yes. I think you could easily do an island.

but, is that one wall on the peninsula a support wall? did you want to take that down?

what about if you straightened out the current one, and made an L out of it? would that work?

however, why not do the countertops? How do you plan on removing the peninsula, making an island and keeping the Corian? you'll need a new top. (you could look into pre-fab countertops. you don't have a lot. maybe 4K for everything

you'll also need to run your plumbing and electrical into the island. (not a big deal once your floor is torn up. (the time to do it, if you're going to do it, is now. you don't want to tear up new flooring to do an island down the road)

The other issue, are you keeping those dated open niche/shelf thing? (I hope not).

I'd take it all down (at least on your living side).

If you could take it down on the kitchen side, in the future when you get new cabs you could get something taller and maybe do a bulkhead or just leave it open. But those dust catcher shelves should go.

Are you painting those cabs? yourself or hiring a pro? I ask because a pro paint job (and I mean a pro cabinet painter, not random joe blow house painter) would be about 5K or more to do those.

let me show you what they'll look like painted (by a pro)

they also put in some glass in a few of the uppers. new countertop/splash

The other issue is matching this island you want, w/the current cabinets. How do you plan on doing an island? hiring a cabinet maker?

If you get something new, then how will it look w/the current wall cabs? maybe you'd have to reface the ones you have?

Are you keeping the appliances? (if getting new ones, don't over look craigslist, or even HD or Lowes w/their deferred interest payments)

is the white door a pantry?

will the floors be done before you move in? If so, you may want to see about running electrical and plumbing to the center in order to prepare for this island.

or not.

You need to seriously think about a layout and what you want.

Anyway you can work in some extra cash into the mortgage to give you a bigger budget for redo?

what exactly were you planning on spending to update this kitchen?

some other updates. this was a early 2000 kitchen. look at the after. The doors were refaced

if you take out that large shelf, you could do something like this above the tops. much better looking

You could cut it down...but you would lose the counter top in that section. And where would you put the sink? Moving plumbing is no small matter.

I prefer peninsulas but then again I hate having to move around an island all the time. I'm constantly 'gutting' myself every time I turn the corner on those things. It turns the U shaped kitchen into a circle which isn't may favourite way to do things. I don't like having to circle around to get to one spot or another.

The choice is yours but be aware you will need to figure out the new floor plan. You will need to budget a plumber AND an electrician. In Canada they BOTH bill at $180 per hour. And then budget the cost of a 'temporary' counter top that goes with something that may not be there long term (green counters are not really 'in' but if you like them then keep them).

How much of a budget do you have? The flooring is going to eat up a TREMENDOUS amount of money. Painting the current kitchen is worth several thousands of dollars. As soon as you remove the peninsula you will double that cost.

If you are not going to do a FULL renovation, then you might want to wait for the big overhaul for another time (purchase enough flooring to fill in the holes in the floor your removal of the peninsula will create).

Sorry-just reread the flooring comment...hmmm...maybe I’m rethinking what I just posted....

Thank you everyone! This is all very helpful. I appreciate it. If anyone reads this, I am wondering how you all went about finding a professional to advise on color, layout, and more. Did you find on here? Word of mouth?

Amanda, as for a kitchen designer pro, you'd have to go by word of mouth, reviews, online reviews or just make some phone calls.

I just had all of my cabinets painted by a really good cabinet company. I found them on Yelp, believe it or not. All of their reviews (and they had a ton of them) were 4-5 stars. that's when you know they're good. It was a big step for me because I know the business. Hard for me to trust someone else. But they did a fantastic job. Everything I wanted they did.

Finding someone is stressful enough during normal times! Go slow, and be sure that they can give you the deliverable results that you expect. There are a wide variety of services available, so assess where you want help.

Many of us have done online designing for quite some time. Some have been forced into it only recently! Getting good measurements from the client is one of the biggest challenges, but it can be done easily with someone coaching you through it. Good luck!

Wow, thank you all so much! It is so generous to share your thoughts and advice. I am taking note of all of these suggestions for the future! Thank you all!

Based on this discussion, it does sound easier to keep the peninsula and try to make the space look updated with other changes. It sounds like it might be best to wait until sometime after the pandemic too!

In the meantime, would anyone have even just a very rough estimate of what either of these types of remodels (not changes to the exact layout; just the overall style, like color of cabinets and new countertops) cost?

*We are already planning separately change the floors to look like wood and we will replace appliances to stainless steel. *I am attaching 2 photos I found online*

Painting cabinets: $7K or so.

New Counter tops: $5-$12K

New Floors: $15/sf (everything included)

Paint: couple thousand (entire lower level)

New Light Fixture: $500 - $1000 (depends on the work needed and the unit chosen)

All of this is HIGHLY dependent on local labour costs. These are the lowest estimates for an expensive Canadian city where I live. It could be the UPPER price range for a very depressed area of the USA.

Plan ahead in case you do decide to remove that angled peninsula or decide to remove a wall-Buy enough extra flooring.
Glad you’re thinking about moving in without doing a quick update.
Do you know where the dishwasher is? That was one annoying thing about a corner sink-the dishwasher needs a little room to open, so there were drawers between my sink and dishwasher, and the way mine was, no one could help load because there is there wasn’t enough space for two people to work with the dishwasher door open.