The open wall into living room is the one with the doorway, or the one to the right of the range? No, I don't think there are enough base cabinets for only open shelves. Additionally, this kitchen feels like it has a lot of wasted space. Not enough for a table, so it seems truly wasted.

I would make it an L-shape, making a right angle on the range side and continuing along that wall. I would also take the cabinets beyond the fridge to the wall. (Is there a reason you stopped at the fridge?)

I'm not in love with laminate flooring. I don't know that it would kill the deal as a rental for me, but if I had other options that were hardwood, I'd prefer that. What's the flooring in the rest of the house?

I would be concerned about whether I had enough storage space in that kitchen. Especially as your target is a somewhat established professional, rather than students who probably wouldn't have accumulated as much in the way of dishes and pots and pans and such.

Are you leaving plumbing, etc in place? Is that a limiting factor for layout options!

I think it would help if you could show a plan that depicts the adjacent spaces--where is a table to eat for example.

No, I do not think it is good enough for a rental, especially with your target tenants. With the current Ikea sale you will be wise to be sure you have enough storage; add a pantry and uppers. I would also use the space better. I have quite a few rentals of which two have Ikea kitchens. The kitchens keep them rented and they rent within 24 hours of posting. I would want to get a professional in that would want to stay for a couple of years. They have to have a feasible kitchen and be comfortable within the space to want to stay.

Do you plan to demo and redo your kitchen and floors before you move in once you retire? That would impact my decision on the floors, floor plan and the counter materials. I'd personally rather do the work now and just have to refresh later unless you are planning a major remodel prior to move in.

Great comments all, thanks for the insights. We are leaving the existing plumbing, but moving the range out of the corner onto the outside wall and adding a vent hood (there is currently none). The range and the fridge currently sit on the right wall alone jammed together with no cabinetry, which ends at the sink with a portable DW.

We do plan to complete a final renovation when we retire to make it more aging-in-place friendly to and upgrade appliances and finishes. At that time we are likely to replace flooring as well. It is currently carpet and vinyl in the kitchen.

To the right of the fridge is a closet we plan to convert to a pantry. A vital piece of info I forgot to add.

"IKEA's counters" are subcontracted with local stone/quartz places. At least at my IKEA, they can get any product, not just the ones you see on display (i.e. marble, granite, silestone, cambria, etc.).

Also...I would rethink the gray. IMHO it would be a bit depressing, especially in a rental. Cream cabinets (and walls) might be nicer with the wood laminate floors, which I like.

And maybe let the renter repaint the walls, if they choose. That would be a big incentive for me, as a former renter. Adding even a little of your own style, is such a nice option. Especially since your target renter is a professional, not a student...so they probably have a more 'grown up' sense of style...and nicer furniture :)

Have you researched comparable rentals in your area? I worked at a university hospital for several years and lived in the high end neighborhood that's within walking distance. I've seen the interiors of several of the area rentals and I guarantee you no one is expecting quartz countertops in that market.

Have you watched "Income Property" on HGTV? I haven't seen it in probably four years, but there is probably some wisdom in the host's approach to renovating rentals. I'm pretty sure his formula for finishes is Vinyl Plank flooring, Ikea cabinets, stainless appliances, Corian countertops and squeezing in eat-in kitchen seating for at least two people (maybe eat in kitchens increase their appeal?)

I would not put any expensive counters in a rental. Quartz is not bombproof; we were very careful with our quartz and still somehow ended up with a few small pits in it. IMO, your best bet is to install something cheap--like laminate--and if it gets damaged, you can swap it out and still have less invested in counters. If a renter accidentally or carelessly damaged my $3000 quartz countertop I'd feel sick.

Questions: Is this kitchen you're renovating presently a kitchen/dining area combo? Is there space elsewhere for a dining table or are you thinking the sunroom can be used as a dining room?

If laminate doesn't seem competitive, I'd look at one of the cheaper, more bulletproof granites for the countertop. That'll be cheaper than engineered quartz--at least it is in my market.

I like Lavender lass's idea (so many of my posts start with those words!) The original space between sink and stove was far too small.

I would use all the upper cabinets you can, and run them to the ceiling for added storage. With the pantry closet, you may have enough storage space to use a table instead of an island, which I would much prefer as a renter.

I'd agree with an OTR microwave and definitely I'd need as many cabinets as possible, and not open shelving. Open shelving sounds nice if you have plenty of it and plenty of hidden-away storage as well. But, in a small kitchen, with no big pantry in which to hide stuff, and limited cabinets, uh, no, that's not going to work. You've got the space for decent cabinets -- just do it!

Benjesbride- I thought the sunroom might make a nice dining room, too! If that's not an option, a table might be preferable to an island. It's nice to have the option of dinner on a chair and not a stool. (Does that sound snobbish? LOL)

Ann- Thank you...you always have great ideas, too. Upper cabinets to the ceiling would make such nice storage space. Where else do you put the china for the table...unless there's room for a hutch in the sunroom :)

As always there are a wealth of good ideas on here! Thank you all.

