A consultation with a certified kitchen designer will be the best investment you could make. Don't make plans for a remodel that isn't structurally, logically or economically feasible.

Yes @chiflipper, we have had a contractor look at it in person as well as another person well versed in building houses.

Just a thought... remove the pass thru section of the wall like you are suggesting. Then have a large island go out into living section basically where the table is. It would parallel to your bathroom wall. You could put many counter stools with backs all around it.

I'm not sure how you would change the cabinets on either side of the oven. You're not changing your cabinets. Correct?

How about a skinny little plate rack between the fridge and window.

And kind of like this with the island. They called this a perpendicular island when I searched photos on Houzz

I question whether that post on the powder room end of the pass through window is structural? Have you had a qualified structural engineer check this out. I can't see any reason to have that their unless it is structural. I am concerned that you don't really have a total master plan for this and you are heading for a cliff. Don't do that. I also can't figure out what size the space is in total. I don't think a "perpendicular island" will work given what I believe is not enough floor space? If you can open up that pass through, that opens up options, but then budget is a question?? You can do a lot, but cost is usually a big factor. You will also probably get into "code" issues since this place is pretty old as places go. Have you done a scale drawing and completely gutted the kitchen and reworked it to scale on paper? That is where I would start. Doing little of this and a little of that, is not going to buy you much. Give us the total size of the space and maybe we can be of assistance. But just trying to suggest a cabinet thing here and there isn't going to help you much. This is a big project for DIYers and even with skills, takes time, effort, permitting, materials, sizes, finishes, on and on.

HI -- You are wanting to remove the wrong section of cabinets . Remove the stove and corners sections and relocate the stove to the peninsula section . Taking the useless corners out will work better . Now you are trying to do a cut and paste remodel when it might be cheaper and better to just get all new cabinets . But when you have a very small space , having a U shaped kitchen makes things more difficult . So have a cooking peninsula instead but still remove that overhead beam wall section if you want . You could have a wider counter on that cooking section for stool seating or better to have a bench along the wall beside with the table and some chairs . This will still open up the space and will make the kitchen side more efficient. The space has to be 12 1/2 feet wide to have a walk around island .

@chicagopa LOVE the plate holder idea! I'm trying to think of a way with the dimensions below how we could do a peninsula...As you can see, not much space whatsoever.

@lefty, I don't think putting my stove/oven in a peninsula would be helpful at all. I then would have to have a fan/venthood over that area (we don't have venting to the outside) which would defeat the whole purpose of taking out the pass through and opening up the kitchen more. Cooking smells can be an issue in a small place and I would like to keep the stove as far from the couch and living room as possible.

@Flo, This IS the planning phase. I am trying to decide what to do right now, not ripping out cabinets, sinks and drywall willy nilly. As I said above, I have had a contractor come to check out the pass through and it is not structural. Currently my husband and I are simply deciding what our vision for the kitchen currently is. The only thing we have done is gotten a skinny fridge and painted cabinets so certainly not headed for a cliff...

Great news. I will check back later today to see what i can contribute.

I like the banquette idea. Cozy and can be designed with extra storage.

HI -- Sorry I couldn't help you with moving the stove but that same idea could be done with swapping the stove and sink and dishwasher into the peninsula . I was just trying to get rid of the useless corners and give you more floor space by dividing the counters into two sections . The kitchen is very small and there is not too much that can be changed . Just how much do you really need the vent hood ? Since I got my new cook top I only use the light on my vent hood and I could do without it . The house I grew up in never had one ... no one had one . It depends on how you cook I guess . But really I think you know how you want to have things and you know what is structure and what can be re-moved so ... none of what anybody has said so far is helping you . Just go with what you have planned out because you have thought about it for a while and the idea is now stuck with you. Good Luck !

Have you considered reversing the kitchen and making the eating area in back and doing a more Pullman kitchen along the long wall. Or is moving that much plumbing not feasible?

I just did a rough redesign doing all your kitchen along your long wall and a pantry wall 12-18" deep along bathroom wall and that leaves room for table and chairs back by the window. The range could probably stay about where it is, the refrigerator on left of sink, sink on wall to left of range. If this is something you would be interested in, I could do a more refined scale drawing for you. Are you interested?

Attached are some Houzz pics of corner cabinet ideas. It's hard to tell without exact measurements whether any of these would work in your space, so I'm just sharing them to give you ideas. Sometimes less is more, & since you're working with a small space, you might want to opt for a more open look above fridge or in that corner. I once saw a house that had a countertop that was hinged so the underneath could be accessed from above rather than from the tight, front corner ...

