Also looking for help on how to edit that headline to include “for” 😂

I need a floor plan to get a feel for the whole space , I would suggest you get a set of pull down staeps for attic access . I am not sure what we are seeing in the pictures .

Great idea on the steps. I will draw “ha” the floor plan

Very cute! love the black with the stainless, stunning

Floor plan

Previously there was a big old fridge on that wall that opened the wrong way. And no dishwasher 😱. I’ve learned more about assembling IKEA cabinets than I ever hoped to know. The range is an original GE old timer from the Jetsons era with the control panel on the wall

Why not look for an antique jelly cabinet to put on the wall right of the bedroom door? It can provide closed storage and will fit right in to your little kitchen. Agree about pull down stairs to access the attic. Then you can go back to the little art gallery on the wall perpendicular to the utility room.

Bit more context

So you already have a cabinet. I would move it right of the bedroom door with art above it, and do your gallery in the recess where the ladder is.

That recess actually leads to the utility room. I have looked at attic pull down ladders but I will have to modify the attic door as it is a push up panel only 22” square

You might be able to enlarge the opening to the attic, or you might move it into another room so it can be bigger.

I think it might be possible to enlarge it....funny that in the life time of this cottage (60 plus years) no one minded dragging out a ladder to go up there

How many times a year is it necessary to go to the attic? Maybe the ladder will just fit in the utility room and won't have to be visible all the time.

Are you wanting to put something against the wall between the door and wall behind the ladder -- or stop just before the niche -- so you don't have a blank wall or are you in need of storage space as well as counter space?

Have you considered building a "desk" that could, as needed, double as a countertop? Something similar to this:

https://www.jossandmain.com/furniture/pdp/hawkes-desk-j000678304.html

With a pair of 2-3 drawer (two file drawers and one shallow top drawer) filing cabinets spaced as far apart or as close as you need them to be, you could add a countertop matching your kitchen countertops atop that and have a dual purpose unit.

You might consider a floor to ceiling shallow shelving unit but spaced so that at countertop height create a "drop leaf" countertop much like an old fashioned "secretary", with doors or drawers above and below . Or just add a "secretary" style cabinet.

https://www.houzz.com/product/121650842-colonial-natural-solid-wood-drop-front-home-office-secretary-desk-transitional-desks-and-hutches

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/secretaires/antique-pine-secretary-desk-from-sweden/id-f_20860672/

https://www.hayneedle.com/product/acmefurniturewyaniesecretarydesk.cfm

Decoenthusiaste, good point with the attic. I've been up and down quite a bit but once everything has found a home it might only be a couple of times a year

Up vote the horses.

Consider building their home so that it has attic storage space so you can have your own storage locker and not need to rent one.

Extra storage In the plan for the barn. Also a guest suite for my daughters