I see a lot of brick work you would need to find out what is load bearing and what is not . Maybe a galley style could work. Can you do a to scale floor plan of the kitchen and the space in front of the sliders . Show where the plumbing is now . Us graph paper to make a scaled drawing easier . For me function tops everything in a kitchen and maybe the entry might need a bit of work so it does not bring guests righ into the middle of the kitchen . Many things are possible budget is for sure a huge issue. The floor plan needs to show every window doorway where those lead and every measurement clearly marked . Then post here in jpeg format in a comment DO NOT start another post

I wouldn't just move the peninsula, I'd remove it.

What is the Green wall? I'd use that whole area as a kitchen.

Nothing Majestic about the brick walls, if it is just a facade, I'd remove the bricks too.

Even if the brick wall adjacent to the tiled area is load bearing, you can minimize it and incorporate it into cabinetry, or just a new clean support wall.

A proper floor plan with clear measurements and plumbing locations will help with suggestions.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting, I will need to work on a drawing of the floor plan with measurements. The brick wall is load bearing.

@Lyn Nielson, there is a lot of brick! "Nothing majestic about the brick walls" -- lol. You are right. The brick wall is load bearing and the brick on the other side is partial wall and leads to a fireplace. I will need to work on a drawing of the floor plan with measurements and indicate plumbing.

following along

Please provide a photo taken with back to sliding door over the other side of the space. You're only showing half the space.

General impression:

--The fact that you're not showing us the whole space indicates you're not thinking of the ENTIRE space. What's the feeling your want for your living room, dining, and kitchen in total? The kitchen is part of the space, not the whole space and needs to be integrated with your plans for the living and dining spaces.

--Paint all brick white but a different, warmer white once your renovation is done.

--Change out white tile floor for something warmer. What are you plans for flooring? If budget restricts new flooring then get a rug for dining area.

--Leave peninsula but no upper cabinets over it. Just be efficient about what you need to put inside the cabinets.

--Oval table in dining space. Add great pendant over it.

--The "bar" on living room side looks like a cheap part of the kitchen. Instead, find a great looking low cabinet that will complement whatever your living room area furnishings will be. Or paint current lower cabinet same white as your eventual walls but remove top cabinet. Change out the tiles for marble.

Different idea. Leave the peninsula where it is but remove the upper cabinets and recover it with a one level countertop with overhang for stools. On the empty wall on the opposite side of the sliders, design a beautiful storage pantry covering the entire wall. Now you don’t need the storage in the upper cabinets and you visually enlarge the kitchen without moving any water or appliances.

For what it is worth, I love a bar in the living room and I love the brick.

@auntthelma. I have a feeling the blank wall is for fridge. The OP hasn't given us much visual or descriptive information.

A peninsula/island should not extend into the area with the vaulted ceiling. The ceiling defines the space below it, and it is unnatural to cross that. Add to that it appears there might be a clerestory at the top of vault, which adds to the "linearity" from the front door to the slider.

I do not know if this slider space is meant to be the Breakfast Area or the space next to it with the angled wall.

Because one wythe of the brick wall sticks out past the vault, the brick itself is more than likely just a veneer to the bearing wood structure behind. Face brick doesn't make for a good structural material.

In addition to a detailed drawing with measurements of the kitchen area, please provide an overview of all the rooms on the first floor.

Is this a dining room where the pink arrow is pointing? Do you need a formal dining room and could you expend you kitchen by knocking this wall down and going into the dining room area?

What is in this area with the cut out window? A space into which you could move a fornal dining room?

I don't consider the entry nor the raised ceiling magestic. But, those doors seem a major through way to a pool. I can see using this space for something but taking care that you don't impede the pathway to the pool all that much.

are you keeping that tile floor?

what's to the right of the kitchen, a dining room?

if you're going to remodel kitchen, do it right one time.

as it is now, there is nothing worth keeping.

moving a water line isn't a big deal unless you have to also move the drain line.

Plus, you already have plumbing to the wet bar, so it's easy to tie into either line (kitchen or the bar)

I'd knock down the wall into the dining and enlarge the kitchen that way. this way you could have a nice island.

make a little eat in kitchen area in front of the sliders.

Housegal, looks to me like the refrigerator goes on the inside/right side of the kitchen. My thought is a full wall pantry outside of the kitchen proper on the blank wall to the left of the patio doors.

