Live with it as is for 6 months to a year. In that time frame you will figure out what works and what does not work for you. No sense spending money and then hating the new layout and having to throw away the dollars you just spent or being forced to live with something you hate.

I agree with millworkman - however let me be the first to say that you will need to post a floor plan with dimensions so that any advice given can be based in reality. Adding an island will come down to the inches you have to work with.

If the current owners do not have it staged as such or you are not aware, the (formal) Dining Room is located within the Great Room aligned with the stair circulation.

After living here a while, you might feel some other changes to Dining, overly-large empty space in the Master, etc might need addressed during the Kitchen remodel.

I support the message to move in, live there for six to twelve months. When we moved to our current home, I had set, definite ideas. After living in it for just a short time, I took my ideas in a different direction. I walked around early morning with my coffee and a notebook. While I fixed lunch, I kept my notebook near. Dinner time brought up good and bad features that I had been certain would work, but wouldn’t. I had lots of time to watch the sunset through the windows and prove to myself my first choice for cabinet colors needed to be adjusted before we started work. Keep a list of pros and cons-loved the prep sink before I worked in the existing space until I saw the counter space was awkward.-no prep sink in the remodel! Reviewing my notes was reassuring-I had good reasons for discarding the larger island and using a slightly smaller one that helped our traffic flow. My husband lives to cook, so I constantly tweaked my plans to make the space better for him, too. There is no rush, keep the goal of a beautiful, functional kitchen for your family.