view from the bedroom versus kitchen I am a firm believer in having the view from the room that is used the most. We have east and south views of the mountains and lake. We have it from our kitchen and dining room. The whole family enjoys it every day. If the views were from the bedroom, it would be limited to one room only. Not only that, in the mornings when the view is most spectacular with sunrises, we would not be able to enjoy it since we would be eating in the kitchen where there was no view if the view was limited to the bedroom. I think when you actually live with the view, you give it to the spaces that you use most often. I would put the room that you will use most in the best view side. For example, if you see yourself working there, put your desk out to the view. We see the mountains and lake every day as we eat our breakfast. Half of the year, our dinners also have views. (in the winter, it is too dark outside) We just looked at a house where the view was limited to the living room and bedrooms. (A very old house where the kitchen was hidden in the back). We would not change the way we live where the view was limited to tiny portions of the day.... We would see this as losing view even though the view from the living room is more spectacular that what we have. This is what you learn as you live with the view.... BTW, I have woken up in bedrooms that had spectacular views. It is lovely.... But the entire house had spectacular views... Not just the bedroom! ....IMHO

I have the same hall way, so really loved everyone's ideas! I have thought about clearing out a closet on one wall, removing the doors and putting a sleeping closet in there that stays open to the hallway to give it more width. It would only be cot sized because of the depth possibly with book shelves and a light looking like one of those European wall niches with a bed. Because I love rustic, I would layer it with a collection of wool blankets, fun pillows and maybe a pictures and/or old postcards. I have lots of guest and a child could sleep on the cot. Now, to figure out what to do with what is in the closet! What do you think of that idea? My hallway is actually the same color. I've also been thinking of running a 2 pieces of wood down the hall apart enough to hang pictures between them in an effort to make a more tidy gallery, but fear it would lengthen and skinny up the look of the hallway. If the ceiling was darker than the walls would it cause the widith to look wider? Here is a link that might be useful: Winchuck River Store

WHOA! FREAKY! My kitchen is almost the EXACT same size (12ft. x 13'-6"), AND I am INSISTING on separate fridge and freezers - I've been to hell and back making it work! Also L-shaped, fully open on North into family room (continuous floor) and West into dining room. Imagine the front of your house is the backyard (but my house is straight across), and my family room is where your hallway / pantry is, but there is no wall where you have pocket doors - the kitchen/ family room has no partitions. My sliding patio doors start about where your front door is, and my fridge and freezer will be on the wall where your ovens are (12 ft. from South corner to a narrow cabinet that will face family room to hang coats and stuff next to door). Now, I also have two cooking units (that is if I put the ovens in the pantry - HOPEFULLY future baking center), and this has been a very tricky design endeavor. In fact, my insistence on having BOTH the fridge and freezer IN the kitchen is causing consternation, BUT, I know it works - having the freezer in the pantry (the current original 8' long galley kitchen - next to (west of) the dining room and behind the new family room - so diagonal from new kitchen) will DRIVE ME CRAZY! The separate fridge and freezer I want are each just over 32" wide, so take up 33" each or 66" if put together. Everyone else is INSISTING that we put a window facing the backyard (EAST) to pass food out to the deck (yeah, right!), so I am separating the units. The South wall will have 2 windows facing into the kitchen / family room. This is my layout: Sorry, I don't have a computer layout program - I do all my work by hand on graph paper and right now I'm on a new laptop without a scanner / camera hooked up (house is under construction, old computer got killed). First, these are my appliances: a vintage Chambers Range 37-1/2" wide, a 51" wide extra electric cooktop (27" 3 burner) / pot and pan storage unit (Fagor - waiting for this to arrive - was supposed to be in stock, but apparently it is on a ship in the Atlantic coming from Spain), and the fridge / freezer units I want are Frigidaire 33" wide, 26" deep. 24" wide dishwasher drawers (probably FP), and if I get my way Frigidaire double ovens will go in the pantry / baking center - otherwise we must get a single oven and install in kitchen under the counter (annoying and a major waste of storage space). I opt to keep laundry in the basement - the major bone of contention - I'd rather have a serious baking center than laundry in the pantry area (there is a breakfast room on the other side of the original galley that will become obsolete once the kitchen moves to the other side of the house, but the table is where we currently do baking prep, so it makes sense to turn the galley into a baking center / pantry). The East wall is 12 ft long (length limited by sliding door / outlets) and the South wall is 13'6" long (ends at studs holding up header between new kitchen and dining room). This is my plan for the South wall starting at the dining room (162" long): Base cabs: 24" dishwasher, 36" sink base (with smaller 24" sink to leave some counterspace next to range), 39" space for Chambers Range