Hood/MW...If you don't need a MW, then definitely get a real hood! OTR MWs are, at best, mediocre hoods and MWs and, at worst, lousy hoods (still OK MWs, not the best, though). I think a hood is definitely worth the money! What type of cooking do you do? If you don't do much high-heat cooking, stir-frying, etc., you won't need an extra powerful hood. Sink...I understand what you prefer, but a large sink base will rob you of much needed storage. If you think about it, a single-basin 24" will be as big as or bigger than any one of the bowls in a 2-basin sink. I really think this is one place where you should re-consider. If you add another foot to the sink basin to shoehorn in a double-basin sink, you will need to reduce cabinet storage by 12", and that's a lot of storage to lose in a small Kitchen, whether you realize it or not, especially base cabinet storage. Another consideration is that with a large sink basin, you will be crowding the range on one side and/or the seating on the other side. If you expand to the right, you will now have no workspace b/w the sink and range and you will be standing in front of the range while working at the sink. You will also need to be careful about leaving enough room so you don't interfere with the range on one side and the sink basin's doors on the other. If you expand to the left, you will be pushing the DW toward the table and the seating. DW...it's an 18" DW. With just the two of you, I think you will find that an 18" DW will be enough. In the layouts, I was trying to maximize both storage and counterspace. Corners...Regarding the corners, I should have explained. I voided out the corners, there are no corner cabinets. Why? Base corners...IKEA corner susan cabinets use up 38" on each wall, leaving you with almost no other cabinetry between the range and sink. What there would be, would be pretty useless. Upper corners...IKEA only offers a corner cabinet with a diagonal front, which I find surprising as it's such an outdated look and not very functional. (IKEA is usually more "current".) Those corner uppers are almost useless as they are so deep with a relatively small door. If they offered an "easy reach", I would have recommended that instead of voiding, but they don't Blind corner cabinets, both upper and lower, are probably the worst solution to a corner and I would never recommend them. (I've dealt with them in apartments and my MIL has both in her apartment -- things are always getting lost in them.) Even with a(n) (expensive) swing out, they waste a lot of space and you run the risk of something falling off when opening/closing the swing out. Unlike today's corner susans that have walls that follow the contour of the shelves so nothing could possibly fall off, blind corners are wide open. If something does fall off, you cannot close them without retrieving the item...and it's difficult for an adult to do so. You need a small child around to retrieve the fallen item! The best option for storage for this small a Kitchen, IMO, is to void the corners, add the bit of needed filler and use the 11" or so left over to the cabinets on each side of the corner - drawer base for the 24" and pullout or shelves for the 12". Between the studs pantry...the depth would depend on how much space you have between the walls and how "finished" you want it to be. The 6-inch depth you say you have is actually deeper than most such pantries as they use the smaller depth normally between walls (usually 3 inches or so). 6" of depth can be very useful. If you open up the wall behind the ironing board, you may gain another 3" to have 9" deep shelves -- definitely useful! The "sweet spot" for pantry shelves is 12", and you would have close to that. In fact, I might even recommend putting this type of pantry in a couple of locations. You could even make a "between the studs" utility "closet" for broom, mop, etc. In other locations you would only get the 3" or so, but that's still deep enough for can storage, spices, cleaning supplies, broom, etc. Let me see if I can find some pictures to show you.

We will need to be very creative with that budget. But it’s great you are thinking about it together now, because with a master plan you can add items as funds allow. We might want to keep your style to a “transitional” look and rely on accessories for punching up different looks. I would start with sofa, rug and one or two chairs plus a sofa table and arc lamp for living room. What do you need for bedroom? Dining room?

I'd probably take the whole thing out and sell it/curb-alert it. You don't really want it, do you? That'll allow you to design your room the way that works for you with a better spot for the TV and you don't have to deal with a fake fireplace.

Well that’s a completely “ it depends “ question. And not sure why you are asking it— are you building a home with LR about that size, or looking at homes for sale and found one with such a living room. Of course a certain amount of furniture can fit in such a room. But the arrangement and furniture type and size options depend so much on where are doors to room, how many, windows , need for walking space through the room. A common but not large sofa is 7’ or a bit more— so that would leave 3 feet or less on either side, so depends on whether need to walk past one end, whether expect to put n end table. Many sofas people choose nowadays are longer ( I’m not suggesting that, it’s just folks are often surprised when their big couch doesn’t fit. ) So, you’ll need a lot more information yourself about what it is you’re trying to figure out or decide.