disagree w removal of any windows. where it says 5inches ..the small side stub wall on stairwell wall....can that be extended and put a dedicated outlet and put fridge there? then window wall contains sink and range/hood and the task area extends to about the midpoint where window is...then beyond that midpoint in dining zone do some display w glass doored uppers and 15 in deep lowers etc. dont over do it...you can add these dining zone cabinet areas later or unfitted vintage hutches work well too. Keeping windows and push fridge to the other side and still remove dividing wall in question would be my preferred approach.

Generally the 2nd layout follows the order of cooking (fridge-sink-stove), except I would not put your microwave right next to your stove (if possible move it to the other side of your fridge, or on the opposite wall as shown in the first rendering).

In your first layout, you need to cross the cooking zone to get from the fridge to the sink, which isn't ideal. But if you go with that, the dishwasher should be moved to the other side of the sink.

@herbflavor Unfortunately adding to that wall into the dining area would take too much out of that room for our liking, while I hate to lose a window we will be gaining natural light by the addition of the big glass slider on the back wall, which is also south facing and that window overlooks our driveway/neighbors house so are not missing much on the view.

@anj_p I think I am just a bit confused, you say second layout follows the order of cooking, but that one actually shows fridge-stove-sink. Do you think having the sink next to the fridge is the better option?

I’d do the first or pale blue plan then. Re the pantry right of fridge: 15 in single door column At full depth w pull out tray shelves ( holds a lot) Add a second tall cabinet on that stair wall set up ... try 12 or 15 in deep at one end or other w fixed shelves behind single door. You get pantry in two slightly different configurations two different spots ....eliminate the dbl door style you drew up.....not the best.

Sorry, yes I meant your first one shows the order of cooking.

They’re both terrible, honestly. There’s so little continuous counter space! You’re going through a lot of trouble and expense to open up that wall between the kitchen and dining rooms, but you’re not using that extra space to improve the capacity and function of the kitchen. You’ve added some trendy “stuff” but you did that at the expense of the actual of the kitchen! Trust me: been there, done that.

@Sammy, thanks for the input. Do you have any ideas on what you would suggest we do with the space? You are correct with the counter space, but it is more than we currently have and it gave us a few other, as you noted "trendy", options that we liked.

Any additional feedback would be amazing, we thought we were getting close on a design, but some comments here disagree. Do we need to blow this up and start over?

Did one of the bad ideas you've already rejected involve flipping the dining room and kitchen spaces? Moving the kitchen to the front of the house might seem odd, but you're almost doing that anyway with the current plan. You could leave the structural wall and just widen passageway between the two rooms. With bench seating in the back corner, you could create a cozy dining area. Then move the kitchen into the dining area to take advantage of the extra width and wall space.

@petula67 So that was actually our original plan, but we ultimately decided that keeping the dinning area where it is better fits our needs for needing to accommodate family/friend dinners, borrowing space from the living room if needed. With it in the back, it would be fine for everyday needs, but couldn't really hold more than 4-6 people.

I think you were on a better track by swapping the kitchen and dining. A banquette corner would maximize seating and a peninsula island would give you the work triangle and counter space you need (not to mention additional seating there)

@thinkdesignlive So these are some mock ups we had done a while back, we decided to move on for budget and seating issues, but now the budget has been revamped and just trying to get the best use of the space we have. That is the front door, which is our main point of entry, just behind the peninsula and the room is open to the living room. We don't mind the thought of the kitchen being in the front of the house, I know some have strong opinions there. Thoughts or suggested improvements? Thanks again for the input

Post the overall first floor plan please. Someday if you were to convert the backyard window to a door or sliders (assuming the overall yard and architecture allows) that would be a great future improvement.

Ok I remember seeing that you added that to your galley plan. I really like your peninsula plan with the addition of the slider wall. Having the slider wall off the dining area will be great for entertaining. I vote for the peninsula even without seeing the overall first floor plan. It’s just such a better working kitchen and overall feel.

The plan is to remove that backyard window and the existing door next to it and put in a 2-way slider. I don't have an over all first floor plan, but will put something together today so you can see what we are working with as a whole. Thanks!

The desire for a bigger dining area makes good sense, but to me, the kitchen-in-front renderings look so much happier and more functional, kitchen-wise. It's good to think about the 90-10 rule: figure out which is the most frequent use of the space (e.g., daily cooking together, small family meals 90%) and try not to let the less frequent use (larger gatherings 10%) drive an outsized share of the design decisions.

Also, as @thinkdesignlive pointed out, using a banquette approach instead of floating the dining table could allow for nice, ample walkways and the same or more seating space. It could also allow the cabinets to extend farther into the "dining" space, to allow for more storage space.

Okay @thinkdesignlive, a quick Chief Architect trail version download and below is the floor plan for the first level. By no means perfect, but should get you the general gist of the space we are working with.

@hu1967910 you make some very good points with what we would use the space for 95%+ of the time and I think I let that be overshadowed by wanting an enough sit-down dining space for the few annual occasions we would use it. With seating at the peninsula, I think we would find that the table would get used much less for everyday use anyway, so would be able to either have a bench on the the wall side or use the chairs and keep it pushed over enough to allow for ample walkway space to the deck/backyard, which is highly used by us and the dog. Let me know your thoughts after seeing the layout. As someone mentioned, might be able to keep that load bearing wall and just widen opening to keep some separation between the spaces. Thanks!

The flipped plan with the peninsula is my vote. And then add a continuous banquette seat extending from the pantry/ kitchen wall. The article that came out today about small kitchens would be good to refer to. You may wish to reverse the swing on the front door so you naturally enter into the living space.

Thanks so much for all the input, really gave us a lot to think about. Thanks again!

Also, in pretty much all of these plans, you have lower cabinet space to install a microwave drawer. Please do. Get it off your counters or above the range.

@megs1030 With the peninsula option I think we do, microwave drawer has always been the want, but full dept base cabinet storage was an issue in prior plans. Over the stove was never an option as I think it looks cheap, but then again, putting it in a cabinet run looks just as bad I guess.

My major objection to the design that you posted is the visibility of the fridge. I would extend the wall at the stairs east towards the side wall, move the fridge to that side of your kitchen, and block it off from view with the wall. Do you really want to be looking at a huge refrigerator when you walk in the front door?

We really like the openness of the room as a whole, so having the fridge be visible is a concession we are willing to make given our limited space.