and countertop edges, 18" drawer base, 45" space to corner for 42" blind cabinet. Wall cabs: 18" wide cabinet (custom height to meet window ledge that will float beyond window under what-not shelves), 12" space between cabinet and window for trim and what-not shelves (probably 3" trim, 9" shelves), 24" wide window, 3" window trim, 45" space above range for custom range hood (another bone of contention - I want to try and build the hood cover myself to fit the odd space), 3" window trim, 24" window, 3" trim, 30" space to corner to be filled with 27" corner unit (either full-height tambour or upper cab with garage below) extra 3" to be filled with either wider trim or by pulling corner unit out 3" from wall. Note that I want small 15" high pull-up cabinets at the ceiling above the two windows (lining up exactly with 3" trim each side of window = 30" wide cabinets), and another matching one 18" wide above the wall cabinet above the D/W, with the what-not shelves custom built to fit the space between. Note that I will need 27" deep countertops - in order to support the 27" corner unit that sits on the counter because the counter will not wrap around to the other wall. My Chambers range is 26 " deep, so this actually works out well. BUT, we are tall, so reaching the back of the counter will not be a problem for us; my only worry is how an undermount sink will look set back 6" from counter edge (I'd install an apron sink, but because the sink base is right next to the range I need an undermount to get at least 9" of counter between the range and actual sink). East Wall starting at South corner (145" long to a 12" deep tall cab that will face family room next to door): Base cabs: 24" blind corner (same cabinet from above), 3" space for counter overhang, 1" thickness fridge side panel that above fridge cab and countertop corner units will attach to, 33" space for fridge, 51" space for cooktop / storage unit, 33" space for freezer. Upper cabs: 27" wide corner units (same as above), 1" thickness for floor-to-ceiling fridge panel, 33" wide 21" high above fridge cab (24" deep), 10" wide 36" high shelving unit (starts at ceiling, flanks window), 30" wide 12" high (ceiling) cab with 30" under cab range hood above 24" wide x 28" high window with 3" trim each side centered over 27" electric range top, 10" wide 36" high shelving unit (starts at ceiling, flanks window), 33" wide 21" high above freezer cab (24" deep). Next to the freezer will be the back of a 12" cab that faces the family room, probably framed out 30" into kitchen with 2x4's so a switch panel can control the main lights from either here or on the dining room side of kitchen. This cabinet can be made even narrower if required to allow freezer door to open (space limited by existing outlet and switches to outside lights next to the patio door). Island: There will be an 8 ft long x 5 ft. deep 2-tiered island in the kitchen that goes lengthwise from South to North towards the family room. It ends about where the patio door switches start, so it does not block the patio doors, but it does go in front of the doorway to the new pantry / hallway (that is the existing galley kitchen - the doorway is the old back door) - this pantry / baking center (or laundry) will be the main hallway / entrance to the kitchen / family room from the front door - through the living room and breakfast room, right turn into pantry / hallway, left turn into kitchen / family room (or straight into dining room). The alternate route is from the front door down an 8 ft. hallway on the other side of the staircase from the living room, through the dining room and into the kitchen. The doorway is really the separation between the kitchen and family room areas (no partitions between them, and one continuous floor). I replaced the old 32" doorway with a new 40" headered opening, extending the studs between the corner where galley meets dining room load-bearing wall that goes towards front of house. There is now a 13-1/2" solid mass of 2x4 studs between the pantry / hallway doorway and the large opening to the dining room from the new kitchen (this was created by the original load-bearing wall - 4.5", the 3 studs holding up the new LVL between the dining room and new kitchen, and the 3 studs holding up the 40" opening I built - I added an extra stud because the original door was literally in the corner - it drove me crazy because it could not have full-size trim on the galley side (it is still a corner on the galley side because that is an opposing load-bearing wall between galley and dining room). So, the new doorway from the hallway / pantry will be about 38" wide after trim, and next to that will be a 36" wall (solid studs then extended 24" between dining room and new kitchen to have a small separation from kitchen) and then a 6.5 ft. opening between kitchen and dining room with another matching 30" wall protruding from the South wall between dining room and kitchen cabinets (so you don't view the sides of the cabs from the dining room). The dining room is only 11 ft. wide because of the load-bearing walls / 1" thick plaster. On the 36" long wall between the 2 doorways I will be putting a 24" wide floor-to-ceiling dish cab with doorway trim butting it on either side. The framers royally screwed up and installed the LVL header INTO the new space, as opposed to inset between the two dining room walls, so the stupid header jets out into the kitchen a good 1-1/2", so I MUST build a custom cabinet with one side deeper than the other to hide this mishap. (the bolts holding the steel inside the LVL require firring out, so that's why it sticks out so much - it "floats" off the family room wall. Because I need dish storage it must have 