@auntthelma: OP hasn't given us much to work with. At least @3onatree explained why extending the peninsula breaks up the line created by the vaulted ceiling. This is one of those frustrating DD where someone asks about one part of a problem, not realizing the entire space has to be taken into account. Then doesn't answer questions, give more detail, or provide more photos.

Thank you all for sharing your ideas. Long day yesterday hence the delay. My husband is working on to scale drawings. Also, I’ve never remodeled before so bear with me as I get the info needed for more informed input.

Here is a floor plan photo that was included in the listing of the home which is all I have in the moment and additional photos of the space.

What are you using the extra room for? That room , labeled ”room” could be the dining room leaving the room labeled ”dining area“ available to expand the kitchen into or create a killer pantry.

Answers to questions-

• the brick is real brick not veneer
• the white tile will be replaced with a warm LVP flooring to include entryway, kitchen and dining areas.
• all light fixtures will be replaced
• the room adjacent to the to the entryway/foyer will be a office/library/zen den
• the feeling I am hoping to create is warm, cozy, clean and relaxing

Thanks for the updates. Since you may be asking questions for other areas of your new house in the future, always supply photos of all four sides of an entire space at the beginning of each new posting. And measurements.

I have nothing to add except paint the walls and all the brick a warmer white that will coordinate with your flooring since that will be a permanent "given." Same with choosing your cabinet finish.

I still like an oval table in the breakfast dining space where family can sit by the doorway and look out at the view. Nice place to have coffee, open mail, etc. However, you still haven't given us measurements, so don't know what size table could go there.

Is it a big deal to have the slider door? I need to see the whole floor plan I do not think the beam rules out a proper kitchen but no way to really help without a to scale plan and some answers as we go along.

"the brick is real brick not veneer"

I only brought it up and responding further just to counter you from getting hemmed into a corner with layout ideas and finishes, thinking the brick has to remain as is. Veneer just means that the brick is not structural, it is aesthetic and only attached to the building structure behind it, common with what looks like a 1970s-90s detached home. The brick can be thin (applied with thinset) or full sized (stacked and mortared), but in any case is real clay fired brick. You have the same wire cut face brick present on the exterior and on only select locations on the interior. Those patio columns, around the rest of the house facades, and the fireplace are surely not structural, but a veneer. Think about it - if it was structural, the house framing could not begin until the brick was in place.

The initial process of design is impingent on knowing what your opportunities are. That involves understanding the structure, how plumbing, mechanical, and electrical work, and a ballpark budget with your goals. Those are as important as a drawing to sketch on.

Personally that doesn't feel too majestic to me. I would turn that into an Lshaped kitchen with an island and put either a series of pantries on that left most wall or make it into a coffee/bev bar. It looks like there is an alcove that has wall ovens in it. I would try to get the ref over there so you will have more counterspace.

That's my first thought

My husband took measurements and created this drawing with measurements.

Thank you all for your ideas and input.

That’s a thoughtful dilemma—balancing functionality with the home’s entryway charm is key.

Extending the kitchen into the vaulted space could work if the transition feels intentional. Instead of a full wall or tall cabinetry that might block the view, consider a low-profile island or peninsula that maintains sightlines and preserves that open, airy feeling when you walk in. Glass-front cabinets or open shelving can also help keep things visually light.

By the way, if you're planning a kitchen refresh, especially with cooking in mind, you might want to look into SINDA range hoods—they offer powerful ventilation with sleek, space-conscious designs that won’t overwhelm your layout or sightlines. Could be a nice fit for a more open kitchen concept.

Hope this helps spark some ideas!

Might have missed it, but I don't see that you've ever said what it is you don't like about the current kitchen or what your goal is if you expanded it.

Light is very important to me and looks like you have great light. I wouldn't do anything that messes with that.

I'd remove the hanging cabinets over the peninsula, flatten out the counter and put lower cabinets that open to the walkway side under the counter on the side of the peninsula . That will give you more cabinet space for what you lost in the uppers. The additional cabinets won't be super deep but it's storage.

Kinda this but with cabinets that are functional on the side we're seeing.

Lago Bungalow Kitchen · More Info

I'm not a fan of huge vent hoods, but depending on your code and how you must vent a cooktop, you'll probably need one to hang from the ceiling since you're on a slab.

