I have a small bench with a shelf and pegs in the mudroom, DD sits there to put her shoes on and sometimes to take off, my dad will sit there as well (can't bend over) - when she doesn't have her backpack, coat, etc. thrown there. Everyone else takes their shoes off standing up, can bend over to tie them, and hangs up coats. DS hangs his backpack on a brass hook screwed into studs behind the door - I have 2, but the top one seems to be used for coats (the wooden pegs in the shelf have gotten loose) so instead of hanging his backpack high and hers low, he hangs his low and she leaves hers (and her books, artwork from school, etc.) on the bench. I second the tall "locker" style cabinets - with hooks and shelves inside. One other thing I would like to find room for in my tiny entry-way (mudroom is also a laundry room, so just the space between the garage and kitchen doors is available) is a grab bar - my dad will sit down if there's room, but my mom tends to hang onto a door knob to take her shoes off and slip on, the kitchen door is almost always open so the door swings a little, and I don't think it's good for the hinges to have a lot of weight on them - it's a little different than just turning the knob to open or close the door, having someone leaning on the knob while standing on 1 foot, and the door wiggling back and forth. If it weren't for the fact that we live in a cold climate and sometimes do close that door for an "air lock" I'd just remove it and case the opening. It's also nice to be able to close that door and not see the shoes, backpacks and coats.

Thank you all SO very much for your thoughtful comments and time. I will post some layout pictures here (just met with our Kitchen Designer yesterday again.) We are going on Year 5 of living here this fall, and I have given constant thought as to the space & use since we have moved it. We have had a project going 100% of the time since we moved in due to the original state of the house. Now it's time to upgrade vs "fix". We are overdue! I've toyed around with ALL ideas (removing walls, extending the bar/not pictured-discussed, etc). For the most part, we like the layout and decided the pantry/2nd Kitchen are functional as is, although I love ideas, thank you all for your thoughtfulness. To answer other comments, I don't need 2 Kitchens + Butler Pantry. But that is the existing layout and it's easier to leave as-is than remove any of these large walls or areas, and I do use the space. I don't need 10K sq ft of house either, but it's what we have. (FYI it was a foreclosure we got for $360K on 25 Acres in Rural Indiana; about $100K put in initially to make liveable, and now we are just slowly chipping away at projects). I am going to reuse a lot of these cabinets in a basement storage room & garage. I hate to get rid of them! The Corian should hold up well in the transition too I think. Here is a picture from standing at the Main Island, looking OUT to the rest of the eat-in kitchen. We'll be adding a furniture-style cabinet piece where the additional cabinets are on the left. This bulkhead we may remove. They are big aren't they..? I have no clue what the $-tag would be to remove all of them (this one cheap likely.) I'll get a quote out of curiosity. My gut feeling just says it will be $$..... Just through that hallway to the left is where the 2nd Kitchen & Butlers Pantry are. I can't wait to get rid of this ugly dark red color. Existing Kitchen. Proposed is moving the Fridge from where it is now (right picture, where proposed Wall Oven & MW are - across to other side). Adding 36" rangetop. I can't go much bigger given the space there and existing gas line. We'll be moving our existing GE Induction, Wall Oven, MW to the 2nd Kitchen so did decide to just do 1 Wall Oven + MW in the Main Kitchen. Thanks for your comments on that! You're all right - as we grow/change, we will need that in the kitchen for sure. I was torn on leaving the 48" Fridge in the Main Kitchen, but it helps me avoid re-doing cabinets in the next picture..... as I have a 48" slot with non-working Fridge. Having a 42" and 48" seems to be plenty, vs adding two 48"s. See below. Here is the before of 2nd Kitchen (Please Excuse the Mess - this was previously a child craft room/nanny area). We would paint these cabs and re-do the ugly hood. Existing Wall Oven + old MW would go in here too on the far left replacing that cabinet. And the other side. Little pocket glass door to the bar. Non working 48" SubZero. 2nd Dishwasher, 2nd Trash Compactor, and Sink. Everything in the existing MAIN kitchen will come into here which is nice. No appliance worked when we moved in but I wasn't ready for a full remodel then. But glad to not be wasteful with those purchases. I have always loved the cabinets/style despite being so wood-heavy, so we are just going to paint these to match the main kitchen, new countertops, new backsplash. PROPOSED: And the Butler/WD/Toilet Room. This is on the other side of the Main Kitchen (behind Range/Wall Oven Area). There is a single toilet behind that far wall. And the other side. Here I don't need a 3rd Dishwasher but am struggling to figure out what to do with that space. I could add another Wine Cooler but seems odd to have in the Laundry/Butler area when we have a Bar. Trash Compactor will become pull-out Trash Bin. Ideas for filling the DW space? Again this will be all painted cabs, countertops, backsplash. But see the big bulkhead in here too? I don't want to take that out. We have 6 Bathrooms to remodel in the near(ish) future. I have to be frugal in some areas if I want other areas to pop more. Layout for these 2 pictures: Comments/ideas/suggestions are all ultra welcome. I will put a separate post about some of our semi-final decisions to our next steps in the remodel and would love your criticism.

this is the only "major" change we want to make (*aka move cabinets around.) We are happy with the builder just want to redesign the kitchen. Originally we were fine with the pantry but want to maximize our budget aka look at alternatives (aka if we can make the change great if not we are not crazy worried .) And ty for everyones points its beyond helpful. we can't find anything even close in our market for this amount. (been looking for a long time now) plus we love the lot and the neighborhood (small city)

Pics?