Plan to make a much bigger change with your two level living space.

Except with little children you can’t have the horizontal bars, unless you cover in glass, plexiglass, or mesh. The last two can be done temporarily with zipties.

Is this your home or a rental?

If your home, I assume you have small children based on your seating comment.

Do you have a separate Dining Room/table space elsewhere? I'm asking b/c if this is the only table space, I wouldn't want to add anything that would take space away from the table space.

On the other hand, if you're looking to add "perching" space, then that's different.

Which is it?

I would consider replacing the uppers with cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling and replacing your cabinet over the fridge with a full depth cabinet. If you know the manufacturer of your current cabinets, you could purchase from them in a door style that matches your bottom cabinets, thereby eliminating the arched cabinets. If you decide to add more cabinets under the window, make them drawers instead of reach in cabinets. You'll increase your storage space exponentially. Are you planning on keeping your dark appliances? Do you have flooring picked out?

@Buehl - yes, this is a rental so I want to be mindful of safety if a family with young kids moves in. There is a more formal dining room nearby.

@katinparadise thank you! We are replacing the appliances with dark stainless. We don't quite have the flooring picked out - we are deciding on cabinet paint color currently.

Do you want/need to see into the sunken area from the kitchen? You could put cabinets there, even if not very deep they would hold a lot of dishware, etc. I read your comment about safety but little kids can already pull a chair up to the railing and hurl themselves over - arguably with no enticing view they'd be less likely to. I guess depends how out of control they are.

Why are you changing the flooring or the cabinets? With lighter appliances, removal of the dark curtains, and warmer paint in off white throughout all the space, you'd have money to build a storage banquette under the window, and perhaps get lighter dining furniture, art, pendant light. Your dining area could look like this, be more efficient, and much brighter.

Novato · More Info

Wood cabinets with dark counters stainless appliances, similar flooring, light wall paint:

Natural Cherry Shaker kitchen with dark granite countertops · More Info

Natural Cherry Shaker kitchen with dark granite countertops · More Info

Since there's a "more formal Dining Room nearby" and you're worried about safety, I suggest either adding cabinets at counter-height for additional storage to block the railing access or erecting a wall to close off the Kitchen (but, that would not be my first choice).

If you want seating, then I suggest a row of full-depth (25"D) base cabinets with a gap that allows seating; block off access at the back of the gap at the railing area with finished end panels.

Or, consider a row of 15"D cabinets with a 15" overhang in front of them for seating. With an overhang, I would not go with cabinets too deep since you will be accessing them by reaching under the overhang.

If you post a full-measured layout of the Kitchen space, we can see what might fit, including adding cabinets under the window. (See https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5972404/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first-2020-interim for more information about a fully-measured layout.)

If you have deeper cabinets along the railing, I don't think safety will be an issue since it's unlikely children young enough to be at risk will climb to the counter and jump down the other side.

One additional comment: Painting cabinets is not cheap - assuming you want a quality job and not a DIY job that usually doesn't last. I wonder if you would be better off just replacing all the cabinets. You could fix the layout issues I see, especially if you're adding cabinets under the window. If you have an IKEA nearby, I would go with IKEA cabinets - they're actually well-built and quite nice. They also have some bells & whistles as standard that many other cabinet makers consider an upgrade/upcharge.

You could replace railings with a half wall/built in bench.

Under the seat have storage installed for appliances, large pots you don't use on a regular basis.

I am not suggesting this size, showing you an example of how much storage you could get with a lift-up seat.

@housegal200 as she recommends the window treatments for the kitchen and living room should go and not be replaced.

Making the window allow for cabinets under it is a great idea that should take care of storage . How much seating do you need in the kitchen. I like the idea of the pony wall with maybe stools . I do however really dislike the drapery and blinds it makes the space feel small and dark not to mention the light sucking black applances and the monster fridge .IMO wait until you can do a new kitchen well planned for how you live.

We are replacing the appliances with dark stainless.

You noted that this was a rental. Does that mean you are the owner, will be living here a while, and then renting it out?

Use regular stainless, not dark stainless. You want this to look lighter and brighter, and you want to get the best longest lasting appliances that a specific company makes, not an appliance package. Regular stainless will allow you to mix and match companies without having to worry whether the finish matches between companies.

I don't think you have room for more storage and a decent table top for four. I'd go for more counter and cabinet space.

Is it optimistic to think you can simply buy more of the same cabinets and have the wood match?

You mentioned you have a formal dining room so instead of just adding cabinets under the window you can do a peninsula giving you some seating in the kitchen.

Knowing this is a rental, I'm rescinding my comment about changing the upper cabinets to go to the ceiling. I agree that regular stainless appliances will brighten up the space and I also agree that getting rid of the dark curtains and just using blinds will also help. Do you really feel it's necessary to add more storage? You have a nice large pantry next to the fridge and there seems to be plenty of storage currently for dishes, pots and pans, etc. Wood cabinets also hold up better in a rental than painted. If it were my rental, I would instead concentrate on appliances, flooring, paint and lighter window treatments to brighten up the space.

@lorierubio

Just to make things clear. You say this is a rental but I find the way your replacing appliances and adding cabinetry and talking about if a family with kids moves in, I'm understaing that you are the owner who will be renting this home when renovated. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If you intend to rent this out why bother redoing a kitchen? I do not feel you will get any return on investment for doing this. Paint the walls neutral, replace the appliances with stainless and get it rented so you can start getting some income from it.

Now we know it is rental IMO take the drpes down clean and clean again and rent it out.

The kitchen can look very nice without spending on extending the cabinets and counters. Your renters can place a sideboard under the window.

@lisedv I love this idea, thank you! I appreciate everyone's feedback. We want the kitchen to be as user-friendly as possible to encourage longer-term and happy tenants. We also keep resale in-mind when we make changes to the home. Thank you!