I don't see that you've said where you plan to eat. Are you going to use the current eating area on the floorplan for a table? Will you want a peninsula that allows space for chairs to pull up to it?

Love your house!

You raise a good point. I want more space for family friends to be able to sit around and chat with a glass of wine while food is being prepared and then sit at the dining table to eat.

This kitchen is cozy and functional. I love cozy and functional :) I don’t necessarily want a large kitchen. The current design allows for easy flow from sink to stove top to refrigerator. I imagine bar stools at a peninsula or island - the island concept is just hard for me to imagine possible. The cabinets over the current peninsula will need to be removed for sure! They impede the view across that counter and when standing in the center of the kitchen it feels very closed off. I agree a level surface for that peninsula would be far more desirable. I don’t love huge vent hoods either. They seem to be making a style statement these days.

@Colossus Mfg thank you for sharing photos of your kitchen with similar layout. This is super helpful to me to visualize the possibility of having an island and how removing those cabinets above the peninsula would really open up that space

I agree with @Debbi Washburn regarding an L shaped kitchen with island. Removing the upper cabinets and turning the peninsula into an island will give you room to move the dishwasher to the left of the sink and add a trash pullout to the right side. Instead a of cooktop and wall ovens, put a regular stove on the refrigerator wall and keep the refrigerator in its current position. Fill the island with bottom drawers and add as many drawers on the stove and refrigerator wall as possible. You'll actually increase your storage space and open the space up as well. The other option would be to still change to an island but move the cooktop to the refrigerator wall and keep the wall ovens in their current spot. Can you also post a picture of that wall? Your breakfast nook is tight so I wouldn't add seating to the island. Since you have seating directly adjacent to the kitchen, I don't think you need it.

Unless you are in love with the idea of the bar, I would turn that whole space into a pantry….I would also fill in the awkward missing part of the study wall, it just seems odd. I think the space has lots of potential, and once all that tile is gone, the brick painted, and that awkward row of cupboards is down, it will be amazing.

You use that space as abreakfast room so IMO not proble including it in a new kitchen layout . People enlarge kitchens all the time with a wall removal and often a beam or with aoffi which is what you have there . A good independant KD could be ahuge help .

What about something like this?

How long have you lived there? I assume you are in now, since you can take measurements? Do you think living there for a while might change what you think of the spaces, storage, flow, and aesthetics? Not that you will grow to love the tile counter, but for instance, you might not like how the pool and outdoor living is so disassociated with Living, or how the Master is so oversized compared to how much time you spend there vs the Living/Kitchen. Maybe you will feel frustration with something where you are willing to spend more money to move plumbing, or feel spending $20-$50K just to fix the peninsula would be better worth waiting to do more scope in a holistic design rather than piecemeal.

This is a good point.We have not lived in the home yet. We just bought it with the intent of doing some renovations. I do think living in the home could change how we feel about the space.

Living in the space will be key. When we look at homes, ideas come to us that often never become reality. This home has space potential. It will be important to decide where your investment in footage is best served. Large friendly kitchen could mean expanding into the dining area and as suggested "the room" may be better served as a dining area than a catchall library/office/zen space. Somethings sound kewl on chalkboards but cost a ton when discussing sq. footage use. I could see removing the peninsula and uppers, taking out the wall between the kitchen and dining area and redesigning that footage into an eat in kitchen/hang out.... Sight line from the front door to the back slider is something to consider. Do you want the view of a table/cupboards/counter seating???? You said you like the idea of a cozy kitchen, so possibly removing the uppers and expanding the counter to accommodate stools is all you need for 'friends hang out' while you cook? I think your pics are miss leading/stretched oddly. That glass cook top looks enormous. It's placement would need to be rethought as no one wants to sit that close to heat/greasy/splattering cook top. What would your budget be? DIY of the tile back splash and replacement would go a long way to improve what's there, and not break the bank.

+1 to living in the home for a while to see how you use it, how the light is during different parts of the day etc.. it’s hard to be patient but the outcome will be much better

(fwiw we lived in our home 7 yrs before we worked with an architect for a reno & addition and ended up moving our kitchen which helped the flow of the entire first floor, and by then we knew ALL the issues we needed to solve.. glad I didn’t know it would be 7 years when we moved in, I would have been so sad 🥲)

Unless you prefer a separate dining room, you might consider moving the kitchen to where the dining room is and then having one dining space instead of a breakfast nook and a dining room.