https://www.flickr.com/photos/195013108@N02/sets/72177720296693717

My fiance and I recently bought a house and what we thought would be minor kitchen upgrades has somehow spiraled into a complete renovation. My biggest issue initially was the soffits that made the ceiling feel very low and the popcorn. My fiance's biggest issue was that the washer and dryer were in the kitchen, in a closet that shared a wall with the formal dining room and the living room. He hated the noise and I hated that he threw dirty clothes in the middle of the kitchen floor "to be washed". So, we had the soffits and popcorn taken out, and opened up the laundry closet as much as possible. We could not remove the wall dividing the laundry closet from the refrigerator space because the A/C drain pipe runs down that wall. We considered removing the pantry that opens into the informal dining/ breakfast area to open the kitchen up more, but that turned out to be load bearing.

After using the kitchen for a while, I started to dislike the brick wall the housed the oven. It made it awkward to use the counter space right of the cooktop. Also, if I cooked at the stovetop with the oven on I would be blasted with heat from the front and back which was not fun. So we took that brick structure out and plan to replace it with a slide in range to save space (and $). Now it was obvious we would have to replace all of the cabinets and counter tops instead of painting and trying to find some that matched good enough to put the kitchen back together.

There was an electrical panel in the laundry closet above the washer. I considered leaving it there and using the space under it for a trash/recycling cans or dog food bowls, or something, anything to save money but we couldn't figure out a solution that satisfied both me and the electrical code requirements. So, we bought a new panel and had it flipped to the opposite side of the wall, into the formal dining room where it will later be covered with some type of wall art.

Now, we are trying to decide on the kitchen cabinet layout. The major issue is the location of the new range. The old cooktop and oven each had gas hookups, so I can place the range on either wall. Aesthetically, I prefer the range in the corner but I've never had one so there may be some disadvantages that I'm not seeing. I do worry about the amount of space the corner range eats up in a kitchen that already seems small in proportion to the house's other rooms. The upper cabinets also look weird to me with the range in the corner and an exhaust hood. I've always wanted an exhaust hood that wasn't mounted under cabinets, but it might look better with them. What do yall think?

Please help save my kitchen! I would love any and all feedback, suggestions, etc. on how I can improve this layout. I am open to something entirely different as well, the only thing I cant move is the sink. (Kitchen is on a slab) I know the layouts aren't perfect- they are just visual aids for me and will be redone by our cabinet supplier at some point.

Many thanks in advance!!

Photos show the kitchen at move in, the kitchen now, the floorplan, and 3 different layouts with different range locations.