Hi!

I have a builder grade kitchen that we need some help with. It has laminate cabinets, mismatched appliances, cheap counter tops, and upgraded light fixtures. Here is a picture (excuse the mess and the dog!). I am aware the table is very not centered with the light fixture. The fixture is in a very weird location; if we move the table any more left, its too close to the back door.

The first thing I want to do is figure out what to do with the empty space to the right in the kitchen. It is 68 x 40 inches and when you are in the room, it seems like something should be there. It looks like a small little breakfast nook, but the eat in kitchen is right next to it so it doesn't make sense to put seating there. Our first thought goes to a dry bar (no wet bar due to a slab). We've done some mock ups and found we like something like below. The middle would be a wine fridge and the counter would go all the way across. Sorry the photo was taken on a computer screen and not a screen shot. I wasn't planning on posting it anywhere!

We plan on painting the cabinets white in the rest of the kitchen as well so the color will match, although the cabinets won't be the same style. Will it look weird? Should we try to match our existing cabinets and counters completely? We thought it might be best to make the dry bar look completely different from the kitchen cabinets but I'm not sure. What other options are we not thinking of?

The main thing we do not want to do is spend a ton of money on upgrades. Our house is a builder grade home that is in one of the cheapest neighborhoods in the town and we do not want to price ourselves out of it. We do plan on putting down laminate flooring throughout the first floor after the carpet is worn out.