Moving the door at this point is not an option. Electrical has all been done there, and the doorway would be obstructed if it were moved. That area to the right is where the table is going to be. The opening is 38" wide right now, and will have a door in it, to be put in next week. The beam is just under 5", and is 5" from the right side of the doorway. Here is the floor plan. It's not entirely accurate but it's all I have available to post. The area marked "Bench/hooks" will not be there; it will be straight wall in that hallway, as it exists now. Also, the beam is not drawn accurately. Here are some other photos that show the whole space in a clockwise circle that may help to get a better idea of things. There will be a second island flanked by two columns right under the beam. Those will go in after the cabinets have been put in, also next week. Clockwise from back door 1. From back door on back wall of kitchen 2. From back wall in opposite corner. Right doorway goes to laundry. 3. From bedroom hallway 4. From front door 5. From fireplace 6. From garage hallway

The early stages of design are always a bit overwhelming. So many choices and you can feel this burden to "get it right". You are dreaming of an off white kitchen - great! Now, think about how it feels to stand in the kitchen. Where is your traffic flow from outside and to the dining room? Do you want a large open plan? Or more defined rooms with doorways? These are the types of questions you need to focus on now. Shades of color really should be the last thing on your mind (as tempting as it is to dream of them). Think about your family, get specific about what you need, make a separate list of wants, and spend your time creating the spaces of your home. This is what an architect does. You may need one, or you may not. I got caught up in details when we started our design process, and my DH had to remind me to focus on the big picture, not the details. Houzz really is your friend at this stage. Just go through and click everything you like. Soon, you'll see patterns emerge, and you get a real sense of what speaks to you architecturally. From there, you can search plans online within that style. Lots of people have already done a lot of planning and hard work, and there really are some good plans out there to use and learn from. As far as your original question, I think the interior trim will have a much greater impact visually, than the actual window. Will your cabinets be directly next to your window? If you have a plan you are working on, you might get more help if you posted it separately for overall design feedback. Good luck!

I don't know if this will give any fresh insight, but to answer your questions in the order they were asked: 1.Moving the door at this point is not an option. The former doorway was where the bump-out into the kitchen is (where vacuum is), and moving the doorway to the right such that it would not be under the beam would put it just to the left of the former doorway. That would put it smack in the middle of our breakfast area, just as it was before. Plus, as you noticed, electrical is there now. 2. There is a beam in there for support. It is supported by the header of the doorway, which is supported by the sides (don't know my construction terminology) of the framing. It also has "47,000 nails in it", said DH as he assured me it is structurally sound. There will also be two columns built under the beam once the cabinets go in. I think those will make the doorway feel less obviously divided. 3. There will be a door there, to be put in next week, so it will need trim. I can post more pics once it goes in. annz, not sure what would help you get a feel for the whole space, but I'm including a few other pictures from a wider view. (I cleaned up so you could see the space a little better.) Clockwise from back door 1. From back door on back wall of kitchen 2. From back wall in opposite corner. Right doorway goes to laundry. 3. From bedroom hallway 4. From front door 5. From fireplace 6. From garage hallway

rhome, thanks for responding. Just trying to make sure I understand. Do you mean make the doorway thicker in the direction from the kitchen/LR to to hallway, where the actual frame under the sheetrock is, or make the sides of the doorway wider in the direction from kitchen to LR? I didn't understand about creating a doorway from the kitchen to the LR. (Sorry for being obtuse.) But yes, we do want to be able to get to the switches coming and going. Also, there will be a door in that doorway, so the width itself can't shrink, but I could put any width trim there When we put the beam up, we had to decide whether to veneer it or put sheetrock on it. We decided at the time that sheetrock would be easier. Now I'm second-guessing that decision, but at this point, I don't think widening the whole beam is an option. I did think about trimming the whole beam as I would a doorway so it could be trim color, but that also seems to me to defeat the purpose of having chosen sheetrock, which seemed the easier thing to do at the time. What I'm really second-guessing is the design of the addition that connects the house and garage, but since we did that 12 years ago, what's the point? I wonder how it would be to make the breakfast wall the same color and change colors around the corner in the kitchen.