You are WAY ahead of yourself. Over your skis : )

The rush to do this will fail.

Locale depending, you need six months ( covid, my dear ) , an excellent plan, all the FORMAL dining room space, and a place to go while workers are in and out, EXECUTING A PLAN

Breathe. Move in, cook in it. PLAN.

On two to four years? I'd paint the cabinets and live wit it. Change the fridge to counter depth

We have a contractor set up and ready to go mid Jan and we are living in our apartment month to month while the renovations will be done (we live locally). They are estimating the work will be done around early March (but understand and plan on this probably going over) as we are also doing a few other minor things around the house and fixing up the master bath . We don't plan on doing much custom, so there shouldn't be too much delay with covid, hopefully. We have young kids, so we think the effort of moving in and back out later for the remodel would be more work than just getting it done now. The kitchen layout is the only part where we are stuck. We've talked with a designer, but thought we'd also see if anyone had some thoughts on here. :) We are considering possibly just keeping it mostly as is and maybe taking of that section of "U" by the family room to keep it simple for best ROI for when we go to sell. The cabinets and floors are in pretty bad shape (the photos make it look a little better than it is in person). We went lower on our budget when buying so we'd have space to fix it up a bit before moving in. Also, we want a nice space to live in when we move in :D

I'd open the wall between the kitchen and dining room. Then move the whole kitchen into the dining room, so the sink is under the dining room windows, with the stove and refrigerator on the same wall they are on currently, but further down. Close that wall between the dining room and your living room, or whatever that front area is. You could leave a regular doorway there if necessary. That would leave a large area for a dining table between the kitchen and family room in the space where you have your breakfast nook now.

It will probably take a minimum of 4-6 weeks to get cabinets. Some of the designers here will have better ideas of how delivery time has been effected by Covid issues.

hmm, the contractor didn't seem too concerned about the cabinet lead time if we didn't go custom and just did something basic like white shaker cabinet style. We really aren't picky, just want it to look better/updated. But something to consider.

@Muriel Thompson That was my initial thought, too. In that layout, do you think it would be better to have the sink along the wall, or in the island? Our realtor pointed out to us that some people don't prefer the sink on the island because dishes kind of pile up where it is very visible. However, I also don't see many designs with a sink up against a wall with no window.

So you’re going to buy in stock cabinets from a big box store? That’s not going to add to your resale value.

Really? Instead of old falling apart cabinets from the 80's? We don't want to spend too much and go too custom, because we don't want to spend more than we'll get back. And we plan to go through our contractor's supplier, not necessary a big box store.

I’d rather have 80s cabinets and update it to my liking than pay for someone else’s rushed, off-the-shelf cabinetry, yes.

With your time frame ..lifestyle ... and future plans....painting the cabinets... and refinishing the floors...will take care of your concerns and avoid opening up any unexpected can of worms...any more at this time could run up the budget and not be an investment that pays off at re-sale...

Are the dining room windows above counter height? The dining room is small. Do you see your family using it? (I suggest playroom). But I don’t think an island is feasible if the kitchen overtakes the dining room.

I’d just change the U to a straight run of cabinets, maybe with seating, and include lots of drawers.

I agree with you that pretty much any new white cabinets will be more appealing to you and a new buyer in 2-4 years than the originals. I’d never put expensive cabinetry in a house I thought I might sell shortly, since you’ll lose money on any reno.

I agree, new cabs are better than those 35 years old things.

there are plenty of decent, solid wood cabinets available. you don't have to get them from lowes either. my kitchen painter guys I went with (and had mine refaced) got solid maple (paintable) shaker style. they are very nicely made.

That is something you can consider if keeping the same layout. Are the bases solid wood and decent shape? just have everything refaced, and modified to add drawers to the bottom.

if keeping it that way, you could do a bar top overhang to hide the dishes and have seating. (ignore the design choices)

however, with all the room you have, I'd think about expanding. you currently have a G, not a U. you can look up G kitchens and get some ideas if you like.

could you put in a window on that wall? (the cabinet wall. could you put in a window?)

for instance, if you extended your cabs down to the right, you could put in a window and put your sink under it.:

this just shows if you did a window in your current placement. is that possible?

trying to show if you extended them down the wall, maybe do a pantry on the end if you need it, and a window and sink in the middle.

then do a little built in nook/banquette at the end of the cabinet run:

Or extending the cabs down to the Family sign, and create a large island where you can sit and eat. Put a nice large sink in the island.

don't even look at the next pic's design choices, just look at the layout. if you extended the kitchen down, made an island w/sink, and did a built in or a table and chairs by the window. looks like this:

think about doing a built in banquette breakfast area over by the windows

I am not a pro and there are problems with this, like the dishwasher and fridge across from one another. It can be workable if the fridge is a bottom freezer but it’s not ideal. Having the two dishwashers helps alleviate the dishes stacking on the island, though. Double ovens and the amount of cabinetry involved in this plan probably isn’t a budget smart plan if you’re moving in 2-4 years. Are you planning to replace appliances, and have you looked at leas times for appliances?

Photo included this time.

This variation gives you a prep sink and a cleanup sink and likely works better for multiple users.

The dining room is very small and very closed off. I'd remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room and post all those measurements here (where windows are, etc. ) for a better layout. Your breakfast room will then be used for formal and informal dining. Seating also at an island.

THE VIRUS? There is a lag on anything and everything. From cabinetry to appliances to you name it. Custom doesn't matter. Pieces and parts come from the world over. On boats and in trucks.

Everyone is attempting what you are...........: ) That's fact. If all was planned and on order now? You need minimum a full six months and some prayer.

And................There's a new Washington DC. I would count NO chickens for resale. Just sayin.

I would take the wall out and move the sink run to the left to open up the nook. The opposite wall can be much longer like the photo below with a peninsula where the refrigerator is currently. You would be able to fit a very large table in there if you wanted.

Better than Restoration Hardware Gray and White Kitchen · More Info

Edited to add this photo. Your kitchen would not be wide enough to add an island but you could put a prep sink on the peninsula on the range side of the kitchen.

New Canaan Private Residence · More Info

New Canaan Private Residence · More Info

How did your contactor bid this job without a plan?

You may want to consider IKEA cabinets. Custom doors and drawers are available from various sources if you don't see an IKEA door style that you like. We used the IKEA Axstad door in our new laundry room and are very happy with them.