OK, that's two votes for too skinny of a wall, I'm going to work on changing the balance of the pass thru - I'll layout having two pantry cabinets with the pass thru in the middle and see how that feels. Marcolo, I think its a challenge for every kitchen - where does your dishware and glassware go? I plan on keeping the glasses closest to the fridge in the upper cabinet. Grab a glass and get some OJ type of operation. And the dishwasher is somewhat close to it as well for off loading glasses. As far as the dishes, I plan to keep them in the lower drawers in the island. I'm pretty sure most of my prep will be closer to the range which will be plenty of room for someone to grab a dish while I'm prepping. And close enough to the range for times when I want to grab a dish to plate a seared entree or whatnot. I'm also the only cook/baker, and I do all the prep, which makes it easier for me. So there isn't many others in the kitchen with me other than tasting and keeping me company aside from an occasional dinner party when friends help out. One day that might change when I have kids that love to cook and bake. Good luck with your planning! What stage are you at?

Thanks for the replies. Monkeymo, I'd like to try and keep the cabinets but if I can't utilize them then I'll have to start anew, and that will prove to be not only a bigger expense, but hard for me to figure out just what to do. I've posted a link to a previous post on the same kitchen, there's lots of pictures. As you can see from the date, it's been almost 8 months since I posted this msg and I still haven't done a thing! Rookie, cabinets are in great shape, at least they are sound, but close up they definitely need to be restained. Not sure about having a vent hanging in the middle of all that. I'd like to try and not lose too much in the way of the cabinets though. Lazy, I've been back and forth to the house since buying it in Jan. and was really trying to do something in there before we totally move in, just a lot easier before getting things in all those cabinets. Since there's just the two of us going to be living there, there won't be much traffic, esp. on a daily basis. The only thing I really don't like is the location of the fridge, not in the "recommended" triangle. Clippings, I have hundreds and hundreds. Have looked what probably amounts to months on the internet for ideas and have taken out books galore from the library, still, nothing has given me an inkling of what to do in there. Palimpsest, I think it may be possible to utilize the doors elsewhere. I'm able to find the trim that's on the doors from Rockler, so I can probably have a cabinet maker do some mods, or make new doors. I just don't want to end up spending more money or something close to what it would be to have new cabinets installed. The countertops definitely need to be replaced, as well as the floor and the appliances. I need to get new lighting, and want pullouts in the drawers and two corner units for the dead space. So, back in Nov before I bought the house, I didn't know what to do with it, here I am almost 6 months of owning it and I'm still no closer. I hate to have to remove perfectly good cabinets but unless I come up with something soon, it seems that's going to be the way I'm going to have to go. Here is a link that might be useful: 1960s Kitchen

Last first (because that's how my mind works): Yes, practigal, I can change layout (not the location); however, it will not give me any payback in the community development, and, frankly, I don't want to spend the dinero to completely redo the kitchen. My retirement income and time will be better spent on FUN (and wine - see below)! chibimimi - 1 thought; 2 great minds! Here's the photo I pulled off GW last night that had me re-thinking whether I wanted a drawer stack or a cabinet: You have no idea how much I troll this site. I'm more of a lurker these last 6.5 years, getting vicarious thrills from all of you! I also thought I might install a wine cooler there, but all the ones I like that seemed to fit got low ratings due to noise, so I scotched that idea. Then, someone on GW linked to an article about James Beard (maybe about his culinary school?) with this picture: I thought, what? Wait, wouldn't this work behind a cabinet door? So I got out of bed, emptied one of the pullout drawers in the existing pantry and loaded it with wine: I could get at least 3 (maybe 4) pullouts in the cabinet (15 or 20 bottles!) and a drawer above to hold accessories. I would need to locate cradles for the bottles or drive myself crazy listening to glass rolling around every time I opened or closed the drawer. Trash or wine? What a choice. robo - I'm keeping the end wall so I can use 2 different cabinets. The existing kitchen cabinetry definitely looks "kitcheny" vis a vis my more formal LR/DR furniture. While I don't mind it showing through to the LR/DR, I want to coordinate the new DR-facing cabinetry with the DR furniture (natural cherry). The new cherry cabinets will abut the existing white ones. The existing finished wall is 5 inches and there's a 2.5-inch filler between the DW and the pantry. I could probably gain 2 inches just by rotating the studs 90 degrees. The remaining wall needs to incorporate light switches. Can that work if the studs are rotated? For electrical code I might have to replace the existing outlet that's on the 10-inch rise to the right of the sink. Mockett opportunity? I'll explore with the designer and framer to see if I could gain enough to get an 18-inch cabinet. Great idea! Olychik - Thank you! All that I've said in this current post is based on making the counter one level! By the way, if anyone knows where I could get pulls like those pictured in the following photo, that's what I'd like in gold (brass?) on the new DR cabinets, which will coordinate with some of the LR furniture. I'm envisioning slab front cabs, no external drawer, but one at the top inside. Oh, boy! When I'm in the midst of construction hiccups and delays, I'll have to remember how much fun it's been planning this stuff. FWIW, here's the overall layout of the place:

The cabinets and backsplash are very attractive. If you make a short, wide pass thru I don't think it would be large enough to allow for good sightlines between the rooms or have good conversation flow. So ... I would not do it in this case.