Not a serious answer (yet), but watch this just for fun:

It would help to post your floorplan with measurements and a list of your priorities. Have you settled on a budget yet? Will you be doing some of the work yourself?

Glad you like the pine for the cottage.

It sure would be great if the fridge could move somewhere else. Are you planning on taking some off your bathroom? A niche for the fridge would be a good reason to do so (if possible).
I hope you're keeping the upper cabinets. The lower ones would look good in stainless with a black top (because the stove and fridge would fit in nicely) or in a bold color with a white top (or vice versa).

I actually have 2 of these photos saved in my idea book! I especially like the blue kitchen, however, my walls look just like the first one w/ aqua counters. My entire cottage has the same knotty pine walls, so it would be a major job if I ever decided to change them. Lucky, I like them natural, although the one green accent wall above looks great.

I have attached a photo although it doesn't show all of the bath. On the right, you can see part of the linen closet door. We will take that out & reconfigure the doorway, storage and yes, we definitely want to move the refrigerator. We will give up some of the existing bathroom space as we gain a few feet when we close the hall. I would like to get the bottom cabinets painted and any new ones we can configure on the open wall behind the table. I was thinking of keeping the uppers, but maybe keeping them natural. I didn't want it to be too closed in as the rooms are quite small. My husband suggested opening the top half of the wall behind the stove...putting in a stove top instead, but, the living room which is behind the appliances, is basically the only wall for the couch...mirror. However, I'm not not sold either way on that.

I was thinking of a light sage green for the kitchen (or possibly red?) to carry the colors from the LR. There is bits of green in the LR carpet & also 2 of the bedrooms.

Budget? No, I can't even go there! We will just do a bit at a time as $ & the job demands. We will definitely do some of the work. Right now, we are getting ready for the doors/window, insulation & new siding. It will probably take us a couple of years to complete it all. We actually just finished our home (approx 150 yrs old), room by room, totally gutting, new everything. Replaced/upgraded 3 porches & old carriage house w/ real (!) garage. The beach house is a former rental we now have...for our own.

I'm suddenly having problems w/ my phone where I took the photos, and although one I took of the blueprint (which is not 100% acurate) isn't the best, I will upload asap.

Thank you for your input!

I think your house is charming! I'm all for restoring yet adding modern safety, insulation and convenience. Back to basic is the key, people need less that most think they do.
Take your time, it's all about the journey, right?
If you're not taking down the wall between the kitchen and living (which I wouldn't), you can use another bold color for your kitchen. Green or blue would add some freshness to all that wood. And leaving the upper cabinets as they are, they won't interfere with the rest, they blend in nicely with the walls. Wishing you loads of practical pleasure and inspiration!

Oh wow! Great visuals for me and I am definitely a visual person. Thank you! Gee they all look nice it's going to be difficult for me to choose now! (Did you use photo shop?) Yes, it is about the journey & having fun trying to make our home ours!

Gotta share this w/ my family. ;-)

Have you considered open shelving on the paneled wall above the kitchen table? This is what I am planning to do in my kitchen to inexpensively add more storage. I'm planning to put out attractive items such as a retro canister set that currently takes up counter space, maybe glassware and glass mixing bowls...functinal but decorative and not cluttered. In your kitchen I would totally do this with red shelves.

aesthetics aside... your dollars will be spent very wisely to consult with a professional on your space plan. This means actual measurements are taken & exactly mapped out for your long term plan. Someone who specializes in K & B will be able to guide you for the best long term results. Otherwise, just throwing up random walls etc could leave you spending more in the long term.

Then by all means frame or move things around, to facilitate the long term goal. Without actual measurements of these & adjacent rooms, I'd never speculate on where to put things.

I always suggest to a client I could invest a ceiling of "so many hours" to product the plan & that keeps the cost harnessed in so design costs do not get out of hand when you have so much to tackle.

I like any of those base colors as posted by rinqreation. Since you have red in the living room, I would at least pull some of that into the kitchen as an accent if you go with the blue or the green.

Second of all, if you are recessing the refrigerator and the cabinets on what is now the table wall - do I have this right? - then you can put an island in. It looks like you would have room. I also like your husband's idea of opening that wall to the living room, but you wouldn't want to do that with the couch right in front of the cooktop. Don't you have room to put the couch parallel in front of the fireplace? Then it wouldn't be a problem.

If the couch can't move, then how about putting the cooktop into an island with an eating area dropped down on the one side? I know it's not the same as a table, but if you have room, it might be a good compromise.

