I looked into the single column refrigerator and moving the stove where the fridge is now - we would only have 6 inches of counter next to the stove if we did that. And yes the table would be half in the sunroom half in the kitchen. Ugh. We have been talking this through (a lot!) and my husband wants to look into the idea of taking down the dining room wall so we don't lose the sunroom. If we do that we lose the 'L' and would have a one walled kitchen with an island. We'd only gain about 10 inches of counter on the sink wall since there's a large window just beyond that wall - but I was thinking we could move the sink to a (new) island and put the stove on the current sink wall. Maybe I'd even get a vent hood out of this :) This would make the space so bright since we have a huge bay window in the dining room. I'd like to keep the table and size of eating space in there as is so we'd have plenty of eating space and still kind of a dining room for parties. If we kept everything else in the layout the same (glass cabinets, fridge and pantries) but got a new longer island that extended to where the dining room wall is now I wonder if that would work. I asked a contractor previously and that wall is not load bearing. Think it'd be realistic to keep our existing cabinetry with the exception of the island? I have a black pottery barn hutch/secretary desk in the dining room I could move over where the current kitchen table is now. That wall has our only baseboard heat so I'd rather not put cabinets over there. Here a pic of the dining room - the kitchen stove wall is behind that hutch. Should I redo the floor plan to include dining room?

My Electrician was asking me where I planned to install my microwave -- he assumed I was going to do a built-in. Nope, just plugging in my $60-65 guy on the countertop, close to where I keep the dishes I'd microwave on. Yes, the fridge is further into the kitchen, but on the way out I'll microwave, and then walk out to the dining region (or outdoors) to eat. I guess most food I nuke is either for hot tea, takeout leftovers, and occasionally parmesan'd asparagus. Serve on whatever I nuke the food item on/in! Having it on the counter on the way out to the dining table is also useful if I host pot lucks. If I get tired of having appliances on the counter top, I can always put them in the pantry -- but I don't want to be moving it in and out especially if guests are going to be using it. (I will store *ugly* appliances in the pantry, or under the counters.... my crock pot is hopelessly stained, for instance.) I don't use it all that often, but often enough.

Hey, Alicia - You'll get more response if you post this on the "regular" side of this decorating forum: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor (You're on the "conversations" side which is geared towards off-topic discussions.) Your floor looks a lot like mine, by the way! :-)

Amanda, I am Neha from Styldod. Like all the others who have commented, I'd recommend a new couch for this space. The one you have is eating away a lot of space. Your options for furniture placement are rather limited. With 4 kids, no amount of storage is enough. A storage bench by the door and an end table with storage could help with clutter. I'd also recommend an ottoman as a coffee table so you can use it as seating if required. The shelf above the couch can be removed and you could make a gallery wall with paintings and pictures rather than having them hang everywhere. The images below are estimated to scale for your room based on the photos you shared, but it is very important that you share accurate measurements of your room. In this second design, I suggest a console at the entrance where a couple of low stools/ ottomans can be stored when not in use. You could do away with the kids' table and use these ottomans as seating for them. Also, a tall bookcase may be useful in a small space like this. Open cube storage is a great idea when you have kids running around. I would keep that nice armchair in the corner and would try to maximize the storage areas, so your kids have more room to play. Let me know if this helps. You can edit the 3D build I made to create your designs in interactive 3D here. you can view your designs in photo-real 3D here.