To start with, I recommend focusing on improved layout over just adding space. Your idea, for example, adds a lot of space without improving function much at all. All the new counterspace is too far from the prep zone to be very useful for cooking. Plus your bedroom layout gets much worse.

Since you are already willing to sacrifice the mudroom, you could get more actual prep space by extending the kitchen upward, and reconfiguring the hallway access to the bedrooms. Even just moving the fridge up to the edge of that south hallway entrance would let you gain useful space between the sink and the range. Change the awkward peninsula into a very small island cart. Or get rid of it entirely, and put some cabinets or a breakfast bar on the right side of the kitchen, under the windows.

Such great points. Thank you! One thing I love about the current kitchen is the fact that it accommodates barstools where guests can sit while I cook. Can you think of a way I could keep the bedroom layout as is, expand the kitchen into the mud room as you suggested, while also allowing for a counter with barstools?

Because I agree the island is currently awkward and make the kitchen too narrow. It would be nice for the kitchen to accommodate 2-3 people at a time

Well, depending on how far you go up into the mudroom, you might be able to make it a one-wall kitchen. That is, put the range on the same wall as the fridge, DW, sink. Then your island could be a peninsula starting at the bottom wall. The kitchen wouldn't be wider, but it might feel less crowded if the range wasn't pinned between the two stretches of countertop. Or, you could make the island an open bar-height table that is 18" or 24" deep, to get a little more width between the two countertops.

There are some talented people here who will have better ideas. You will get the best feedback if you update your floorplan with full dimensions. Distances of every wall section between windows, widths of every window and doorway, etc.

Yours is a very funky layout. How important is your fireplace? That seems like the logical entry point to the back of this main level.

In this drawing I moved the doorway, placed the sink on the exterior wall, placed the range on the dining room wall, widened the opening between kitchen and mudroom to create a small counter seating area for two stools on the fridge side.

Are you happy with your far back bedroom? 10'4" plus a generous walk in closet seemed odd to me. I drew an idea to switch to two reach-in closets to increase the size of the bedroom.

You could add some pantry storage in the Mud Room. Depending on the window sills you could add cabinetry to the exterior wall.

All your rooms should be proportionate to the plan. I'm not sure that trying to add square footage to this kitchen is worthwhile in the long run.

Thanks for your help! Can you expand on why you think it’s not worthwhile in the long run?

I agree. Unless you have 2+ bedrooms on another floor, the ROI expanding the kitchen into a bedroom is probably not very good. When we designed our whole house remodel, I chose to turn the kitchen into a 3rd bedroom opting for a small efficient kitchen. Realtors said a 3/2 is a lot more valuable than a 2/2 with larger kitchen in my area.

as usual i agree with mccarroll ;). if you get rid of stub wall by fridge (and maybe even that little closet so you can move hall door up) you could put a deeper fridge in mudroom flush with counters. put the extra 30” between sink and stove. i’d do a little table to eat at by windows. I’m partial to table seating and don’t think your kitchen is lasge enough for any other kind. current layout makes me claustrophobic! you could do a counter run instead of table if the windows are high enough and need storage.

if you aren’t willing to remove weight bearing walls i’m not sure how much time it’s worth spending on your layout. it would be a very large expense to do and make a guest bedroom thats a little narrow to be comfortable for queen bed. if you put the guest closet in the room instead of as bump out you’d have a better space to work with but sounds like you need to talk to a contractor for ball park estimates to see if this remotely fits your budget. And i would only do anything like this if it were for you in forever home as i would not expect significant increase in resale value.

explain the value of the fireplace to you. there is possibility of 1. removal of fireplace 2. widening passage next to fireplace 3. do a pony wall or similar and wrap across that area next to fireplace. Is there yet a living room beyond dining room? Seems the spot I would look is between kitchen and dining zone to "stretch" the kitchen a bit. There's probably some clever things you can do.....what % increase are you seeking. Sit and be realistic about the size of expansion and the value to do whatever you come up with. The "enlarge" isnt specific enough. Be aware with no expansion of space the existing space will perform better if you simply replace components because you get better efficiency with new. You do have 3 walls ...not all walls are being used right now......if the window height is a problem you can replace one or both and raise the height which is some cost, but might yield a nicer set of options.

I don’t see larger as much as I see more efficient use of the space. Beverley showed a nice option. Islands aren’t all that if they hinder the usefulness of actually cooking in a kitchen.

Thanks to everyone for the help. I really appreciate it!

Hopefully this post will be more helpful than my original. I live in a 3 story home (upper, main, and finished basement). It’s technically considered a single family home, but the upper and main level both have kitchens, so it functions as a duplex. We’re renting out the top unit as a “mother-in-law unit”, and the bottom two floors make up the main unit. The bottom two floors have access to the backyard, while the upper unit does not. We’re currently converting the basement into a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom space and plan on having my sister-in-law move in down there with her husband.

We’ve lived with them before and really enjoy it. However, all of us are food/cooking lovers and our current kitchen is too narrow and non-functional for ideal use by all of us. So the kitchen remodel is both a nice-to-have right now and would also (I think) be good for resale, since it’s fairly clear on first seeing the house that the kitchen is the low point of the house.

Additionally, my partner and I would like to increase the size of the main bathroom. Attached is an updated floor plan based on the terrific feedback I’ve gotten thus far. Please let me know your thoughts!

Current full floor plan:

Proposed floor plan:

Up close with dimensions and descriptions:

You do not want 7 feet of clear floor space between your sink and your range. Ideally, your range will be up against a wall with continuous counterspace between it and the sink (guidelines state 5 feet to 9 feet from center front of range to center front of sink. (This is why I drew your kitchen the way that I did above. )

ETA: When we remodeled in 2015 I knew the compromise I was making by placing the range and sink across a 42" aisle from each other and made a conscious decision anyway. Ugh. We're planning another remodel to reconfigure our Ikea cabinets so I have continuous counter between the two.

Oof - great point

You should post the bathroom plan to the bathroom forum. You can do much much better.

The red flag in this plan is the pinch point getting to the toilet. It's recommended to have at least 30" of clear floor space and I believe it's a 21" inch minimum by code. Also, entering a shower from the narrow point is unpleasant.

Solution? Swap the shower and toilet locations, access the shower from the toilet side and make your vanity bigger. However, I don't think you're achieving the minimum clearance between the toilet and the walls/obstructions in this drawing either.

I thought about that but there’s a wood window above the toilet. If I swap the shower and toilet, I’d need to move the window too right?

We should back up a bit.

Is this an old house? If so, it looks like the original back of the house is between the secondary bedroom and the bathroom?

Are you certain the wall between kitchen and secondary bedroom is load bearing?

I think you're right. The home was built in 1890. I don't have original drawings but I've suspected the same. I'm not certain the wall between kitchen and secondary bedroom is load bearing but it runs perpendicular to the joists, so I assumed it was.

Is bedroom 2 really 13'11" across? The proportion of the room in the drawing doesn't look any wider than the kitchen, so wondering if that is a typo.

The 3-story info is super important. If you want a good hood for your range, vented to the outside, you will need a location where you can afford to build out a chase on the third floor (I doubt your walls are thick enough for a duct). Or you need to run the duct through a ceiling joist cavity and through an exterior wall. So you might want to start by using a stud finder to locate your ceiling joists.

Oh - wow, no. I just measured and the secondary bedroom is 11.4 ft x 11 ft.