Search Houzz for photos with corner pantries as a starting point.

To begin I hate corner pantries and that one seems even worse than most . Post a to scle plan with nothing in the space including that pantry . Is the stair case in the kitchen going to the upper floor or basement ? How many cooks at one time ? How many seats in the DR? IMO the blank wall in the kitchen beside the pantry is wasted space and not sure what to reason for that. Why the angled doorway in the DR? How much are planning to spend ? IMO a set of sliders either in the DR or LR would get rid of the wakward angled door which IMO are always poor design. Can you post some pics of the space too Post here in a comment do not start another post . Maybe explain the reason for that odd pantry space too.

Just a few things is see up front I would reconsider:

- The pantry - looks like it is all shallow shelving and you are squeezing around corner. Lot of wasted floor space IMO. I would remove all of that and commit some space to storage in the garage ( like a mud room )

- The kitchen are seems to be a great size - you should easily be able to incorporate a pantry, whether it is a reach in or cabinetry with rollouts.

- make sure to explore a nice sized island in both directions to see which would look/function better.

- Pretty spaces are easy to design. You need to make sure that you keep an eye on the function. Design for your cooking/storage/entertaining needs.

Good luck!

Thank you for the quick responses. @PatriciaColwell, here are the answers to your questions:

1. The staircase goes up to a bedroom suite on the 2nd floor.

2. I live alone, but there will be 2 people in the kitchen at times. Maybe a few more during holidays. I was planning to accommodate them with a 8' x 4' island.

3. In the DR, I have a great antique French Oak table that is 72" x 30" It'll seat 6..2 on each side and one on each end and fit in the dining area nicely.

4. The blank wall on the side of the pantry used to be where the refrigerator and double over were located prior to removing everything.

Please post a fully-measured layout of the Kitchen + Pantry space.

By "fully-measured", we mean a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. See a sample below. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see post in sample) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you. Since you still have some walls up (pantry walls), please indicate how thick the walls are.

Is the pantry a full-size pantry? I.e., is it an entirely usable space, including ceiling height or is it a pantry below the stairs and there isn't a full space back there?

While I'm not against corner pantries, they have to be in the "right" place -- outside of the work area. Unfortunately, yours is in a bad place as it cuts the Kitchen up.

What appliances (& their sizes) do you plan to have?

Where are you flexible? Can walls/windows/doors/doorways change (move, change size, add, delete)?

How tall are your ceilings -- lowest to highest points?

It would be helpful if you could indicate where the "peak" of the ceiling is in your layout.

For more info, see the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread.

I might be tempted to simplify the future layout like this

Since you have the depth on the one wall I'd make sure to make plans to install a hidden backsplash cabinet to hold small appliances which seem to multiply every year.

I've seen the backsplash lift on side-mounted tracks and also slide sideways.

The same system is used to hide spice storage behind the range for easy access.

I'd also make sure all my electrical outlets were placed to not screw up the appearance of the backsplash.

That pantry is doing you no favors. I’d start like this.

I would ditch that pantry.

Eliminate the pantry and give that space to garage storage. Then create an L-shaped counter with fridge at the garage door end and reach-in pantry at the living room end. Have the island face the living room, leaving at least 54" aisle spaces on both sides. The most functional work triangle would put the sink on the stair wall and the range on the bottom wall, leaving the island clear for prep.