where do you pull the car in? where do groceries come in?

Could you use the back wall of the current kitchen as the space for the fridge and floor to ceiling pantry style cabinets then remove the existing kitchen walls to the dining room area and put in a large island with drawers.

Hi Herbflavor, usually we come up the stairs you see. The main floor is elevated, so the garage is one floor down. So, yes, it will be less convenient if we move the kitchen farther away from the basement stairs. Thanks!

Hi Michlaw56, yes that was one of our original plans. To use that one available wall for floor to ceiling cabinets, and then add an island and take down all the interior walls. It will work but it's a small kitchen and doesn't address our flow issue to the back yard. It's still on the table as an option. Thank you for your help.

Can you explain the flow issue? It looks like sliders at the back of the dining room, but you said that the access to the deck is through the kitchen. Where does the DR slider go if not the deck? Would making changes to the deck/exterior make the current layout work better, and if so, is that cheaper than moving the kitchen?

When you talk about "connection to the outdoors" and "take advantage of the light and the view," is it the kitchen's connection, light, and views you are worried about, or the living spaces, or both? Are the walls between the current kitchen and living/dining coming down in your vision?

HI Cawaps, thank you for your help. Yes, there are sliders out of the current dining room, but they go to a small pathway. The sliders in the kitchen go to the deck. I wish it was on the diagram. Part of the house sits on/in a large rock. So, the current dining room is surrounded by rock. It's very pretty, but it makes it impossible to move the deck over any further over.

The connection is important to me throughout the space. So, I'm trying to maximize light and view all around, and the ability to easily walk outside. Yes, my plan was take down all internal walls, but 1) I'm not sure how I will get enough cabinet space and 2) I'm a little afraid it will look like a box with a kitchen in the corner. Thank you again!

I might close the existing entry to living room and kitchen off that foyer..... reposition entry to living room at top of foyer wall...coming in at the top... then make entry to kitchen immediately to left. with the existing entry to kitchen closed up you could use the long kitchen/bedroom wall..over 13 feet [but what is in that alcove ?]....and turn corner where entry passage was for some cabinets too......so what can you do on a 13 foot wall? need range and fridge there ...and push sink to an island in open space as you'll remove kitchen/dining wall. You'd avoid bumping into bedroom.. create island in the open space, and still a dining zone remaining where you have it. Seems like there are some issues w exposure and positioning on the property...I might try to avoid too much reversal of spaces.

Thanks for the clarification. One more...If the dining sliders go to a path, do you need to keep that door, or can you replace it with windows with higher sills so that you can put counter in front? Or a French door and a window?

I'm a bit stumped on where to put a refrigerator, unless you were to get fridge drawers. Cooktop, too, although that can at least go in an island or peninsula, even if it isn't ideal.

Rather than moving everything over to the dining area, can't you just remove the wall between the dining room and kitchen. Then put everything that was on the removed wall on the wall that connects the bedroom. So, basically you're turning the kitchen towards the dining room.

What about removing the kitchen walls altogether, and swapping the living room and the kitchen positions? the dining room remains in place, the living room sits on an open space and the television sits on the wall shared with the bedroom. this way the kitchen aisle faces the dining room and the kitchen has a counter in the bay window area.

Drawing with my fingers on my phone here, but have you considered something like the below (re-working the current kitchen area to create an island and open it up to the dining room more)?

Have you considered taking down the existing kitchen walls and instead putting up a new wall (blue line)? That way you would have space for a big kitchen with island. Or do you want a totally open space?

By moving the plumbing a couple of feet, and extending the wall between the kitchen and LR you could keep the kitchen in the current location and have an island:

what is the little kitchen alcove that backs up to the hall closet? If you can max out that 13 foot wall on kitchen side / looking at Schlitz's plan above........placing stove and fridge on that long wall....using short wall for shallow pantry storage.....then the island can serve you well. I would leave a bit more of the lower foyer wall intact , giving you a sense of place in lower left living room for some "corner" furniture placement . You want a little separation from the front door immediately there.

Maybe you can expand your deck so that the dining room doors open onto it and add steps down from the deck to access the path. You would then be able to change out the sliders to windows in the kitchen giving you more options.

This is great! I got up this morning to so many good ideas. What a wonderful group. I’ll try to respond to all:

Herbflavor: That alcove is just a wine fridge, so it can go. You’re right, the lower foyer is awkward right now. I am trying to determine if I remove the foyer wall completely or leave it. I hadn’t thought of extending it.

Cawaps: Yes, the sliders in the current dining room can go. I’d like to keep windows but we could use that exterior wall for lower cabinets, appliances. There is some full wall space along those walls, just enough for a fridge and a slim cabinet. My recent thinking was an L shaped kitchen using those exterior walls, with an island.

Shirlpp: Yes, that is a possibility. We’ve been playing around with keeping that wall between the kitchen and the living room, some options similar to what PD. Shlitz suggests. It’s definitely an improvement to what we have today.

Felix: Oh, I hadn’t thought of exchanging the living room at all. Interesting.

PD Shlitz: I like this option. I’m thinking through how people view and get to that island.

Nessyquinche: I like this option too. I don’t think I want a full wall there, but maybe a narrow pantry wall, or half wall, or something like that would add enough storage and some visual interest.

Mammagoose: This is a great use of what we have today. Very smart. I am trying to make it more open, so I don’t think I want a larger wall, but I know that I can’t have everything! I’m going to evaluate if these options have less or more space then what I have today.

I’ll post some pictures later today. Maybe that will helpful.

Thank you all again for your help!

Hi Ebethny, here is what I was talking about. I hope this helps. I placed the refrigerators in three different corners of the kitchen to show you possible locations. I hope this helps.