Thank you for your observations. I love new perspectives on our old space! Blfenton: We also have a finished basement, so we have plenty of 'living' space. The dining room is not used at all--that�s why our main goal was to add that unused space to our kitchen--it is the space that everyone gathers in. From the front door, you can enter the kitchen through the dining room, or go straight through a hallway to enter the great room on the left, kitchen/nook area on the right. Our house is also 10 years old, and the appliances are showing signs of not lasting much longer. A leak in the kitchen faucet last spring stained a cabinet that needs sanded down/replaced...The kitchen has always been cramped, but now we've decided to try to use the space we already have to improve! Gooster: At this point, I'm open to anything! I have considered combining the laundry room and mud room, and moving around the pantry, 12 feet just isn't enough space in width! Our main entrance for a family is the garage. The mudroom is where all shoes, coats, backpacks, etc live, so it must be located directly from the garage entrance. We live in a wooded area and frequently bring in mud, leaves, dirt, snow, etc. Love the pic you posted with the windows�lovely! Dilly_NY: Moving the kitchen to the front of the house has been tossed around. If it's a nice enough looking kitchen, seeing it from the front door wouldn't be a problem. Then, the dining space would be in the middle and sitting area at the back? Here's a photo of the kitchen, looking toward the door.

Hi July3Feb2, I have some images of two different materials to extend or create more counter space. Is this going the long way, width or the ends horizontal? And what about having granite matched and cut to fit and extend. If you have a granite like ubatuba, blue pearl, one of the giallos sometimes you can match it. But this is something you would have to live with if it did not as it is hard to get a perfect match. Another idea might be a working table that sits flush with your counter. A bakers table of sorts. Here are some images, maybe they can give you some ideas. ~boxer New England Stone Danby Marble Covetable Designs Devos Woodworking Oak Bar Siena Kitchens Spring Hill Farm SS and Marble from Soma Stoneworks Jennifer Gilmer Wood trim counter (extends) Island Vignette from New England Stone Walnut Island Living Space Co. New Venetian Gold Renfrow from Design Solutions Chadds Ford Blue Bell

OK...here's the thing. For counter-height seating, you need a 15" overhang. Even if you scrimp on overhang people will still take up the same amount of space so trying to shave off a few inches of the overhang doesn't really help. With the smaller overhang, people just don't sit as close to the counter edge OR they sit sideways (not comfortable for any length of time). Then you need approx 5' from the edge of that 15" overhang to the table. Even then it'd be a tight squeeze to get by if people are seated in both places. [BTW...your children may be small now, but they will grow rapidly! So, if you're thinking a smaller than recommended overhang will work b/c they're small...don't. Always plan for teens/adults when planning something as permanent as a peninsula.] Has the design already been finalized? Or can changes still be made? If so, to the exterior as well? I'm asking b/c if you could move the front door down so the "Covered Porch" is flush w/the garage you could gain 4 feet. I would then move everything on that side of the house from the stairs to the front door, down that same amount. That would give you another 4' for the Kitchen + Table area. You would then have just enough space for an overhang. This would have the added advantage of adding more space to the MBR and/or Laundry & WIC. One of things I regret not doing when we built 14 years ago is making our porch flush w/the garage. We could have either had a deeper porch (8' now) or added 4' to the depth of the house...more useful. Another idea is to switch the FR & DR. You might be able to expand the kitchen into the table area and use the DR for all meals since it will be a lot closer to the kitchen. You could then have an island for casual/social seating. The DR would also be a little longer so you could fit a table in there more easily than the current location (that's a pretty small DR). Sample dimensions could be DR: 16'2" x 12'8" & FR: 16'2" x 17' (In the FR, put the FP & windows on the right wall...) ++++++++++++++++ Oh, and I agree with PeytonRoad, the MBA door swing should be against the shower, not the sinks. To avoid it altogether, consider making the door a pocket door, sliding from the sink side of the MBA. This will mean no recessed medicine cabinet in that wall, but I think it's a good compromise. We have a similar MBA...but our tub & shower are switched. The door swings against the tub. We're now thinking about remodeling our MBA and one of the first changes we plan is to get rid of the recessed medicine cabinet and install a pocket door. I think it will make a big difference in the "feel" of our narrow bathroom. What we don't have is the nice corner for a tub...there's a bedroom on the other side of our bathroom wall. Have you thought about putting in another window by the tub...a window on the right wall so you get a "corner window" effect?

we are just finishing a 2-level peninsula similar to your plan. will post pictures soon. we were well aware that this is "off trend" but figured that by the time the kitchen is finished, it will be almost back "on trend" again! you just have to go with what you need to function best. hiding all the s*#% (stuff) from the dining area was big for us. we also really enjoy sitting at a counter. my husband makes pasta a lot and likes the idea of having 2 levels-- one to work on, and one to dry the pasta on. we put outlets all along the 6in. support, as you had mentioned above. we also put one outlet facing toward the bar side (also in the support) which i think will be handy. i also had an idea (after the fact) to build in a little soap/sponge holder into the 6inch support right by the sink. it would have been nice. ah, well. next kitchen. as mentioned and shown above, we also used hidden brackets for support. they are routed into the side so the face piece went over them and then the under-counter part of the bracket does not show at all. we didn't have room for the corner bar section that you show in the last picture. i like the look-- it does seem to update the bar look-- but don't know how it would work for your situation. have fun! kawh