At least it's not between the sink and cooktop. If you like the function, then keep it as is--I think it will blend in with the new color scheme, and even now, if the door and trim had been the same wood as the cabinets, it would blend better.

What color are you using on the walls? With the pantry door and trim matching the cabinet color, I think you could probably use a light paint on the pantry walls. Anything dark would highlight the white door and trim.

It looks more open and brighter just by opening up the range wall! Once the cabinets are painted white, the pantry is going to blend right in, as shown in the one photo you posted. I'm excited for you and looking forward to seeing pictures as you move along.

I would definitely paint the pantry door and trim the same color as the adjacent wall, not sure if cabinet color or wall color would be better. But either way, it would help camouflage the pantry door.

Just an idea...instead of hiding it...accentuate it. I LOVE pretty pantry doors.

Are you still sure you want to work around your existing layout? I remember your project from the beginning and it just seems to me you're in really deep to just be investing in everything except improving the floor plan.

Thanks everyone.

The wall paint in the kitchen will stay the same - as it runs through to the FR.

So, maybe one way to handle it is to paint the door and trim the same as the cabinets, but leave the surrounding wall the same. If I do this, should I also paint the window the same as the cabinets? For continuity, I think I should.

Benjesbride - I like my layout.

I like the idea of continuing the crown above the door and around the corner. I'd also paint the crown, door & window trim Simply White. The wall could be painted Simply White or the wall color. It's a small area to repaint so you could try both & see what you prefer.

I like my layout.

Did it occur to you that you might like it more if it was even more functional than what you have now? That maybe if you removed the island barrier that you wouldn't be walking around the island and cooktop every time you had to remove food from the fridge to prep at the sink?

Everyone seems to like their layout until they work in a kitchen that is really functioning well. What you have now is what I had in my old kitchen before I redid it. The difference before and after was night and day.

Not changing the layout.

I like my island. I like the storage.

Remove items from fridge - place on island. I like the landing spot.

Walking around doesn't bother me.

Bring in groceries - place on island to organize and put away. Very convenient.

Removing the island will damage the floor. Not interested in repairing it.

But thanks for the suggestion.

On the right side of the pantry, can you add an actual cabinet door that opens to a coffee station or to a spice cabinet...or both, one flush with the countertop and the spices and oils above...the spices and oils would be so convenient to the cooktop.

bpathome, someone else posted a pic of that set-up recently, but I don't recall who it was. She had pull-outs on both sides of the pantry, at counter height, IIRC. Anyone else remember?

If you don't prefer this over your present configuration, I totally understand. Just wanted to better communicate what I mean by improving the layout.

Remove peninsula and create a larger island with seating and sink, eliminating barrier between fridge and sink. Those seated at counter don't have their backs to folks in the sitting area.

(Of course the corner would be different because you wouldn't have a walk in and you have a window, but this is the basic gist of an example of an improved fridge/range/sink layout that eliminates the barrier island.)

Would you consider moving the refrig to the end of the counter where the pantry now starts, having a normal corner next to the ovens, and then building in a pantry where the refrig is now?

Unfortunately, we aren't changing the floor plan.

We are, however, lowering the peninsula to make it counter height.

It may not be the ideal layout - but we are keeping it.

We don't have the budget for the changes you recommend. We are maxed out now.

I really just want feedback on the corner pantry - whether or not I should paint the whole corner, add the moulding, etc.

When we pulled the island from an acid finished oak floor, it could have been finished with screen and refinish, not a complete sand and finish. The removal of the pantry walls and repair was a fill in. Consider giving the cabinets to RESTORE or have someone pay you to remove so they can reuse them.

The pantry will look nice framed out and painted as suggested.

I think when you change the cabinets and unify it all with molding (I do like that etched glass door-but the pantry door and handle should be styled similarly to the new cabinet doors) you won't really notice it. I think you are really focused on it and it doesn't stand out that much. It might be nice if it did-think big colorful mosaic-but that would be my taste, not yours. That passthrough from counter to pantry to get the coffee pot out of the way after the morning coffee is a nice idea too.

I have a "barrier island" about the same size as jpmom's. It is my prep area & it's really not large enough to be a true barrier. Maybe 3 extra steps.

To minimize the look of the corner pantry (we have one too, takes up so much room but holds so much stuff!!) I'd just paint it the same colour as the cabs will be, including the trim.

We're going to do our trim the same colour as the cabs, and have our door stained to match the hardwoods. To break up the wood so it's not all cabs. We also have uppers to the right and left of our pantry though.

Sandy, I think your kitchen is what Mamagoose was thinking of. Very nice!

JPmom, I was just playing with a similar idea of adding a transom window above the pantry door. I think it would balance nicely with the tall window.

Maybe just carry the very top piece of crown around the ceiling and connect it to the window by extending the window trim up to the ceiling. It would eliminate that small sliver of tile. I would also make the side window trim fatter so it hits the wall on the left so you lose that sliver as well.

Something like this? I didn't finish the one side connecting to the oven cabs, but hopefully you get the idea.

I like the dark hardware on the doors of these two. This first one reminded me of your color scheme.

I took a current photo with the light on and the coffee maker out to give you an idea. Looking at the transom design in the photo it looks strange, but it ties into the mural I have on the wall behind the stove.