As for the peninsula, I would opt for turning the U shaped kitchen into an L shape. Lose the dining table and extend the countertop & cabinets into that space along the wall. That would open up the floor plan and maybe even leave you space for a floating counter & stools on the bathroom wall across from it like in the below picture.

@lefty we were hoping if we keep the stove there to do a microwave with a strong fan where that upper cabinet is. We cook a lot of steaks, etc so it can get smelly and I hate knowing my couch could start absorbing all of those smells. I still love your Peninsula idea but that dang bathroom puts me in a spot where an island just isn't feasible unless tiny or pushed against a wall.

@flo don't spend a lot of time on it but I'm definitely curious! I'd be interested to see it even just in sketch form.

@augracy great pictures....I particularly like the one with the shelves in the corner upper cabinets! I have seen drawers like those v shaped ones in the green cabinets pic. I was asking barker doors yester if they can do those and they can't.

Can you use the cabinets on either side of the oven for pull outs? One for spices and one for cooking utensils. Doesn't use the far back reaches but that's already dead space anyway. Let me know if you need a picture to illustrate.

Otherwise, I can commiserate as your kitchen is very, very similar to the one we demo'd in our renovation. Ultimately we swapped the kitchen with the dining room (in our case, the DR area was significantly larger).

Another (identical) unit in our building kept the same footprint but replaced the cabinets with ones that went all the way to the ceiling, and which were more generous in size... in the 1980s the cabinets were so tiny, don't really fit the standard sized dinner plates of today!

I love the idea of doing those vertical plate racks for your space.

Oh wait... actually, you could install a narrow cabinet on the back of the pennisula to make use of the dead space in at least one of those cabinets, the one to the left of the stove.

P.s. I love how you have mounted the DR chairs on the wall. Clever use of space!

Here is rough sketch for a different approach to your kitchen redesign.

I converted from m to ft and so that is the scale. one little square equals 1 sq. ft. But you will get the idea I believe. First, I put the skinny refrigerator which I assumed was about 2 ft wide? Not sure you were thinking of a dishwasher but it put it next in the line. Next the sink so you have countertop on each side of sink, then the range then more countertop. You could also put a fold down table under the window for extra prep space. On the other wall (powder room wall) I put an 18" deep set of pantry cabinets for storage of pantry items and some additional kitchen equipment like mixers, etc. Then I put a banquette bench which could have a seat top on a piano hinge so you could have storage under the seat. A oval "tulip" table would sit in front and a simple small scale chair on each end. The on the window wall (not clear on what is to the right of that window) but I could see another bench if there is a back door there? And some cubbies for shoes, and hooks for coats, etc. I will post some concepts for tables.

An oval "tulip" table could slide up to the banquette and be an additional prep space as well. Or alternatively you could find a movable island that could slide up with a table surface. In small spaces, it is always good to have dual uses for as many elements as possible.

Island that has table top surface that could be moved to a banquette seating arrangement.

I will hunt for more photos that depict this type of arrangement for you. bbl

I love the bench idea!

@Flo, I really like your ideas. I now am thinking towards moving the fridge to the outside of the current kitchen on the wall that the stove is currently on (to the left of the dishwasher in your picture) and putting a tall pantry cabinet in where the fridge currently is. I could then do some sort of banquette situation on the wall opposite the new fridge location. That would allow us not to have to mess with plumbing (our fridge is plug in only/no water line) to save costs, have an actual pantry and solve the seating situation. You really opened my mind to other possibilities and I love it! Thank you so much! :) I just need to decide more of a banquette configuration now.

I was also considering replacing all of the cabinets now and only having cabinets across the wall where the stove is with open shelving on the current sink wall. That upper corner cabinet above the dishwasher is weird as is.

following

That makes me happy because we always want to create new ways of looking at the same space. I think you are onto something with your new thoughts. Open shelving in this space would be really great. It visually pushes the walls back. So, I would do that. Make sure the seating for the banquette is low enough to fit a 3-4" cushion on the seat portion and arrive at about 18" height for seating. If you have it custom made, have the seat front angle inward so feet can slip back a bit. It is more comfortable seating that way. Also, use piano hinge on the top lid of the seat and then you can use inside the seat for additional storage for items seldom used but needed maybe at holidays, such like that. Keep us posted on your progress. Glad you can work something out without having to move the plumbing. That is always a challenge.