If you want to have enough but not too much, I think it would be worth it to unpack or go to bed bath and beyond with a tape measure and notepad. 16" is fine, and 13-14" could even work. But maybe you only need a section to be that deep, with the rest shallower. If you have shelves that are deeper than needed then you'll be tempted to double park. Height would be more important to get right, to make best use of space. While it might make sense conceptually to have an appliance shelf to display everything front and center so you'll make more yogurt and jerky, I think it makes more sense to place according to frequency of use. Stuff you would use only once a month (even if it were plugged in year-round on your kitchen counter) would go further from the door and on a lower shelf where you have to bend, or higher where you need to go on the tips of your toes. Save the prime real estate for things you use all the time, whether it's appliances, food, or something else.

I'll just wait here until you stop screaming... Paraphrasing Michael Khors - Kitchen design ain't for sissies. I do these for any ideas that may help you towards a final plan. I love houses like yours and I hate them but I'm not ambivalent, no siree. I would have had no idea what our house originally looked like in the kitchen but for a helpful sketch drawn on the back of a piece of drywall by the previous owner and finding another house just like ours who let us tour the back. We had a room just like your pantry, but it was a little larger (6 x 7). The P.O. turned that into a bath. The big wall-hung sink was in the pantry and a lot of shelves and the refrigerator. There was a 3 foot space for a range right outside the pantry and a small built-in ironing board. Possibly, there would have been a small work table - maybe 24 x 40". I'm done - that was everything. When I look at your space, I wouldn't try for a modern kitchen, I would try for an old one. When I look at your space, I first see the range. Around here, I can find an older style range - like an O'Keefe & Merritt or a chambers or wedgewood that runs for under $2k and that's what I'm thinking of you. They all vary in size a bit - with a lot of 40", 44", and some 36" and 60" ones. I used a tiny one like 21" for about 7 years and I was ok with it. I would buy the range first and size the cabinets on that wall around it. I would trade the big ref out of the room and into the pantry space but put in a fat drawer ref. I'd still have immediate access to bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and veg. In the same way, I would use a single drawer-type dishwasher mounted underneath of that sink instead of a full sized one. If I really felt like I had to, I'd use two of them. I found they worked pretty well overall for doing dishes, but no so well doing pots. I really don't mind doing pots. The rest of the room, I'd try to find some interesting things to copy - an older style of plain cabinets and some actual old stuff - like I'd like to find an old plate rack, the hanging pegs, and maybe make the tall, but shallow storage something like an old shallow storage cabinet. I don't want to invade the dining space - its not big enough to afford to lose more. If you have another dining room (I'm not real clear about the full house layout), then I would likely use the other side of the door way and make the island a lot bigger. If that doorway could move a little or shrink, I'd see if I could get enough space to bring the ref back to the side of the stove.

To post pictures: 1. Open an account on a free picture hosting site such as Photobucket, Webshots, Flickr, etc. 2. Make your album "public" so others can see your pictures .....In Photobucket: Click on "Account Options" (top right corner) ..........Next, click "Edit Album Settings" ..........Then, where it says "My album is", be sure it says "Public" (if not, change it to "Public") 3. Using camera software that came with your camera or other software like Microsoft Picture Manager, resize the picture so it's less than 600 pixels in both directions. It's best to resize based on a percentage (like 20%) so the picture dimensions remain consistent (not stretched out vertically or horizontally!) 4. Upload the picture to your account (see #1) 5. If you use Photobucket, when you see your picture on the site, copy the link from the box labeled "HTML Code" (I don't know where the link is in Webshots, Flicker, etc.--I use Photobucket) .....[BTW...You can also resize your pic on the Photobucket site] 6. Simply paste the link from the "HTML Code" in your message...you're done! When you preview your message you will see the picture. Is this understandable??? [Please let me know if it's not so I can re-work the instructions!]

Here are a couple of ideas: In both of them I tried to shorten up the hall to the mudroom. I also tried moving the bathroom back closer to the main part of the living area, too. My thinking is that if you often have 6+ people in your home, the bathroom needs to be centrally located. Suppose someone is in there...you want others to have a nice, convenient place to wait their turn, and an easy spot to check to see if the door is finally open and the next person is free to go in. (Mom of 7 speaking here, LOL. Someone is almost ALWAYS in the bathroom when one of us goes to use it!) I also gave you a long closet rather than a walk in closet in the mudroom. Why? Because more than one person can use the closet at a time if it's long rather than multiple people at a time trying to squeeze in and out of one small door into the storage room. This also gives you more floorspace for everyone to move around when you are coming and going, all trying to get your coats and shoes off or on at the same time. I'd also think about including a drop spot just inside the door from the garage. This would be the place to set your keys, purse, cell phone, the mail, a package, and stuff you need to remember to take with you when you head out the door. If you still have a land line, this could be the spot for the answering machine and a phone. If you use a dresser for your drop zone, you could hang a mirror or calendar above it. Inside could go sunblock, hair ties (mom of a lot of girls, here...) a comb and brush, and if your kids are little, maybe even a drawer of children's socks to help make getting out the door easier. Diapers, grocery bags, mittens and hats, goodness, it'd be so easy to fill it up. : ) In the top image, I tossed in a few angled walls to ease the walkways a little. In the bottom image I widened the stairs and from the garage a little, as well as the hall. I shortened them, so maybe (?) they could be a little wider. Not sure, without seeing a vehicle parked in there. ; ) I also shortened up the island in both pictures to make sure you've got wide comfortable walkways on both the sink side and the fridge side. In both plans, I moved the fridge to the bottom wall of the kitchen near the oven area. I did this to give you a straight shot to the doorway of the back room area of the house (saving you a jig and a jog.) Hope this helps. This post was edited by laughable on Thu, Dec 11, 14 at 15:13