Hi all,

Back again as I think about an upcoming total house renovation. I’ve just moved in and plan to start getting contractors to bid on the project in the next month or so. I’m a planner, so I’d like to have a general idea of the big picture before I start getting feedback from contractors.

One place I’m completely stumped on is my kitchen layout. The home is currently a tri level with four rooms on the main floor: a formal living room (front right), a formal dining room (front left), a kitchen (back left), and a den (back right). Short of looking on Zillow for similar houses, I haven’t found much inspiration to give me ideas about how I can rework the kitchen area. Note that I plan to remove the wall between the living/den and then install as large of a casement opening as possible between the dining/kitchen. I do know I will need a column or a partial wall where four walls currently intersect.

My biggest challenge is not the size, but rather the wall space. It is “open” to the den, but there is a window on one wall, a door and a window on the other, and an opening I plan to make larger to the dining room on the third. With such little wall space, I’m struggling to figure out a layout that incorporates the main things I want.

My must haves include:
- a 36” wolf range
- built in microwave
- a new space for the refrigerator (I don’t like opening it next to a wall)
- bar seating for at least 3 people

The space is approximately 11x13. As of right now, the two best solutions I have come up with are the following:

A. Remove peninsula and have an island running parallel to the back wall room with seating either on one end or along the length of the island. This would dictate putting my range under the window (don’t want in island), my fridge next to the sliding glass door, and a small pantry where the existing refrigerator is. My concern here is space around the island and whether or not that would be an issue once the walls are down.

B. Move carport door to where window is, put fridge where existing door is, and have a peninsula where existing “peninsula” is. I would likely put sink in peninsula (again, don’t like having range where people are eating or idea of an island hood), range under window, and pantry where it is currently.

Do either of my two plans sound feasible? And is there another layout I may be overlooking?