Appreciate your comment, @Marionette, but it's far too late in the process to do that. To clarify why we went this route, there is very limited light in the entire right side of the house because of a two car garage that blocks it 90% of the time... To bring light into the house, we are 100% committed to removing the wall between K&D. In addition, because of the placement of the basement door/exterior door, entryway, and windows, we would have had a very chopped up kitchen with limited lowers and just about zero uppers. We ran through all the permutations and this was the best option. :)

I would do whatever was needed to get consistent flooring through the space - it will flow better and look so much bigger. I think that different flooring will always make the kitchen look like an after thought

Keep the flooring consistent….you do not need tile in the kitchen at all, and wood is easier on legs and feet.

I've recommended swapping a kitchen with a dining room many many times, but this is not a layout that I would. If you're at all open to looking at layout suggestions for your kitchen in place, just post the constraints for that room and we can see what we can come up with. Might be something you hadn't considered.

I understand why you want to move the kitchen.

My preference would be to put LVP everywhere, but since you'll be installing wood, I'd put tiles just where the kitchen is. I'd also forego the coffee bar as it cuts the space weirdly, and put in a proper dining table (no banquettes).

I would also consider extending the remains of the wall between the kitchen and dining with glass panels (with or without doors) to help with the flooring transition:

The one thing that would bother me in the new layout is the bathroom opening into the dining room. If that bothers you too, another idea could be to create a bit of a hallways leading to the bathroom for more privacy, maybe using some columns on both sides (skipping the glass panels):

I'd use a fun tile for the kitchen.

I would definitely keep flooring consistent and do wood everywhere. i have had 100 year old apartments with old wood floors - a few stains by then but overall lovely. wood is what i put in my new kitchen - at least you can refinish when needed. having half tile in diningroom will be weird, and since you are opening it up is harder to just tile the kitchen. i would also do a regular table not a strangely laid out banquet. looks like there is space and it will be more comfortable.

Hey folks - thanks so much for your feedback, albeit at times rather harsh... @User - thank you so much for your thoughts RE: the flooring, I love your solution for letting light in an helping with the flooring transition—and for the record, the bathroom doesn't bother me but I know some folks are put off by that placement. :)

Regarding the constraints, which thank you @sheloveslayouts for requesting additional information, see:

Since most reactions here seem to be RE: the swapping of K&D, I'd love to hear your ideas for how we could make this kitchen work in the existing space. We did work with a designer on the layout and this is where we netted out. Our cabinets are ordered. Feels like there's no turning back, but I'm still terribly curious. Maybe morbid curiosity based on the strength of reactions here...

Note: The banquet can/should be ignored - I was just trying to work out a way to make the flooring make sense, but clearly it's an awful idea... I'd welcome thoughts on how to make that space functional as MORE than a dining room though. We're informal people and it'll likely be more of a lounge/library, table (more for games than dining), record player, etc...

And so yes, I recognize that the room the kitchen is currently in is technically larger, but it's also got the basement stairs to contend with which creates a strange alcove where the built-in is (which houses the fridge) as well as an opening on every side. We could not identify opportunities for contiguous uppers—we don't intend to lose (or replace) either/both windows.

For those who mentioned cost: As I mentioned, my father in law is doing all of the work for us at no charge, so the labor costs associated with swapping rooms is less of an issue. In addition, there was no way we could work out, keeping the kitchen where it currently is, that wouldn't involve moving pipes and electric and running a gas line (which we currently do not have in any room). And we're also replacing floors throughout the house regardless.

I look forward to thoughts on how the layout could work in the current kitchen, as well as flooring suggestions, or any other productive suggestions for how we can maximize the space. That said, if your comment is simply "bad idea" with no "here's a better one" I'd appreciate it if you don't comment. :)

Thanks so much!!

First, I think you're awesome for welcoming ideas at this stage.

Do you have exactly 31" between the low window casings or is that between the openings? And what is the sill height of those windows?

Edited to ask..

And can your washer/dryer stack?

Sorry for the interrogation. My mind is working this out.

Is the closet in the foyer something that has special, original woodwork? Can the closet be modified? Thanks!!

Thanks so much @sheloveslayouts!

One complicating factor is that we haven't properly moved in yet (purchased in Nov, and are moving end of the month) so I unfortunately I can't double check. I believe 31" was casing to casing, and the sill height was 32 or 33".

RE: The washer/dryer, I got talked out of stacking but absolutely hated them in the powder room so those are getting moved elsewhere regardless. :)

Thanks!!

I love where your head is at, and mine went there too - we've got a built in bookcase *someone* is wedded to as well as a return in the wall between the closet and the kitchen entryway. 😆 keep the questions coming!

Is the closet special? Could you swap the entrance and the closet something like this?

HM... very interesting!! You really do love layouts - such an awesome thought! The challenge with that would be where the stairs (the ones that go upstairs) do a little turn on the inside of the current closet (not pictured, the misleading basement stairs would have you believe they go straight up.) Basically you'd have a stair-shaped headroom situation in the new entryway.

I'm going to noodle over this a bit and we'll see what we can come up with.

I would argue that the key to your kitchen is most likely this foyer/kitchen wall. And saving a bookcase - especially if it is not 100+ year old original handcrafted woodwork that can't be repurposed elsewhere - is not more important than a solid kitchen design.

I'm familiar with that upper stair turn situation. Typically the ceilings are high enough that it doesn't create an issue, but every house is different. If I run across any images to illustrate the angle not looking weird, I'll share.

Take your time! I totally hear you and I appreciate you putting so much thought into this. The house was built in 1920 and I'm pretty sure the bookshelf is original, but it's not particularly special IMO. The AC return being integrated into the wall below it + wanting to still have a closet in the entryway + the headroom situation + husband likes the bookshelf + father in law really only wants to mess with one wall just made me just kind of stop entertaining it as an option. I can definitely see what you're saying though, and I really appreciate all your thoughts! I also feel like I've got to ask, is the kitchen we've plotted in the dining room really so terrible? I've been living in city apartments for 20+ years, so it fees like a mansion palace kitchen to me.

Yes, it is bad. And unnecessarily expensive.

It's okay. My husband and I made design mistakes when we jumped into a kitchen remodel as new homeowners. )Cabinet sales people offer zero helpful guidance.) It was pretty, but grew to hate that kitchen.

If you've never lived in this house, it's understandable that you might not recognize the benefits of the existing kitchen location

You can have a fantastic kitchen that will serve you well, for less money.

Thanks so so much for this, @sheloveslayouts! I'm going to send you a private message. I can't thank you enough for all your interest and putting such wonderful thought into this!