Start with a budget of 60-130K, then look for a local designer who works with some great contractors.

Where does the door lead?

Provide a to-scale diagram of the kitchen and dining room space including doors and windows plus a diagram ( can be rough and hand-drawn) of the entire first floor including hallways and closets in rooms next to the kitchen and dining rooms.

Post diagrams in the Garden Web Kitchen forum and ask for layout design help; be aware that some really talented long-time Garden Web-Kitchen users have gotten frustrated by the changes Houzz made to the site, and they have not been as active lately. That is too bad because they were an awesome resource!

Are you willing to raise the window in the kitchen area that looks lower than counter height? How high off the floor are those windows?

What is on the other side of the entry door in the corner?

First thing we will need to know is where that door leads and if it can be relocated so that cabinets can continue across entire back wall.

Stealing from er612's awesome mock ups. Attached is an ideal layout for your space.

Could you give us some dimensions? Will you be purchasing new appliances? Do you have an idea on colors or wood type that you would like to use for you cabinetry?

The kitchen is 13'x13'. I will attach a very rough hand-drawn sketch of our current layout with measurements.

The door leads to our back entry area, which includes the pantry and stairs leading to the basement. The door itself could/will be eliminated, but access to that back hallway is still needed. The door could be widened slightly to be more open to the pantry (I unfortunately don't have photos of that area at this time). The landing area there is pretty small.

THANK YOU!

We are interested in white cabinets (or could be swayed into a more modern wood). I am interested in cabinets to the ceiling. I really like the idea of having a peninsula or island!

The best advice I can give is listen to Sophie b/c this is not a do-it-yourself job. Create a budget and a plan with a local designer and contractor. Do not use a decorator or a salesperson in a kitchen cabinet store.

Take your measurements to any kitchen store and talk to a designer. You don't have to buy from them just because they provide you with an initial design. Shop around, but get some designers to give you ideas, then come back here and get opinions on the many, MANY decisions you will have to make regarding the layout and design.

IMO this kitchen could be fab on a much smaller budget than 60K but you need a good designer that understands budgets and you need to listen

Um, ideas are what designers sell. If you want real design work from a real designer, you are going to have to pay a retainer. Otherwise you are just talking to sales weasels who want you to buy a giant number of cabinets and don’t care if the kitchen works or doesn’t.

A DIY project especially needs design help in the front end.

Ok, I just got done redoing m 1980's honey oak kitchen with a white vinyl floor, so I can relate to what you're wanting. If you want to reconfigure the kitchen, please spend the money and hire a designer, as all above have mentioned. You don't need a design/build person at this point, but a good kitchen designer. If you live someplace where its hard to find such a person, you can find one on here who can work with you remotely!

We didn't change the configuration much, though we did yank out a pantry and instead designed a whole wall of cabinets to take up the "eat in" portion of the kitchen. Given that we didnt' reconfigure, I relied on my own choices, and good contractors to make it happen. For the new wall of cabinets, I simply worked with the kitchen person where I bought the cabinets.

Lessons learned: get the plan, and the estimated budget, in place before you do a single piece of work. Build 15% contingency into that budget. If you're doing it without a general, make sure you get good advice about how to sequence the work to minimize the pain. Its worth it in the end, but it takes patience.

Hi Mandy,

How smart of you to live in your new home for a while to get a feel of it first!

How many people are in your family?

Do you picture kids sitting at an island doing homework?

If you take down the wall, what will be your view line? (it looks like another wall?)

Is it correct that you would have 3 windows in this case?

Would you be putting hardwood in to keep the flooring consistent?