Do you need everything to be against that one wall? Can you use any of the wall to the left? You need about a half a meter countertop space between the wall and the stove and countertop about the same size on the other side, too. This is both for safety reasons and to have elbow room to work and a place to set a hot pot or pan on a trivet. Be certain that where you put the refrigerator leaves room to fully open the door. If you are right handed, you want the refrigerator door hinges on the left and a about a half meter countertop on the right. If you are left handed, you want the refrigerator door hinges on the right and about a half meter countertop on the left. Do consider a rolling cart island for extra countertop space. Where is the plumbing for the bathroom -- putting the sink back to back to the bathroom plumbing can mean you must remove and replace less wall. A good idea would be to draw to scale the total room size on graph paper, including any doors and windows. Then you can measure the appliances you are considering using and draw those shapes/sizes, also to scale, on card stock and cut out those shapes to place on the graph paper to see what works where. Lighter colors make smaller spaces visually feel larger; darker colors can make smaller spaces visually feel smaller so a white stove and refrigerator would be a good idea. For an individual or couple, a smaller sink might work; however, for a larger family, the deepest double stainless steel sink you can find would be a good investment.

Aha we must have posted at the same time. I’d test a few colors on the walls, but if you want a nice light gray that has no undertones I can recommend Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore. I tried about 10 grays and that one was perfect for a cool toned kitchen.

Again thank you all for the suggestions. I am now leaning toward a warm white vs. a beige! Out of 12 samples (mostly beiges), I've narrowed it down to 4 (1 off-white, 3 beiges), now just trying to figure out which looks best with the kitchen backsplash. (I think they all look fine with the countertop, various woods, & living room, so it's coming down to the kitchen.) If anyone would like to share their opinions on the following choices, I'd appreciate any input: SW Creamy SW Canvas Tan BM Gentle Cream BM Dulce de Leche On the countertop Earlier in the living room, with other samples. SW Creamy is at the top. BM Gentle Cream is on the bottom. Earlier in the living room, with other samples. BM Dulce de Leche is at the top. SW Canvas Tan is 3rd from the top. I've discovered it is very hard to capture beige on camera! Hopefully you can see the subtle differences in these photos.

Personally I like wood cabinets. I also really like a 2 color kitchen ( wood stain on the bottom and a painted cabinet on top ) . When you open up a space to be more visible from other areas of the house, you will also want to consider what sort of connection those areas may need. Before that, you need to fix the payout - desperately. Let's take the 29" space in front of there ref - a 36" french door ref has 18 " doors. When trying to open it, you normally would stand in front and pull the doors towards you. So unless you are only 9" thick - that's not going to happen. Also, if the depth of the ref to the handles is deeper than 29", you won't be able to get it out for there to clean behind it with out removing the doors. Please measure the space - all of it - and post it so we may help you out. If this plan was done by a kitchen "designer" - then shame on them.