I believe our situation was similar. We have a concrete porch at the front door which has a foundation projecting about 6 feet into the lawn. Then a concrete step down to the sidewalk. The step and first section of the sidewalk were settling. I believe this is a consequence of backfill from construction. I had a concrete jacking company lift it. They drilled a hole through both the step and sidewalk section. Then, under high pressure pumped concrete into the void below thus lifting everything level. It cost $275 but I'm not sure I would have been able to lift and level it myself. Aside from a newer concrete "spot" on the surface one would never know anything was done.

Michey312, sorry for the rude comments, they are no help at all. I think you did a fabulous job. I too was beaten up by this forum when we did our own plumbing for a bathroom remodel. It was mid pandemic and the "pros" were just not available. Well it's been over three years and the bathroom plumbing is working just fine. We fixed issues with previous plumbing that was done 30 years ago by a licenced plumber as well as the required modifications for the new fixtures. We installed new lighting, tile, toilet, vanity and soaking tub. Granted we decided not to change the layout to simplify the plumbing and electrical, but in the end we were very pleased with our handy work. I am in the middle of working a quote for Conestoga cabinets for a new kitchen (new construction). I like the inset cabinets and want to use the extended leg (face frame) option. How did you decide where to place the extended legs? It is clear that they would not be appropriate on all of the cabinets in my design. Also on your island (which I love), it looks like the extended leg is wider than the extended legs in your other base cabinets. Can you confirm? was that an option? It looks like you might have used a panel on the side of your island. How much did the trim details extend the size of your island? Hopefully you are still monitoring Houzz. Thanks in advance for any information you are willing to share. Again, great job!

Thanks everyone, some helpful suggestions, soft furnishings and rugs seem to be the way to go. I'm moving with my husband and two young son's (a 2 year old and a 2 month old - so only one qualifies for a baggage allowance! ;)). We looked into shipping furniture and personal goods but the cost was prohibitive (double the value of the goods!) so we will be taking the bare minimum with us, clothes, books and some toys for the kids. Thanks for the link @beckysharp, that website is invaluable! also good thinking re: bedding, it sounds like the beds there tend to be standard size (tight squeeze) so my US sheets are likely to be too large, good thing I didn't waste valuable shipping space sending them!

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful suggestions! I also love how distinct SF design is. It's funny because most people think of candy-colored Victorians when they think of SF, but we have a long history of Mediterranean style homes as well. I didn't even realize how many there were in SF, because in our neighborhood on the East side of the city, there are a few, but they're scattered around. Whereas on the west side of the city there are blocks and blocks of gorgeous Spanish-style homes. It's such a trip driving through those neighborhoods. I spoke with a kitchen designer from Reform (our top choice for cabinets) yesterday who got some wheels spinning on the design angle. Aside from your suggestions to remove the wall between the kitchen and hallway, we are now also exploring removing the wall between the stairs and the kitchen and converting it to a pony wall/divider, then opening up the area with the pantry now. This would solve two of our problems of figuring out how to get more light to the stairwell and also adding headspace for the stairs. We would then extend the wall by the bathroom/bedroom doors slightly for privacy, and maybe adding a pocket door. We also are playing with where to add arches and curves to reflect some of the lovely details elsewhere in the house. The kitchen now has two options, one where we keep the seating area and one without. In the first option, the lower cabinets are along the pony wall and the tall cabinets run until the patio. The seating area is really lovely, giving us a view of the courtyard (we have it now and love sitting there), but it also somewhat restricts the island size as the island can't be more than 4' deep w/ chairs, and about 6' long. We also run into questions of if and how to have a backsplash and exhaust vent if there's no wall. Rough Floorplanner shots (placement of appliances is not accurate) In 3D (pretend cabinets are light wood): Using IKEA builder w/ appliances/sinks. In the second option, the cabinets run the length of the right wall, from kitchen to dining room. In the "kitchen" they're bottom cabinets only, and opposite the patio they're full-length cabinets. We get a nice chunky island with this layout because there are no cabinets, so it can be 6' long and almost 7' deep w/ chairs. In 3D and playing with adding a curved wall: IKEA version w/ appliance location. Island is not to scale, not sure how to make it bigger, but pretend it's deeper w/ chairs. Thoughts?