I had always heard quartz was the way to go, but we will definitely look at laminate, and maybe a low-end granite for the island.

I have re-done a plan to move the stove to the right wall, its a ranch so no big deal to run a vent through the roof. We definitely want a vent as the new codes require one and we'll want one eventually, might as well do it now. We are committed to no uppers for a variety of reasons, so we've added more cabinets and there will be storage in the pantry, too. Believe it or not, this place has more cabinetry than my kitchen!

We were thinking the sunroom would serve as a dining room, and that people would prefer an island with seating backing up to the open living room. Our realtor agreed, saying her tenants love her unit with an island. We are hoping for young-pre kid couples and the lack of a family table was part of that plan.

Benjesbride, thanks for the Income Property tip -- we watched it last night, and it is so much nicer than the usual histrionics of the HGTV reno shows. His places look great, but of course they are staged to the max.

This is all really helpful to us as first-time landlords. Our area is complicated by colleges, hospitals, and coastline so units are all over the map in price, and rental houses are in short supply. We are trying to hit a narrow target of young childless professionals. Worse case scenario is students with a gigantic security deposit :-/

Additional comments about this new plan? Oh, and LL, we swapped to cream perimeter cabs and grey on the island :-)

I would follow the advice and look at comparable or slightly higher rentals. In my area, even the lower end rentals have granite.
Also, I would not install an OTR microwave but rather a decent hood below a cabinet, which will cheaper and much more powerful at removing grease from the air, which will protext your cabinets. Add one of the IKEA MW shelves.

Oh, and don't discount "staging" or the new paint colors you see on HGTV.

I like the cream cabinets! What direction does the kitchen window face? How about the sunroom? How much natural light reaches the kitchen? How much lighting will you add?

If you were doing marble countertops, I could see the gray...but with the wood floors and a neutral granite/laminate? Gray is popular in some areas, but you have to get just the right shade...or it goes dismal in a minute.

See what colors are popular, while you're checking countertops! On HGTV's Fixer Upper, I've noticed that gray is still making an appearance....but a light neutral blue color, also seems very popular. Just an idea :)

My mom has a few rental properties. We've added a kitchenette to one small rental, and are working on the next kitchen now. They are in an upscale neighborhood, with few rentals available and my mom is looking to attract a particular kind of young professional.

Her policy is she wouldn't put in anything she herself wouldn't want to live with. And they are older homes so she wants things that would fit with the time period. And while it might seem totally crazy she did marble counters in one and planning to do it again in the next. And remarkably after 3 years they still look great. I think some people tend to be extra careful and take care of nice things.

I have heard that some granites can be less expensive than laminate--or comparable. I also read once (here on GardenWeb!) comments from a landlord who felt that it was worth the money to put in a granite or other high quality counter--it greatly affected the type of tenant who -wanted- the apartment, and that she/he could charge more (which also screened the tenant pool).

And, as fatherdowling pointed out: when people start with nice things, they may be more likely to keep them that way. In fact, they may be the tenants who want the place because they are predisposed to like things nice.

I think open shelves are a bad idea in a rental. I think open shelving is a very niche approach in general, and the people who like them are not as common as the people who don't. Also: cabinets are so "expected" that nobody is going to decide not to rent your place because it has closed cabinets.

Will tenants pass you up because you don't have upper cabinets? I don't know; I think I would. For one thing, with the kitchen open to the living room, I'd want something on the wall that wouldn't look messy rapidly.

I'm so curious about why you are committed to not having upper cabinets.

Unless there is a huge amount of storage elsewhere in the apartment - and perhaps a double garage - I would not rent a place without upper cabinets. What gets my attention is more storage. Where do you expect people to put dishes? A toaster? Mixing bowls?

I can appreciate you not wanting upper cabinets for a variety of reasons.

Maybe you could put in a wider window that would make it look like "wow, look at that nice big window!" rather than, "where are the missing cabinets?"

I would, instead of doing the "pantry" you have planned, do two of the tall pull-out pantries on both sides of the fridge, plus a full-depth cabinet above the fridge. With those three, and gratuitious use of drawers on the bottoms instead of traditional one-shelf-two-doors cabinets, you might (*might*) have enough storage to get by without any other upper cabinets.

I say this kindly, because I'm not a fan of traditional upper cabinets, but I'm not sure that the kitchen you are planning is right for open shelving. I think it's fabulous when you have a lot of windows, or when you are the occupant and can plan your dishes to display well. Not so great for a tenant.

I think the storage looks minimal in that kitchen. I have a small kitchen without about the same amount of storage but I also have a large laundry room next to my kitchen with several floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets. I wouldn't have room for all my stuff in your kitchen and, yes, this might impact me choosing to rent it.

