Thanks for the feedback! Here are a couple photos of the other side of the living room. The existing kitchen is 10' x 14' and the living room is 15' x 22', the area of the kitchen, dining area, and living room together is 25' x 22'. The fireplace is 7' wide and 5'6" tall, it is a behemoth. Removing the wall and changing to any layout other than galley are my two highest priorities. I cook every day and even if the only gain is in my own increased happiness during that time I think it will be totally worth it. We live in nice neighborhood with some million dollar homes, so I think spending the extra money to make the kitchen really nice would get us higher rent prices than just doing the minimum. I realize that my plans are ambitious but the time frame is flexible and 5 years is the earliest we would be looking at. In the 3 years we've been in the house we've averaged about 20K a year in improvements, we have two incomes, no children, and we don't take vacations, so right now we're able to focus our finances on reaching our real-estate dreams. We live in a Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. There aren't any universities nearby so it's not a student rental area, but the house located conveniently close to a highway, an airport, and several business centers so it would be good for professionals. It also has a very large backyard with vehicle access, and a nice, big shed with a workbench and built-in storage set up for a carpenter, and we are in an area with lots of auto enthusiasts and car shows. The workshop is an addition that we built for my home business, the exterior door was a requirement of the building department and is not something that can be removed. It is already well insulated, and we were going to install radiant floor heating when we converted it. I think despite the odd configuration and exterior door it would still be more valuable as a bedroom with en suite bathroom than anything else. It is already plumbed for a bathroom and it has a gorgeous view of our majestic, 200+ year-old oak trees. I did consider adding a second, smaller addition to provide a better entry to the workshop/bedroom. Mainly because it would allow me to remove the door to the garage (or move it to the other side of the fireplace) and have an L-shaped kitchen, which is my favorite kitchen layout. If we were to do that, what would be the best use of the new room? It would have to be small, like 9' x 14' or so, I was thinking it would be a laundry room, dining room, or breakfast nook. Thanks again, everyone! I really appreciate the insight and difference in perspective that comes from other people's opinions.

Thanks for all your responses. We looked at it again with older, wiser folks ;) and there were some issues that they pointed out. Issues that we don't want to tackle. Also, I decided that if I would ever do a renovation to an older home, it should be on an older home with some sort of character or charm. There's really no point in dumping money into this particular home. There's no architectural charm whatsoever. One thing that I was "right" about, however, is that renovations in areas such as this can be profitable since the homes range from 250K to over a million. With that being said though, I was NOT looking to profit. I just want to be in a good location in a house that I like. The example given by an agent is if the land alone will sell for 250K - 290K, then the land with a 2300 sf house all updated nicely can sell for well over 400K. Baton Rouge doesn't follow the usual "rules" in certain locations. Another example, sort of, is there's a mid century modern house that I really want (husband doesn't like it) for 525K, but they purchased it 6 months ago for 319K, and haven't done a thing to it. Agent expects it to sell for 375-400K according to comps, but wouldn't be surprised if they got closer to what they are asking due to location. Someone may come along and buy it for what they are asking then drive up the price per square foot in the neighborhood. This seems to be a trend over here. Location really talks since the city is running out of IN CITY property. @ Artichokey, yes we have large life insurance policies on both of us etc etc. My husband is an insurance nut. He gets it on EVERYTHING. It's annoying, really. Also, if anything ever happened to my husband and I needed to go back to work, I could and would. KickyMarcia, we took a tour of the house you posted, but the pool is an issue and there were a lot of things that I would want to update and or change. I'm the problem. I'm too picky. So, we will just wait until the right house comes up. Livewireoak, public schools in Baton Rouge are a mess right now. It's a political debate not suitable for here. But trust me, they're nothing like the schools in Tennessee. Either way, we LOVE the Catholic school they are currently attending. It's a great school, Church, and Community that makes the drive just something I have to do. Hopefully, however, we will find a home soon that gets us closer to the school. In the meantime, NancyinMich, I will check out those coolers. :) Again, thanks for all of your opinions and advice! Take care!

BeeYOOTifulllll!!! I don't know which I like better, for me, I would go with the white ones, but the green is gorgeous! We had green counters in our last house and loved them. However, I love the white because you can change the accent colors of your kitchen much easier. OTOH, the green will be something distinct that not any other house you go to will likely have...that is a plus for me! Whichever way you go, I think it will be simply gorgeous!

Hi, thanks for the advice. To answer the questions, yes, I could move windows,I think. My table is in the sort of empty corner that we have now. Its 5 1/2 by 3feet. I thought about a banquette, but Im not sure how I feel about them. The notation at the bottom of the sketch says baseboard, which is the type of heat we currently have. I have no idea if that has to stay or can get moved around or changed or lessened. As far as the doors, we don't have another door in the dining room, we do have a large set of windows, that we could contemplate changing into french doors, but again, there is heat there, and then my kids would be traveling in and out of the dining room sopping wet. Im not sure if the foyer door could be moved down. we probably need it somewhere on that wall, as it comes in right off the 4 steps to our family room. High traffic!!! Finally, Juliekcmo, you are right on in your assessment with the functional issues. I do use our cook-top as counter (although I would love to replace our electric with gas when we renovate), and I think a range would be our best option as well. I also use my table now as a prep area, especially since its currently right across from the fridge. Thanks!