12" deep drawers, so that means the cabinet itself must be 15" deep - the absolute MAX I can get away with - this only leaves 21" of walking space between this cabinet and the island bar counter. This cabinet will face into the kitchen between the two doorways, so if you are standing at the patio doors looking in you see (from the south) the range wall, a 6.5 ft. opening, a 36" wall with dish cab, a 38" opening and then a solid wall to the end of the family room (I might put in a pass-thru above the old sink if I get my baking center). The island actually continues beyond where the doorway to the pantry / hallway begins, so you kind of have to walk around it to get to the patio doors. It extends about 18" beyond the start of the 38" doorway, and the bar counter begins 36" in from the doorway wall. I had no choice - all the ceiling lights were already wired, and as it was I had to re-do all the outlet wiring, so ripping out all the insulation and ceiling wiring just to shift the doorway was not going to happen - I did get lucky that there was enough slack to shift the wires that dropped to the switch box to the other side of the stud and then I ran a new homerun - that was the only way to enlarge the doorway at all. The island workspace starts 42" from the cabinets on both the South and East walls. The workspace part will be 7.5 ft. long and 36" deep. This will be a 24" deep cabinet facing the Chambers range (or single 30" under cab wall oven and 6" wide spice pull-out facing Chambers if I don't get my baking center), a 42" sink base with a large sink facing the cooktop / fridge wall, and a 24" deep 36" wide compost / recycling cabinet facing the family room (the side of the cab will be next to the sink with a towel bar mounted). Both side cabinets / counters will be 36" wide (from sink front to raised bar), and I want a back-channel behind the sink. Then I will have a 12" deep cabinet with 1/4 round shelves on each side to support the 8' long bar counter. The bar counter will overhang 10" or so and bar stools will pull under; butcher block with curved ends. So, as you can see, even in a small space you can have a LOT of appliances, sinks, prep space and seating for guests! Granted, this design REQUIRES a separate pantry for dry goods - mine will be in the old galley kitchen / new hallway, just like yours is in your hallway. I just would go crazy if the fridge and freezer items were so far away. There are just enough cabinets to store the pots and pans (cooktop storage unit; cast iron in storage area in Chambers) and dishes (dish cab and above D/W) and glasses (corner upper cabs next to fridge), coffee mugs (narrow shelves above cooktop), small appliances (appliance garage) and rarely used appliances (blind corner), stock pots (above fridge deep cabs), food storage containers (drawer base next to range) and rarely used stuff that you don't know where to store - pull-up cabs near ceiling. My extra dishes will be stored in cabs facing the dining room (in the narrow "partition" walls I plan to install 12" deep cabs). In the old galley / new pantry / hallway / HOPEFULLY baking center will be a decently large dry goods pantry and a cleaning supply closet. If I don't get my baking center the pantry will be even bigger (then the 30" oven space will become just more storage) with laundry on the other side. Function - the best part about this layout is that two cooks can EASILY work as if in their own kitchens because of the locations of the two sinks in relation to the cooktop and range. The Chambers has a sink right next to it on one side, prep space on the other (this is why I am considering two compost drawers - the one in the island and another next to the Chambers, but that could get icky, so I might just go with a Bain Marie dropped into the counter next to the Chambers instead of a pan in drawer that can be forgotten about if not used often enough). The cooktop has built-in space on each side, and the big main sink is behind it (offset 2 feet from center of each, so one person at cooktop, one person at sink will not bump butts), plus two people can prep veggies at the compost counter - one next to the sink, one standing on the family room side. So, easily 5 people can actually cook / prep and clean all at once - one at the Chambers, one at the cooktop, one washing dishes, two people chopping. In theory you can have someone else at the other sink and yet another at the other prep space, but now we're getting a bit too crowded ;)

@User WOW! I love your ideas -- I feel so inspired!! My tv stand is only 60", so 48" would be okay? Sounds like I need to keep proportions and scale in mind when choosing artwork. Do you have any advice on how to divide the space between my living room and my entry table? It feels awkward and bare :( Love the mural wall idea --I did a sort of accent wall up in the loft on a much smaller scale, with some stickers I bought at Target. (Ignore that corner on the lower right -- I haven't quite finished yet!!) @Denise Marchand I never would have thought of that layout -- it's unexpected but very interesting in such a long and narrow space. Do you have any suggestions for under the stairs? Right now I just have a dog bed under there so it's not very pretty and I feel like it could be better utilized... @A Maj Yes, very sloppy right now! I sold everything I own and moved across the country so I'm starting from scratch with my furniture and art, although I'm a little unsure of my vision right now so several of the pieces haven't made it onto the walls yet. I've already re-decorated once. Thank you for sending some inspiration photos -- I especially love this one: It feels comfortable and not too formal. I like all of the textures.