How about IKEA horizontals on each side of the window? Either that or you must consider making the window bigger. With so much wall space, it just looks like someone didn't bother with uppers. It doesn't look like a design choice as there is nothing there to make it look intentional.

I agree, you need uppers. You can always remove them when you move into the place.

The new layout is a huge improvement over the first one you posted. I agree with the suggestion to make the window bigger if the view out that side of a house is nice. That'll be a change you'll enjoy later too.

Is the local hospital by any chance a teaching hospital? If so, your ideal tenant is a resident. Trust me on this.

These are educated, disciplined people who are often single or childless longer than their peers because the rigors of med school/residency make you put your social life on hold. And residents work so much they are never at home and, if they're home, they're gratefully asleep. They will be the least troublesome tenants you ever have.

Jillius, thanks for the tip, residents are indeed a possibility! I will make sure we hit the hospital for advertising.

We are trying to avoid uppers so that later we can install more windows -- we will re-side the house next summer. The kitchen faces SSW, so gets lots of great light, with shade trees in the backyard providing some relief for summer. Adding more windows will flood the room with light. This is why we want to open up the kitchen to the living room, which faces NNE, and has a porch roof making the room extremely dark.

I love the pull-out pantry idea! Will add that to the mix.

We could add cabinets to the stove wall, would that look weird to just have them there?

What if you swapped the range and fridge? That way you could do full-height cabinets along that whole wall?

What's your timeframe for adding the windows since you are siding next summer ('15 or '16?). I would plan the layout knowing the size and location of the windows. So you will continue to remodel when you have renters in? It really makes sense to do the windows now prior to cab install for many reasons - easier installation, less mess and intrusion, and more attractive rental.

My DH and I have nine rental properties in an university town with a med school. Many of our friends are also landlords. Ikea cabs have worked well for my rentals, especially if you create a design that looks custom such as boxing in the fridge. Are you installing the cabs yourselves?

To piggy back on what Jillus said, Residents and Fellows would make excellent tenants. At our university hospital, the "Graduate Medical Education" office is the one you'd want to contact regarding marketing to their incoming doctors. Most assignments usually start July 1st, so if you work quickly you'll time it just right.

I think Gennifer's suggestion is worth trying. I'd personally rather work between the sink and stove on a straight run than in a corner. Also, if the fridge is near the hall instead, uppers between it and the exterior wall would tie in nicely. An added benefit is that your range could vent directly outside rather than run through the roof.

We're working on a small kitchen ourselves. I just wanted to add that the minimum counter allowed between the range and the wall is 12". We wanted to maximize the counter on the prep side of the range, so we made ours 15" so I can set a half sheet there.

Since there needs to be room for the hallway access, there's not a lot of room for fridge AND pantry on that short "right" wall. That's one reason I put the range there, instead.

If you decide to put more windows in that space, it would look very nice, but I still think you need upper cabinets. How about glass ones on either side of the window and solid uppers around the range?

Remember, when YOU move in, you can redo the entire kitchen....but this is for renters and they need storage. And, it's a slow morning, so I added a few details :)

L_L I love when you draw in plants :-)

Here's what this kitchen might look like with a range on the exterior wall and uppers next to the fridge. No pantry. I've never had a tall pantry, but I gather that they're really important to other people.

I like the 4.5' of counter to the left of the sink and that you can easily unload the glasses from the dishwasher into an upper cabinet next to the refrigerator. This configuration may also allow for a little bit larger window in the future.

wow, good, thought provoking ideas. Thanks! We are planning to do a lot of the work ourselves over the summer -- we are teachers, thus have the time then.

We will redo the siding in 2016. By then we'll have had a chance to recuperate. It will be inconvenient for the tenant perhaps, but we will make it clear at showings that it will be happening. I suspect people will be happy to get nicer windows. Back to IKEA!

Personally, I would not want open shelving, and I would be turned off with no upper cabinets. You might look into pre-fab granite for your counters. Much cheaper than having it cut from slab. We put that in our rental condo and it was not that expensive.

Just a minor comment here...

While a tenant would certainly appreciate getting a larger window, it would mean a great intrusion into their lives (likelihood of interrupted sleep for a med student/resident), and a risk to their possessions. Two musician friends of mine, still college students, had a landlord who decided to refurbish their kitchen. Good -- except that while they were gone during the day, leaving their extremely expensive instruments home, he left the house wide open with no windows. He thought they were "just students" with nothing of value. Little did he realize that he was exposing them to the possible loss of instruments worth more than the house.

Since it sounds like you can't do the work now, I would discuss with any potential tenants how you would handle security and what hours workers would be there. It may be only a rental, but during their tenancy it is their home.

I was also wondering what the rush to re-side is. If it's structurally sound enough to wait a year, why not wait until tenants move out? I was a tenant of a complex when it was only painted and that felt like an intrusion; it'd be worse with major project like an exterior face lift.