I would put the fridge on the short end of the L. I don't think the visual impact of having it there (enclosed in cabinetry) would be any worse than having it in the middle of a cab run. Putting it where the stove is now interrupts the counter space and puts people getting drinks from the fridge right into your workspace. The shallow pantry idea works; that's exactly what I would do. I hate it when people put furniture or appliances in front of windows!

Wow, aren't you lucky to have lake home! Do you have a view of the lake through that wall of windows? If so, I look at your setup and see that it would be great if your cabinets ended a little past the sink. I see putting some sort of island were you have your table...even one of those table types you can buy that are not "official" cabinets. You could have some stools at it and a light over it. Then you can use the area by the window for a smaller table with a lake view. You probably could do the shallow pantry, or even get some sort of small hutch that doesn't stick out over the window to put on that wall. Also, when you put in the new cabinets, can you center the sink at the window? I also think that the refrigerator would be best on the small wall. Can you build some sort of small wall there to hide it? In our first tiny house we had a small wall to the left as you entered. I put a tiny table there and on the other side of the wall was the kitchen. It was fine.

I can't wait to see what you do with your cute little place. You better keep us updated!!

I'd go with the fridge on the short wall, too. If you don't like the look of a tall slab side, you could hang a bulletin board there or do a 6" deep cabinet for message center, phone charging, etc., so there is more detail facing out.

I like the idea of ending the cabinets so that there is about 4 ft of room for a hutch type unit, but the shallow pantry idea is fine, too.

Is that your only dining space? Is there room to bring the dining away from the kitchen more so you could fit in an island? It would give the kitchen a border instead of the living room, dining room, and kitchen feeling like one room.

Another vote for the fridge at the short end of the L. I don't think it would be too big there. I don't even think you need to put it in a cabinet, though it would probably look best if you did. I love the size of the room and agree an island and small table would be really nice, however, I'll bet you'll be getting plenty of visitors and need that big table. I have one that seats 12 at our vacation house and it gets plenty of use.

And WOW, a whole kitchen for $250!! Have you seen any of the threads here where people have painted their oak cabinets? They look beautiful.

Ok - I guess the fridge on the short wall wins. I posted in the home decorating forum too & it was ahead there also. I was just afraid it would look too big.

We were thinking that the island would have an overhang on the LR side for stools/feeding. We will have a large table on the porch for overflow. We thought the same thing about a small table but decided a large island would work better. The view is not out the side, but the windows opposite the kitchen wall. I'll link to some other photos below if interested.

The thing not centered over the sink is not a window, but a mirror. The house was built into a hill, so that wall is solid. Any ideas there will be appreciated - the mirror is kinda crappy but I can see the lake in reverse while doing dishes....!

I will search painted cabinets. I really like the look & hope these turn out OK. I will keep you posted!

Here is a link that might be useful: lake house

If you're having an island, I guess I'd move the water or the range out to the island.

Kill off "L" and do pantry, ref, counter, range, counter, bookshelf along the back wall. Island would have sink, dw.

What a great place! The view is wonderful : ) I'm envious! Our friends have a cottage similar (even the mirror over the sink LOL). Your bedrooms seem quite large too.
Like the rest....I'd move the fridge to the end of the short cabinets and put in the pantry by the window.
Currently what do you have for flooring? I'd stick with what ever is easiest to clean up sand, water and anything else that comes in from the lake. At our friends cottage it seems like a lot of time is spent at the large kitchen table, late at night or rainy days playing cards, visiting and sipping on a beverage : ) Not sure if you're expecting a lot of visitors or not but I'd want to have the ability to seat at least 6 comfortably at the table/island.
I can't wait to see updates. Your cabinets & laminate counter sound like they will be nice. I'm sure you will enjoy your summer at the new place : )

I was thinking the same thing as Bmorepanic...get rid of the "L" since it's so short and have a longer island w/sink & DW & more storage ('cause then you CAN look out the window...instead of seeing it in reverse in a "crappy" mirror!)

I would have an 18" overhang on the island, though, to prevent splashing and to give you more space.

By using a longer island you create a sort of galley w/plenty of additional storage.

BTW..What are the dimensions of your kitchen space?

Great idea about moving the plumbing to the island but we just can't tackle a project that big at this time. It's a great solution for the long term though.

The short wall is 85" to a door, but the whole kitchen is 120" deep (but could be expanded a little bit since it's an open room) and the width is 237".

The current flooring is vinyl roll type that joins with carpet in the LR. We plan on putting laminate flooring in that whole space. Maybe ceramic tile in the kitchen?

I really appreciate the input - we are Mac & it seems like all of the online kitchen planning sites are PC so it's hard for me to visualize.

At this point, we will go with the fridge on the short L like most of you think would work - since we have to do something.