Sandy - that's really pretty. And I LOVE that coffee maker pass through door. How genius!

Rebunky - thank you for that mock-up. I do like the idea of a transom there. I'm just not certain about carrying the molding all the way over. There is something about my cooktop wall being all tile - even in that little space above the window - that I really love. That photo you posted of the white kitchen with the window to the left of the pantry is just beautiful. Makes the case that corner pantries don't have to be sore thumbs! And they kept the wall color the same - which I really do like. It looks like the window trim is also the same as the cabinets.

Would it look strange if the kitchen window was the same as the cabinets, but my other windows in the adjoining FR were "super white" like the rest of my house?

Will there be a new cabinet to the right of the hood? It might look nice to continue the molding across to that cabinet, interrupted by the hood of course. The window would cut into the molding if it is 12" but I think that would be okay.

Sandy's coffee station is what I was thinking. I think someone else has the coffeemaker on a rollout tray from a similar cabinet. You could even make it taller for access to oils and spices, or have a spice rack mounted inside the cabinet door. But I think I'd rather have a second cabinet above the coffee station instead of one big one, so that if you have stuff on the counter while cooking, you can still get to the oils and spices.

Sandy, the pantry transom is so pretty!

Do you still have the cabinets you removed? Maybe a carpenter could make a pantry door using the cabinet doors. At least everything would then be raised panels.

If you compare the measurements of the pantries used as examples to yours, you see your left front corner extends out into the room. It doesn't angle back to the depth of the oven wall like the others. If you reframe that and reuse your door the cost would involve the flooring match as the most difficult component. It should solve the 'look' problem.

bp - Yes, there will be a new cabinet. I don't want to have any molding on that wall - as I really like the idea of the tile going all the way to the ceiling.

Allison - we donated the cabinets to Restore. But I think we are going to get a new door - with 2 raised panels. It won't look as busy.

dan - ah, yes. I see what you mean. All those little details. Unfortunately, it's not in the plan to reframe the door. I'll need to deal with it through paint and changing out the door.

Thanks for hanging in there with me on this project!

Sometimes it's better to not spend money that only partly solves a problem area, and instead be a bit patient and save up the money to truly solve the problem.

I think it was so noticable because it was white, lighter than both your wall color and cabinets. Once it is the same color and style of the cabinet doors it will blend in.

Like the pic of the really tall door rebunky posted, but if you don't want to reframe the door, I think the cabinet panel would make it look very cohesive.

Thanks, mdln. Something to consider, for sure.

I know I can make this work. There are so many decisions - sometimes too many, actually. This isn't our forever home - and we only plan to be here another 5 years. Aside from getting an entirely different look in a white kitchen - I'm super excited about my new appliances and countertops.

Suzanne - I don't look at my pantry as a problem - just a bit of a challenge. You have no idea as to our situation with money or otherwise. But thank you for the "advice".

You could strip it and then use boiled linseed oil. Google Gransfors Bruks axes. But the problem is once you do, you'll redo your whole house...

With bringing the whole 12" trim plus crown across the pantry bump out to the corner, my worry is that the "crown" part will overlap the window casing in the top left corner. Similar like you old cabinets' crown to the right of the window did in the photo above. I don't know, maybe it is the photo angle, but I'm just having a hard time picturing it not hitting.

Based on the two example photos of the built up crown above, it looks like at least half of it is the crown piece that starts to protrude out. The top of the window trim looks too high for that large of a crown to not hit.

Here is a thought. what if you removed the window trim altogether and just have tile around it with no wood trim. It would give you more of the "whole wall of tile" effect.

Normally, I would want all the windows to match trim, but since the top line of the kitchen window looks to be the only one that is placed up higher then the rest in the next room, it might actually look planned. It would cost a bit more in tile and labor, but should not be a crazy amount.

You could try removing the trim for free right now just to get a feel for if you would like it or not. Then maybe add a piece of cardboard or whatever to mimick the 12" trim and the 6" or so that sticks out to make sure it clears the corner. Try it both with or without trim to see what works best.

Right now your kitchen is pretty traditional looking, but I think it will lean more transitional once you paint the cabinets, add new light fixtures, and especially once you add that very modern looking chimney style hood. It going to be great!

I couldn't find a good example of the tiled in window next to a SS chimney hood, but here's sort of what I was picturing for the tiled window look.

Rebunky - I absolutely love this idea.

If I did this - I'm thinking I wouldn't take that 12" trim piece around the pantry to the wall. My thought is just painting the pantry door the same as the cabs. I could always paint the entire wall space later.

But taking the trim off the window is really a great idea. Thank you so much!

I like the idea of putting in a lovely pantry door - I would select something with similar colors to cabinets and same wall color. It will blend better and look really great with a pretty door.

Thanks, Pamela. I've been looking at new doors. I'm not sure I like the kinds with the frosted glass. There are some really pretty ones if the style of my kitchen was more cottage style. But I'm leaning toward transitional.

I haven't read all the comments, just the first half. When we were contemplating keeping our corner pantry, the cabinet maker suggested getting panels similar to the door style we would use so it looks more like cabinetry. There are a few images posted above.

Like this