Since you asked for views, I will say for the hundredth time how much I love my Bosch induction top, and it was not expensive. My kitchen designer pal says she is installing almost no gas ranges and that gas is over, from a design and utilitarian perspective, or will be in another 5 years as the US trails the EU. Young people want a sleek, clean look, and they demand energy efficiency. I can highly recommend Bosch dishwashers but racks vary so look them over. Decide, too, if you want that upper third rack. I liked my old Bosch's racks better but no disputing the quiet cleaning power of a Bosch. We went with panel ready, so there's another decision for you. It adds weight to the door but I love the look. Bosch ovens are excellent, too, and doubles are fab if your kitchen is large. I did not have room as I use a warming drawer a lot and my kitchen is small by GW standards. Too small for 2 large ovens + drawer. I was warned here to think carefully whether I really needed two, and to consider a Breville as backup, and boy has that worked well for me. (I roast a lot but rarely bake.) Our oven and WD are Electrolux Wave Touch - much beloved here -- and they are awesome. The WD will slow cook wonderfully. No comparison to my old KitchenAid I thought I wanted the micro drawer for its looks but that required me to give up my cat food prep space. (Nooo!) So we stacked ours like gooster ( except lift up) and I love it. Here is a pic. But we use the micro once per day on average so where it was stationed didn't matter to us. YMMV. This does give flexibility in size and brand you can use since, as has already been pointed out here, micros fail alarmingly. Still, if you have space, or if your kids will be using the micro, go for the drawer, or are least something lower. Fridge? Good luck. I hate mine. Electrolux. Everyone seems to hate their fridge. We went with a basic because all my friends with SZ spend their days waiting on the repairman. Seriously. My appliance guy, trustworthy, says get Liebherr. I don't know. Trust the folks here to guide you -- and study AJMadison. Good luck!

I agree with lazygardens above. Great solution. When my DH and I bought our 1925 bungalow it came with a kitchen that was remodeled in the 1950's. It had cabinets about the same style and color of your kitchen. The counters were old ugly red-ish formica which, like yours, were also on the backspash all the way to the base of the upper cabinets. We hated it and because we had just bought our house, we were on a shoestring budget. We sanded and painted our cabinets white, changed the hardware, and installed new laminate over the existing one with contact cement. For the backspash we pre- sized the formica and installed pre-pasted vinyl wallpaper over the top of it. (use vinyl wall paper because it is washable.) We updated the faucet. Those changes alone made the kitchen much more bearable and it was pretty cheap to do! For this being a rental I'd go with the paint, wallpaper and new laminate. You are lucky that your landlord is flexible and will let you do it. This solution for our kitchen tided us over for 20+ years. We are just now doing a full kitchen remodel.

I am not good at drawing on the computer, so I will try to explain my idea. I would put the banquette along the other side of the outer wall - where the pantry is. With a built-in bench under the window and chairs on the other side of a rectangular table. I would use the entire right side of the room with cabinetry in a U shape - no peninsula. Perhaps a small island if there is room. You could do the full height pantry where you currently have the sink and DW drawn. Or desk there with pantry beside it. Possibly put the fridge beside the pantry, so all of your full-height stuff is on the same wall. You could put the sink between the pair of windows and the range centered along the right wall. That would leave room for floating shelves flanking the range. There would likely still be room for a small island - not with seating, however, in the center of the "u". It may be useful for prep. If you are thinking of having kids, then pay close attention to the swing of the refrigerator and what is blocked when it is opened. My kids peruse the goods often thus blocking the only entrance in and out of our kitchen. Also stick with table or counter height seating, bar height doesn't work well for kids until they are almost adult sized... like 10 or 11. Best wishes! I look forward to seeing your plans.