Here's a third idea: what if, instead of putting in another door from the kitchen, you expanded the window in the living room into a door? That would give you a lot more continuous usable space in the kitchen (essentially in an L shape). If you could remove that kitchen wall completely, you could then put either the table in the middle or a nice storage/table island. The couch could just be moved forward closer to the fireplace.

I like the pine, too :-)

cwalbrun19, yes, I would like to add some open shelving but also, a few cabinets to hide small kitchen appliances, if possible. Apple_pie_order, the blueprint I have is so out dated, it would be more confusing to share. However, when last there I wrote the measurement of the new bath will become 6'9"x12'2", the recessed storage & refrigerator space accounted for. According to the old blueprint, the kitchen is presently 12'6" X 11'6". Of course, exact measurements will be taken as we move forward. My husband does the math & I do more of the designing. We have done extensive (!!) renovations of our home...our kitchen 2ce, all new plumbing, electrical, windows, taken out walls...to start, relying on professionals, when needed. (Or, when burning out!) We are certainly not just throwing up random walls. Ellen, I understand what you are saying and of course, you are correct in what you say.

We both seem partial to the red and think Kathryn is right that it would pull it nicely from the LR. There was, years ago, a red kitchen counter (linoleum?!). Unfortunately, the AC unit is outside one LR window & the bulkhead under the other. Here is another photo of the LR and a bedroom, (which are all to the left of the LR, kit & bath).

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Two more questions...any thoughts on flooring for the kitchen (bath would be the same?) & what about color on the tv cabinet? Leave as is & keep it relaxed or stain & let it pop? All other floors were just refinished-hardwood.

This would be a great floor in your kitchen - it's linoleum.
http://www.forbo-flooring.us/Residential-Flooring/Products/Marmoleum-sheet-tile/Sunsets-Boulevard/

Hmmm, let me ask you this: would it make any sense to put the door where the wall is now (i.e. essentially next to the window) and then have that L shaped kitchen area without a traffic pattern through the middle? The couch could stay where it is, and you could add an island or float your table and chairs.

Kathryn, I like the flooring you have suggested and will check it out. (I've been off the radar for a bit, but am still working on the project.) We are now thinking of moving the bathroom door to the wall opposite the new slider (or French door w/ side light as we really don't have enough for full sliders). This will also allow people w/ sandy wet feet to go directly into the bath w/o having to walk through the house. However, will I then need to keep the same flooring from the kitchen into the bath? It seems so to me, to let it flow, and the marmoleum would be easy to clean in both areas. Any suggestions for color?

Did you scroll through all the colors? The menu is *on the top left. I think the most fun colors are the most mixed and patterned colors like 5026 Summertime. These also seem, to me, like the closest to what I think of as the old linoleum patterns. They would hide dirt pretty well, too, unlike the more solid dark colors, which would show every spot. I think the color itself, though, is just a personal choice. If you want to keep it kind of monochromatic with the pine, then maybe "Summertime" or "Asian Tiger". If you want to go more colorful, go with "Festival Yellow" or "Herb Garden" or "Fresh Fountain". Really, any color would work - it just depends upon what you like and what you're going to do with the accent colors or cabinet colors in the kitchen. Whatever colors you are thinking about, I would make sure to get a sample and look at it in the room with the wood.

You are right. Thank you. I will go back & look at the colors again. Perhaps, once we decide on the cabinets & new storage wall color, that will help me decide.

Yes, I think the cabinets are more important to the color scheme than the flooring. Are you painting cabinets yourself or purchasing painted cabinets? That will make a big difference since you'll be more restricted with a manufactured cabinet color. I think your place is so cute and really whatever you decide on will look great!

Thank you for your positive comments! I think we will be purchasing new lower cabinets & storage. However, we may have someone we know make them for us...we will compare $.

Are you going to have them match the pine or paint them? I must say, I am kind of partial to the red :-)

Yes, I'm looking forward to having some color! And, of the images that rinqreation sent, my husband and I are partial to the red as well. I'm hoping the new storage can also be red w/ some open cabinets still showing the natural pine wall. So it's not all in-your-face red, but red w/ pine off set.

I think that sounds great! Then maybe the color red, since you will get to choose it, should be based on the red in your rug. It doesn't have to match exactly but it would look nice if they blended. That would give you a starting point for the cabinet color and then the floor color can flow from there.

Gotcha! ;-)