Welcome Jennifer!

Could you please post a sketch of the entire floor? It helps to see how the Kitchen & Dining Room relate to the entire home as well as shows us how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen & Dining Room.

I also have a few more questions....

1. Do you plan to leave the table in the Kitchen space (b/w the Family Room and Kitchen)?
2. If keeping the table, do you really need more seating in the Kitchen? They'd be on top of each other. You might be better off just adding a table in the Playroom/Dining Room -- use that one for meals and keep the Kitchen table for homework, etc. You might make the table in the Kitchen into an island so you get more storage.
3. Do you have a pantry elsewhere?
4. Can the exterior door (6'8") in the Kitchen be moved?
5. In addition to Garage access, does the 31" doorway lead to a Mudroom, Laundry Room, etc.?
6. Where does the 29" door lead? Directly into a Bathroom? Or, a hall that also has a door to the Bathroom
7. Where is your front entry?
8. What is the material of your exterior? Brick? Siding? Other?
9. Is the Family Room at the same level as the Kitchen? (I.e., not sunken)
10. What is the room "above" the current Dining Room? (It's accessed via the 122" archway)
11. How high off the floor are the windows in the bay?
12. How deep is the bay? In your drawing, it appears to be 24", but I wanted to verify.
13. What appliances and their sizes are you planning?

• I assume a 24" DW.
• Refrigerator? (36" is standard for most)
• Counter-depth or standard-depth refrigerator?
• Range/stove or cooktop? (30" is standard for both)
• Hood? (6" wider than the range/stove/cooktop is standard)
• Other?

Right now, the main constraints I see are:

• The door in the Kitchen -- it can be tricky trying to put something permanent (e.g., island) that blocks access to the door in that space. Could the door be moved to the Dining Room, maybe where the bay window is now? Could it be moved to the Family Room (probably the better of the two locations)?
• Basement stairs, primarily b/c they limit the depth of your Kitchen. For an island with seating you need more depth than you have right now.
• Bay Window...it's too deep to put anything in front of it and the walls on either side are too shallow to put in counters...that really eliminates moving the Kitchen into that space without significant $$$.
• Regarding merging the Dining Room with the Kitchen...Do you have another room that can function as a Dining Room close by (other than the Kitchen)? Just putting an island in the DR and leaving the Kitchen in the other room is really not advised as the island would have no real access to the Kitchen and the necessary fixtures and appliances. All you'd really be doing is replacing a (future) table with an island. A table is much more flexible and much more comfortable to eat it.

Recommendations...

1. Convert the Playroom to a Dining Room and start eating your meals there (see below for how we did it)
2. Move the exterior door to the Family Room (or Dining Room)
3. Change out the exterior door for a window that matches the other window (48") and 36" off the finished floor (i.e., a counter-height window) (Optionally, it could be a 60"W window)
4. If within budget, make the other window 36" off the finished floor as well
5. Expand the Kitchen into the entire space
6. Add an island in the deeper part
7. Put in a shallow pantry (either built-in or shallow cabinets; built-in is much cheaper) along the wall with the stairs.

I think the above would give you everything you need as well as want. See below for the result of the above recommendations.

• Note the Cleanup Zone and Dish Storage are next to the Dining Room, making it easier to clear or set the table without getting in the way of someone working in the Kitchen.
• There are two Prep Zones with direct access to water -- a KEY component to a functional/successful Prep Zone. The primary one is in the island and a secondary is b/w the cleanup sink and range. There are other areas that can be used for prepping, if needed (e.g., during a party).
• Nice separation of primary work zones in general so multiple people can be working in the Kitchen at the same time without getting in each other's way.
• There is plenty of storage in both cabinets as well as the Pantry. The Pantry is a "reach-in" pantry and is 105" wide (8'9"). It has plenty of room for food as well as small appliances.
• The island seats 5. The long side has an 18"D overhang to not only give you plenty of leg room but to also provide plenty of space for homework and other projects while meal prep is going on.

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How we did it...

We did exactly what you did...we used the DR as a Playroom until our children grew out of it.
We had a tiny eat-in Kitchen space that we grew out of at the same time.

We converted the Playroom to a Dining Room and then redid our Kitchen as a non-eat-in Kitchen (we had a tiny bay area in the middle of the Kitchen). We took down most of the wall b/w the two rooms and put in a peninsula b/w them for some separation. The Dining Room became a more formal Kitchen table/less formal Dining Room table -- in between.

It was probably the best thing we did. It allowed us to have a place to eat without having dirty dishes from meal prep, etc., in our faces while eating and provided our children with a bit more formality. Interestingly, their table manners improved when we started eating in the DR.

Our Kitchen is similar in depth to yours (11') and while I tried very hard to shoehorn in an island, I eventually realized (with the help of folks here) that my Kitchen could not support an island...thus the peninsula was born. I ended up with a shallow "U" shaped Kitchen with counters on both sides of the Kitchen.

You have more space to work with than we did as well as a deeper part of your Kitchen – so an island is a possibility, especially if you can move the door.

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Another option, but not as functional.

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Blank Slate:

Dear Jen,

If you post the dimensions I add the adjacent rooms to your floor plan. So everyone who wants to respond can see what you have to work with.

Question...do your window and door dimensions include trim, and if so how wide is the window and door casing vs. how wide do you want it after your project is done?

Sincerely,

Joe Brandao

Wow, you are both amazing!!!! I have the main floor drawn out with the dimensions but I'm struggling to get it uploaded. I did include some pictures of the space...I never do that, but I really appreciate the help!

Joe, the window and doors do include the trim and they are just the normal 2". Your drawing was very similar but we still have the peninsula right now (must go!) and the stove is tighter to the corner and we have a dead space in that corner.

Buehl! Wow, thanks!

1. Do you plan to leave the table in the Kitchen space (b/w the Family Room and Kitchen)? Yes, we had planned on doing that, but I honestly never considered the flip like you suggested.
2. If keeping the table, do you really need more seating in the Kitchen? We do like to have people over (in normal times!) and hope to increase that in our new spaces. I do like the of having both the table and the island seating.
3. Do you have a pantry elsewhere? We only have that small pantry. For bulk purchases, we will sometimes put items in the front closet or the basement.
4. Can the exterior door (6'8") in the Kitchen be moved? The doorwall? Well it leads to a raised deck (about 4 feet) we have in the backyard. There is a storm cellar access to the basement on the other side of the sink if that makes sense. So probably not ideal since it would mean we would need to tear up the deck and relocate it.
5. In addition to Garage access, does the 31" doorway lead to a Mudroom, Laundry Room, etc.? Yes, to the laundry room. I have always not been a fan of that either, but I think I have figured out a low cost to make that work. I WANTED to relocate the bathroom to be off the foyer and shrink with a pocket door. Then take the laundry/2 closets and turn into a real mudroom/laundry room. However, there is a lot of plumbing in the wall between the laundry and the closet by the front entry. Now, I'm planning on just turning the garage closet into a mud-closet so to speak and then stack the w/d front loaders in the laundry room. I think that will work. We need to move the gas line though to relocate the dryer so that is why we haven't stacked yet.
6. Where does the 29" door lead? Directly into a Bathroom? Or, a hall that also has a door to the Bathroom. Directly into a bathroom.
7. Where is your front entry? See picture. We have a very stereotypical colonial floorplan.
8. What is the material of your exterior? Brick? Siding? Other? We have brick on the exterior on the first floor and the second floor is siding.
9. Is the Family Room at the same level as the Kitchen? (I.e., not sunken) It is sunken about a foot. It is on a slab, the rest of the main floor is on a basement.
10. What is the room "above" the current Dining Room? (It's accessed via the 122" archway). The "Living Room" but it is currently just part 2 of the playroom area. We are in MI and the basement is unfinished so our kids have basically used it for ministick rinks, train tracks, etc over the years...however, we are mostly aging out so I plan to make that another sitting area, or possibly somehow add a little office somewhere...I am working from home now, but I carved out an area in our room.
11. How high off the floor are the windows in the bay?
12. How deep is the bay? In your drawing, it appears to be 24", but I wanted to verify. Yes, about that.
13. What appliances and their sizes are you planning?

• I assume a 24" DW--yes, and although it is working ok still, it is at minimum 15 years old so we expect we will probably get a new one.
• Refrigerator? (36" is standard for most) Yes, but it also has some issues so open to a new one.
• Counter-depth or standard-depth refrigerator? Standard. It sticks out so far, but some of that is due to how my husband installed the water line. I would be open to either. A friend has complained that she struggles with the depth of her counterdepth, but we do have another fridge in the garage, so I am not as concerned I think...
• Range/stove or cooktop? (30" is standard for both) 30, and this is brand new due to our ancient one dying...however, it is electric and in an ideal world I would prefer gas, so I'm open to a different one. My preference is to probably use this and put a gas line in for the next one.
• Hood? (6" wider than the range/stove/cooktop is standard) My current one is almond and probably as old as I am so...definitely need a new one lol.
• Other? A friend with the same original floorplan took down the dining room wall and that was my favorite so far. With my current, they have nothing on the fridge wall, flattening out the U so to speak along the exterior wall between the doorwall and the bay (counter/DW/Sink/counter/Fridge), then a long narrow island in between with 4 seats. Then in the dining room, they have pantry and the stove along the exterior wall and then another island with a prep sink in front of that stove. Thoughts?

Wow! I posted this HOURS ago and before the layout...no idea why it didn't post and I didn't realize it didn't until you asked if I would post pictures. Hopefully you are reading this!

I've either posted the layout 8 times or not at all...

Did you see the "blank slate" I posted above? Does it match up? The picture you just posted is different than the one above.

ETA: It appears to match what you just posted. The new one has key information! That "step down" changes things significantly!

Is there a railing for the "step down" into the Family Room?

How far down is the "step down"?

How tall is the ceiling in the Family Room?

That step down makes an island less likely as you need to have enough room b/w the step(s) and island to safely allow people to work on the island, use the stairs, etc.

Would you consider closing off the Family Room entrance a bit? Probably still no island or a very small one, but there might be a way to work one in if there's a wall there...

Thinking about putting a wall in the middle. The island might be feasible then...but I'd have to work it up.

Could you please post pictures of the space? Especially the table space & Family Room entrance as well as a bit of the Family Room itself next to the step(s). It would help to see what it looks like now.

Would you consider converting the 102" window in the Family Room to a door? It could be:

* 72"W French doors or sliding doors flanked by 12" to 15" same-height windows

* 36"W Single Door flanked by 30" to 33" same-height windows

(I've seen a lot of these "step downs" recently and I keep asking myself why anyone would consider a "step down" a good thing for a functional floor plan. I know you didn't do it and it's not aimed at you, I just don't understand the people who designed these spaces! No consideration of small children, elderly, anyone disabled (temporarily or permanently), etc.)

Very strange, I responded this morning a super long answer with pictures but it didn't seem to post--even though it looked like it. Whatever, it seems to have posted now.

Additional answers:

Is there a railing for the "step down" into the Family Room? Yes---but I actually FINALLY got my husband to take it down this week! It took 5 minutes...smh...I should have done it myself years ago. (It is in the picture though).

How far down is the "step down"? It is about 10 inches.

How tall is the ceiling in the Family Room?

That step down makes an island less likely as you need to have enough room b/w the step(s) and island to safely allow people to work on the island, use the stairs, etc.

Would you consider closing off the Family Room entrance a bit? Probably still no island or a very small one, but there might be a way to work one in if there's a wall there... I'd probably prefer to keep it down, because otherwise it feels like we'd be taking down one wall and putting up another, but I'm open to ideas.

Thinking about putting a wall in the middle. The island might be feasible then...but I'd have to work it up.

Could you please post pictures of the space? Especially the table space & Family Room entrance as well as a bit of the Family Room itself next to the step(s). It would help to see what it looks like now. No idea why that didn't show in the thread before but hopefully you see them now.

Would you consider converting the 102" window in the Family Room to a door? It could be:

* 72"W French doors or sliding doors flanked by 12" to 15" same-height windows

* 36"W Single Door flanked by 30" to 33" same-height windows

Because of how the deck lays out, behind the house, we would need to rip that out and a door from the family room would exit at an awkward height to the back yard because of a slight slope in the back.

Thanks so much!

Dear Jen,

Attached is your floor plan based upon the dimensions you gave me.

Hope this is helpful.

Joe Brandao

What's even stranger is that after you posted the second time, your earlier post showed up! It wasn't there when I posted asking all those questions! I think there's something wrong with Houzz -- I've been seeing all sorts of strange things lately. I've seen this issue happen a couple of times before, I've been seeing posts that don't jump to the top of the thread list when someone posts on them, etc.

Let me see what I can do with the new information. In the meantime, others can use my blank slate to work with if they want to jump in. Since it's on graph paper with the scale posted, it should be easy for others to use.