Our 1950s kitchen was bland, inefficient, small and worn out. It was 10'6" x 10'6" with a window on one wall, door to the carport on another and an 8' opening to the dining area on another.

About that opening: a previous owner had turned a regular doorway on a loadbearing wall into an opening without benefit of a beam or jack studs.

A 20 CF fridge sat at the end of the cabinet run to the left.

We knocked down the wall on the left side to take in a former home office that had an exterior door to the back yard and a double closet that now houses a double pantry. New dimensions are 10'6" wide x 22' long plus the 24" deep pantry.

A new faucet is the only thing we used from the old kitchen. The window and sink location remained the same to use existing plumbing as much as possible.

Some highlights: the DW is to the right of the sink, and adjacent to where dishes and utensils are stored. The dining table is located straight through the opening from the dish cabinets. A Keurig and toaster are on the counter underneath the cabinet holding coffee mugs.

The exterior wall has 178" of counter in addition to the range. The old kitchen had about 84" of countertops altogether.

The twin pantries are 68" wide and have a total of 10 ROTs with Blumotion full extension soft close glides. Vertical spacing of the ROTs can be changed without tools to suit changing storage needs.

An 85" prep area is located between a 30 CF French door fridge and the pantry, directly across from the range. There are four 30" drawer bases within two steps of the range. A Sharp OTC MW will be installed on the prep wall. The cabinet underneath the MW contains ROTs for small appliances.

The 15" full-height cabinet to the right of the range was intended as a trash pullout but was hijacked for ZipLok bags, aluminum foil, trash bags, etc.

The former fluorescent lights over the sink have been replaced with LED lighting and there is also now LED lighting under all uppers.

All electrical appliances have a dedicated circuit as do all outlets so there is total flexibility for moving or adding countertop appliances. There are also four USB slots for cellphones, tablets or laptops.

We deliberately chose to have more space between the window and adjacent cabinets. When we enclose the carport next year, this window and the door to the back yard will be the only source of natural light. The wider space, which faces south, will allow more sunlight throughout the day.

We also deliberately chose not to take cabinets to the ceiling. Financially that would have been a wash with a finished top panel (to prevent dust from falling between cabinets) and the galley rail which continued a sentimental architectural feature from the adjacent dining area. Given all of our display items, I'm sure the space above the cabinets will be put to use and the wall color above the cabinets helps break up the white cabinets and white ceiling.

I would appreciate any feedback about the reno, whether it is finishing touches or things that could have been done differently.

Also, I would be curious about what people think this reno is worth (appliances were about $5,500).

Thanks!