I would highly recommend ditching the over the cooktop microwave and getting a real hood vent instead. Attach the MW above the counter to the left of the stove or above the DW cabinet.

Thanks! But there is not enough room for a separate microwave (we will recess into the wall as far as possible and raise up higher than usual. FYI:. 18" cabinets flank the stove and 12" cabinet to right of D/W. This is a TINY kitchen.

My first suggestion was going to be to replace the saltillo tile! Our house had around 4,000 sq ft of that red tile, on floors and walls, and it sucked the light out of the rooms. Changing to lighter and neutral tiles made such a difference in the feel and look of the space and opened up a lot more design options.

Saltillo isn't really beach Florida ... more spanish/mexican So. CA.

Just something to consider since this would be the time to do this ...

I don't think you need to go to the extreme you're planning to have a functional and open kitchen.

Instead of adding a peninsula and losing dining room space, what about rearranging appliances and removing just sections of the existing walls. If you cut back the entry wall about 4.5 feet, you'd have a more open feel.

Also, being able to open a door at the end of the kitchen probably helps with natural light. I'd try to not lose that.

Here's what I tried out...

Thank you Benjesbride; we really appreciate your efforts, and thoughts. Unfortunately closing that door is key - it gives us a third bedroom with entrance from the hallway. Thank you H202. Very, very helpful. I wil stop trying to find a light backsplash with a touch of terra cotta (I am too matchy, matchy - purse & shoes). Keeping the tile (which is thoughout the kitchen, main room, hallway and lanai) was an economic choice confirmed by finding a company that specializes in restoring Saltillo tile! And agree with the hanging lights.

If you haven't looked into between-the-studs pantries, that might be a good use of the wall space at the end of the kitchen:

Do consider cutting back the wall of the entry hall to create a peninsula-type of effect. We did this in our small home's renovation so the view can be seen when you enter the front door. I'm so glad we did.

With your dining table right next to the kitchen, and no plan for counter seating, the perpendicular peninsula seems like more of an obstacle to me than a benefit. Our kitchen is right next to the dining area. We have no counter seating, but we have to walk around the peninsula to get to the table. I'd prefer a kitchen that opens directly to the table.

Here are some updated drawings. This kitchen is 11 feet long, which is close to your existing footprint I think. You could extend the ends if you wanted, but I would not make the living/dining less than 20-21 feet long; that's pretty much the minimum for comfortable seating areas with minimum walkways.

Thank you Benjesbride- so many good ideas! Will definitely look into between the studs storage. Our only concern is on the other side will be a kids bedroom - and we wonder about noise? BTW our current kitchen design is flipped - stove for refrigerator and our peninsula goes all the way to the wall attaching to that wall of cabinets. - how would that work with cutting back that wall?

If you want a peninsula between the kitchen and dining room, cutting back the entry wall doesn't really make sense, IMO.

How many feet do you have from the sliding glass door to the present kitchen entry?

If you have the space, I'd add an extra layer of drywall on the kitchen/bedroom wall to help with sound transfer.

Very generally speaking, when you have the space it is best to have the sink and range next to each other.

More- fyi: the kitchen including the new peninsula is about 13 feet long leaving a living/dining room of a little more than 23 feet. So I think that meets the criteria you outlined. We have also discovered that some walls are not a full-stud thick - a common occurrence we have been told in places of this vintage.

That's a nice amount of space. Great! Was there any talk of removing the entry wall to create an L shaped kitchen with an island? (I threw in a freestanding island to save time.)

I'm also wondering if there is any storage space on the opposite side of the entry hall that could be incorporated into the kitchen storage.

If it's like many FL condos with that floorplan, the main electrical box is on that wall, so it can't go away completely.

Agree that you might as well keep the microhood idea since you almost certainly can't vent out. Associations in hurricane areas have enough trouble keeping insurance without letting residents make more holes in the envelope, and are generally very hostile to that idea.

THANK YOU BOTH!!! We've seen a couple of renovations that opened it up completely and we felt it was just a little too naked (I am a passionate but not very neat cook). There's a condo complex just north of us with dozens of identical units so it's fun to surf looking at their renos :-). RE: microhood - it's convertible. There is a dryer vent that vents out the bedroom side wall and we thought - maybe we could add this at some point in the future when we get to know the rules better (we have an attic!!).

There is a dryer vent that vents out the bedroom side wall and we thought - maybe we could add this at some point in the future when we get to know the rules better (we have an attic!!).

Just ask your association, but the odds are very low. It's one thing to have an original hole in the building envelope and quite another to allow people to make more, as far as most of them are concerned.

But they'll tell you for sure one way or the other. It should be a fairly immediate response either way, although you may have some hoops to jump through once you decide to proceed, if it's a provisional okay.

FWIW, I live in a townhouse complex with vented dryers in each unit but they would never in a million years allow a cooking vent.

ETA Keep forgetting to say to be sure to check references on the tile restoration co. Sometimes the stuff they use gets peel-y very quickly.

I did a kitchen condo renovation in Siesta Key, FL. and got permission to cut a dryer vent to the exterior. I got lucky, because if I had been an inch or two closer to the window, I would have had a code violation. This condo was built in 1973 too. The stackable dryer vented into the interior was a moldy horror show. Good riddance.