades installing the framing, ducting, electrical and cabinets in the proper way and correct locations for your appliances. Make sure what you pick out will work in your space and the installers know how to do it. Or too many times the workers without telling you the problem will just try to wing it to make it work any old way without a care in the world as the homeowner gets to have a job that wasn't done right. My range hood installation did not go well today. The venting duct was originally placed incorrectly too low on the wall for my range hood. Even when the builder and all trades had my appliance specs and install directions before even framing started on our house. So instead of telling me it was wrong the installer today installed the range anyway 5 inches below the manufactuer's minimum distance thinking it was no big deal. Not acceptable and dangerous. So now to fix it and have it installed properly the ducting needs to be moved up affecting our stucco on the back of our house and now the glass tiles need to be replaced where they were drilled into too low. I really just don't get why these trades just can't get it right, ever.

We all hate it. Many of us will go away, perhaps re-form elsewhere. Houzz won't care. They are really after the Home Forums anyway. We are just the dust that came along with them. Also gardeners tend to be somewhat older. Most people turn to gardening after they get their kids into school or even out of the house. The high tech world is not terribly interested in people over 45. Just ask a software engineer who got laid off in the Great Recession and tried to find a new job. By the way, thanks for posting the message, Kippy. I did make it back after all as you can see. I am by training a librarian and I supported library databases for many years, so if it was hard for me, I can't even imagine how hard it must be for people who did not have that kind os background.