We are a family of 8, with 6 kids ages 9 months to 17. We've lived in our home for 12 years and are looking to renovate. Ideally, I would like to open up the layout and make the space more open and usable by more than one person (particularly prep/cooking while another person is cleaning). We never entertain on our main level, instead having to use the basement. Our basement works well for that, but I would like the option of entertaining upstairs, especially since we are currently converting our covered deck into a four seasons room. Dependent upon cost, I would like to add on a mudroom/pantry from our garage. We have an extra deep 3 car garage and and 7'x11' room would only take from the extra space, not a stall. We are also planning a new garage on the other side of our property, so space isn't a problem. I would like to have an island or peninsula if that can be worked out. We are keeping our current appliances - only 2 years old and love the slate! I would like to do as much work ourselves as possible, contracting out only where it makes the most sense. Electrical is not a problem to move. I would prefer plumbing changes to be minor if possible. Thanks for any help!

Hello, thanks for the great suggestions! I like the idea of widening the doorway but unfortunately I have a powder room behind the wall which separates the kitchen from the dining room. Very poor design and hate having my powder room right there by the kitchen. Also, I don't have enough room for a peninsula. My primary objective was to get rid of the empty space; but I could always use some extra storage. I think anything I add to that wall is only going to compound the tight space. I'm now leaning towards getting rid of the overhang on the island; I don't like eliminating the seating but this will give me an extra 12 inches on top of my current 28 inches (total 40 inches) path to walk through the space. I could also add an extra standard depth cabinet to the empty wall. Either that or just leave it as it is and make no changes at all. I'm planning on investing in countertops and would rather make a change now to try and correct a bad layout.

Your Pantry would be next room leaving the kitchen towards your family room! It can be configured how you need to based on your large entryway, and this pass-through doorway. I used your dimensions to create this kitchen. As might imagine an Island just gives it a slightly more crowded feel, unless you wanted a non-fixed island, like a piece of furniture that wasnt too large, which wouldnt be too bad I suppose! Mike

First a caveat, that there are many folks here who are way better at layouts than I am, and hopefully they will weigh in. My thought was to reconfigure the kitchen as a galley with the fridge and sink on the window wall (resizing the windows so you could put counter under them). The 12 ft width of the kitchen makes it a bit wide for a galley, but not terrible. I was going to repurpose the family room for dining, but with the lake views I wanted to have a sitting area too, and I couldn't quite make it work with the shape of the room, though it might work with the table against a wall. It looks like you have that now, so maybe that would work for you. But I switched it up and put the dining table in the current LR space instead and added a peninsula (opposite side from the current location) with seating for two.