Porches are not built to legally habitable standards. You’d have to completely rebuild that, not ”just” enclose it. Way expensive.

Any kitchen designers want to weigh in on what an extra 3’ of length in a rather small kitchen would really gain me?

for Verbo: while I truly do appreciate your expertise, I’m trying to figure out whether extending the building envelope gets me a more functional kitchen, not whether it is possible to extend the building envelope. I already know it is possible to extend the building envelope.

kitchen probably feels smaller than it really is. the entry passage with the bit of wall on either side is something I'd change. Can the stubby wall next to fridge be rermoved. Can the hinged door from dining to porch be moved. You can then extend the kitchen down beyond the fridge. Calculcations about desired counter feet/ desired sq footage of drawer storage/ etc should be done. As said. you dont have such a small kitchen but is it inefficient.? .too closed in ? not open ...so you get the sense it is small? You could place the kitchen in the dining zone maybe and build a banquette in the existing kitchen or use a farmhouse style longer table altho the dimension there might be just fine for an average sized table.

I’m sure expanding into the porch is possible, but it may be much more expensive than it seems like it would be. So while the 3 feet may add space, is it worth the per square foot price to you? I’d lean towards the above suggestions— making the space more open to the dining room, switching the pantry closet to pantry cabs, maybe adding a side board in the dining room for certain dishes or something else than can be stored outside the kitchen.

I would not expand onto the porch, for the previously stated reasons. Remove the walls between the kitchen and dining, adding a beam if necessary. Remove the exterior door in the dining room. Change the large windows to a patio door. This allows you to add cabinetry further down the fridge wall and opens up the space.

I just finished incorporating our porch into an expanded kitchen. It can certainly be done and up to code but it's not easy or cheap. It was 8'x15' addition to the kitchen and I don't think I would have gone through that effort for a significantly smaller expansion. It was very hard to envision when the walls were there so I understand with your dilemma. But I was amazed when it was done how much more space it really gave me. My recommendation is to only do the expansion if you add the space behind your kitchen AND the space to the left of the kitchen.

It looks like you have lots of countertop, a good amount of floor space, two large windows and a good layout. Enjoy your kitchen and your luxurious wrap-around porch with those hand-planed rail tops that your husband crafted.

Hi missb-

As you say, the additional 3 feet on the side won't give you the eat-in kitchen.

f you need more storage space, is there a way to enclose that side porch and turn it into a pantry?

These days we all need room to store extra paper towels, toilet paper, hand wipes, other staples, etc.

I am not an open-plan gal, but if you are and would like to have more open sightlines into the dining area, can you remove the cased opening into the dining area from the kitchen?

(please excuse me if I am misreading your plan.)