Adding on, here is a rendering from the kitchen designer:

Could you clarify what is going on to the right of the exterior door? I'm confused as to what is there, is the cabinet just lowered or am I missing something?

Personally I would probably consider putting my sink in the corner of the peninsula as opposed to the middle. I like to have as big of a work space as possible in an island or peninsula so I'd want the sink as far off to the side as possible.

Also as many people on here will tell you. Put drawers in all your lowers, with the exception of anything specific you want like a garbage pull out or spice pull out. Drawers are the most efficient storage and are definitely worth the slight increase in price.

A few other ways that you could get little bits of extra storage.

1. Go with an over the range microwave. This will give you a bit more storage in your upper cabinet that currently has the microwave shelf.

2. have a cabinet over the range instead of a decorative hood fan. Your cabinet maker can make a small box to fit over the ducting and you can still store things over the OTR microwave.

3. You could ask the cabinet maker if they can build a glass cabinet to go over the window to the right of the door. (this one will likely depend on your budget)

Kitchen with a View · More Info

Thank you for your thoughtful comments! The existing window to the right of the exterior door is only 31" off the floor, so that's the reason for a lower cabinet and counter there (there's also a radiator there now). It's annoying but we have a thick-walled stone house, so moving the window is a production. That glass cabinet is like nothing I've ever seen! Really interesting idea.

I'll certainly think about the sink placement. I'm not delighted by it as-is.

Regarding the coat closet, we are taking that space for the refrigerator and the cabinets next to it. It's easier to show in a photo. Here's the view of the coat closet from the kitchen (the existing kitchen table is on the left):

and here's the view from the dining room side (the closet is the bump out):

The custom shelves are where our pantry is now, on the side by the table. The house juts out and there's some extra space there currently used for the microwave and shelving. I don't want to lose the storage, and it will be easier to access when we don't have a table in the way. I'm not sure we're making great use of the space though.

You’re not gaining anything by taking the wall down but squishing your table way too much. You need 36” on all sides around a table. Back to back seating like you show needs 60” between peninsula and table.

Start over. Show the diagram of what exists now. Because that’s ^ not worth the disruption and big expense to end up with. You can do better.

Why are you building out the wall between the windows? If you can remove the stub wall and squeeze in an island, you can move the range to the exterior wall where is will be easier to vent, and where it will be in a more protected spot--traffic from the back door will not be routed past it.

Thanks live_wire_oak, this has been one of my hesitations about this project. We are so squashed now that anything seems like an improvement (you can see how tight things are at our kitchen table now--the inner person sits down and is trapped until the outer person lets him out -- we've been coping with this for 10 years but it's ridiculous). Here's the existing floorplan:

Some of the flow problems are obvious from this floorplan! As part of the project we plan to open up a new doorway between the kitchen and living room. We have thought about expanding the house's footprint too but have decided to try to find a good-enough solution for now.

The floor plan helps.

I think these changes is red would give you more pantry/ storage space.

Yes you sacrifice some counter space by your stove but the extra storage may be worth it to you.

You said you are losing a window. If you changed the window you will be losing to the one where you now have your table, and put in a new beam (red lines) to open the kitchen to the hallway, you could definitely fit an island. I realize this would be a much bigger project, and the basement layout would have figure in for the beam supports, but I thought I'd mention it.