Here's an idea: All perimeter counters and cabinets are 3" deeper than standard: -- Counters are 28.5" deep. This gives you more workspace as well as more room behind the sink for a faucet and to clean behind -- Base cabinets are 27"D. If your cabinetmaker does not offer deeper base cabinets, then pull standard 24" base cabinets out from the wall -- Upper cabinets are 15"D. This should not be a problem - most cabinetmakers today offer 15"D upper cabinets. All zones are nicely separated, which allows multiple people to work in the Kitchen at one time - preparing a meal/snack, cooking, and/or cleaning up. There are four defined Prep Zones, with potential for others throughout the Kitchen. There are 3 Prep Zones on the island - two of which are adjacent to the prep sink. The third is around the corner and while it is not directly adjacent to a sink, it's close to both sinks. There is a 2-bin trash pullout next to the prep sink. The Cooking Zone is on the wall for ease of venting. It is surrounded by ample work/landing space. There are two cabinets on the left for tray storage and pot & pan storage on the right. Additional pots & pans can be stored in the island. The Cleanup Zone is on the perimeter where dirty dishes are hidden from direct view from the Dining Room and Family Room. Both DWs flank the cleanup sink. There is also a 2-bin trash pullout b/w the cleanup sink and the range for easy access from both the Cooking Zone and the Cleanup Zone. Dish storage is located in several locations near the DWs and all to the left of the cleanup sink. This is so your dishes are located near their point of use - the Dining Room. Dishes are also stored near the DWs for ease of unloading. Finally, dish storage is located where someone can set the table or load/unload the DW without getting in the way of those preparing & cooking. Since you have a large family, you probably have more dishes than most (I grew up in a large family - six children as well - and we had more dishes than most.) Dish storage is located: -- A 24" Dish Hutch is to the left of the sink/DW. It has a 15" deep upper cabinet that goes to the counter above a 27" deep base cabinet. I recommend the first 6" to 9" of the upper cabinet be either a drawer or two or separate doors from above so you can open the doors above even when there are items on the counter. A nice thing about this arrangement is that if you are short or while your children are, dish storage is lower than in standard upper cabinets. Instead of starting 18" above the counter, storage starts 9" or so above the counter. [Note, I originally made it 36" wide, but then I remembered that you have a Utility Shaft at the end!] -- There is a 42" dish drawer in the island for additional dishes. The drawer faces the sink/DW side. With an aisle 51" wide, you should be able to have both the DW and the drawer open at the same time - nice and easy for putting dishes away! -- Finally, assuming the Utility Shaft is not as deep as the counter, I propose putting a tall dish cabinet in front of it for additional dish &^ glass storage. The refrigerator and freezer are on the periphery so both those working in the Kitchen and those just looking for a snack or putting away groceries can access it without getting in each other's way. They are also located so non-Kitchen workers do not have to cross through the working part of the Kitchen to get to them. The MW drawer is located on end of the island - near the refrigerator/freezer and a water source. Most MW'd food comes from the refrigerator or freezer and many need water added to them when MWing. As with the refrigerator, the MW is located such that both Kitchen workers and non-workers can access it without getting in each other's way. The Pantry is located just outside the main Kitchen work area. A walk-in/step-in/reach-in pantry is a much better use of space for pantry storage - it's more flexible, it costs much less, and storage is more efficient. The island has seating for eight. Two seats have 18" of knee/leg space for tall family members or visitors. The other six seats have the minimum recommended 15" overhang. This will be find for short to average height folks. There is a 12"w x 27" tall Utility pullout for broom, dustpan, swifter, etc. If you prefer, it could also be turned 90 degrees so it's a 27"W x 12"D cabinet. To the left of the pantry is a Tea/Coffee/Beverage Center. It's located outside the Kitchen proper to allow anyone to make tea/coffee, etc., without encroaching on the Kitchen's main work area. If you'd like, you could add a bar sink and, possibly, a refrigerator drawer or under-counter beverage refrigerator. Note that a bar sink is smaller than a prep sink, so it will not take up as much room. A bar sink is usually small b/c the most use it gets is to fill glasses for water or to fill a coffee maker, etc. Prep sinks, on the other hand, get a lot more use and more space is needed so they are generally larger. . . Zone Map: