Where is the DW? If you remove the peninsula and extend the counter another foot, you should make up for lost counter space, and if DW is in the peninsula, it will be more convenient to the right of the sink.

I would need a floor plan but right now you need a counter depth fridge and IMO if you move the peninsula out a foot the table space will be too small. You need new lighting for sure , get the garbage cans out of the walk space too.

De is in the peninsula. I can’t extend the counter as long as the peninsula. Probably only at most 2 feet and I’ll lose 4 feet.. but yes, I see that it would become 4 feet of useable space while now it’s not useable! And I’m also worried that peninsula has no cupboards over it but counter would. Will that impact on my sense of openness while I’m prepping?

Do the traffic jams drive you crazy? We have a peninsula at our lake house and it really doesn’t bother me to go around so I’d vote to keep it but if it is major pain for you, get rid of it.

So if my husband and I were thinner it would probably not be an issue 😊

thinking about resale also

For the space you have, I say keep the peninsula. I wouldn't want to give up the counter space.

As for traffic jams, what's causing them?

- I see you have two trash cans (maybe one's recycling?) in this spot. Could you place a trash can somewhere else nearby so that family members wouldn't come into the kitchen to throw things away? Meaning, these cans would only be used for kitchen trash.

- The refrigerator door is part of this traffic jam. If you're remodeling, could you do a small under-counter refrigerator in the spot marked below -- and use it for drinks? This would allow family members access to drinks without coming into the kitchen.

Wow these are all such great ideas!! Thank you all!

since we are on a roll....

it has been suggested to me that we add a pantry by closing off door to what should be dining room but we used as office. I think it’s not a great idea , again for resale! But what do you all think?

If you eliminated the peninsula, and extended the counter, maybe you could capture a bit more working surface and storage space by adding a small island, located where the end of the peninsula was, maybe one of the smaller ones meant to be moveable?

Also -- if you went with a single basin sink, instead of a double, you could capture a bit more area for your working counter space to the right of the sink since the singles are narrower. I like the versatility of big single basins! Can wash BIG things more easily.

Thanks!

If you have the option to move the peninsula out a foot, why can't the counter be extended to the same point. Maybe I'm confused (I've been working in the midday sun, lol). How deep, front-to-back, is the peninsula?

I absolutely can move the counter out to the same spot.

I just worry that I’ll lose working space and the cabinets underneath

If you extend the counter another foot, you'll have 3 usable feet of counter, which will house the DW plus a 12" cabinet, compared to the 4 usable feet of the peninsula. The peninsula has 8 square feet of storage space, accessed from the back side. You'll be losing 6 sf of storage space. If you extend the counter 2 feet, you will have lost no usable counter space, and only 4 sf of storage space. The DW will be much more convenient to load, but you will be prepping facing a wall. The remaining 4 sf of storage space can be in the form of drawers, which are much more convenient and easier to access than door cabinets. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.

Thank you so much. What a wonderful community!

I did a remodel of one of our rentals where there weren’t cabinets under the peninsula. Opening it up increased dining table space so much and greatly improved traffic flow. Sorry, I don’t have the totally finished pic on my phone. To me, open is preferable to more cabinets. In my experience it is usually more popular also.

PS- we did loose some upper cabinets though- but they weren’t missed compared to the open space that was gained