I should also mention that we're ok with making the dining room a little less formal with the u-shaped option presented above. It's not going to be decorated/designed as a true "eat-in kitchen" and i'd like to keep the original wood floors in the dining area if at all possibly to help delineate the kitchen from the dining area, but the table and built-ins I am envisioning will definitely lean more towards the more casual -- white painted furniture, perhaps a built-in window seat, etc.

We plan on being in this house a long time, as it is a premium lot that backs to a preserved forest - a rarity in this area! I do want to keep a slight nod towards resale, but I also want to make the space as practical for us as I can.

We are also ok with losing the 2nd dining space in the family room, although we can be flexible with the room - the furniture in the floor plans is really just a mockup -- anything is possible!

When it comes to hosting thanksgiving once a year, we will figure out what to do when the time comes ;-)

It's definitely wise to consolidate dining and I think you're on the right track.

Have you seen the 31 kitchen design rules (link below)? One thing that I notice is the space between the dining table and wall - the minimum recommended is 36", but 44" is more comfortable, and it looks like less than 30" in your picture. So you might have to shift the table left, would would might crowd the main walkway to/fro the family room. Might you consider a bench seat on that wall? I'm not a fan of bench seats, but many folks like them.

Another thing that jumps out to me is the apparent lack of an entry or foyer of any kind. There should be something to separate the entry from the rest of the public living space, even if it's just furniture or decorations.

Here is a link that might be useful: 31 kitchen design rules

Thanks for chiming in, GauchoGordo! I didn't go all out with laying out my current living room furniture setup in the whole house floorplan. In reality, I have a foyer table, some comfy chairs, and actually, NOT a couch, lol! The way we use the front living room, it's really just one big foyer/entrance area that is nicely decorated and kept clean in case company stops by. Then we all move to the family room where "life happens" ;-)

It's funny you mention the bench seating -- i've been mocking something up on Ikea's website over the last few days. Some built-in seating under the window (that window in the dining room, by the way, is one of those short and wide jobbers that start about 5 feet off the floor... ugh, 60's ranches!) with possibly some shallow cabinets on either end to frame it all in. I'm thinking built-in bench seating for 2 against the wall, then 4 other chairs to fill in the rest of the table.

Now i'm off to learn about the 31 kitchen design rules... thank you for the link!

Do you want to be able to interact and see more of the family room when in the kitchen?

In general I like what you did, but what about putting the sink/dw so you have a view to the family room. Ie use the existing opening and maybe enlarge a bit to have a pass through and also a view to the back nature preserve you mentioned. I know the windows aren't perfectly aligned, but I would rather see some than have my back towards it.

I like Lyfia's suggestion! Changing the orientation to the family room (and maybe closing the opening to the living room) would give you a beautiful view and take care of your sight line issues, from the front door. I like combining the dining areas, too :)

Thanks, Lyfia and LavenderLass! At first I nixed the idea of relocating the sink to the opposite end of the kitchen, largely due to cost reasons (I'm ok with shimmying the sink over a few feet, but wasn't sure what the costs are associated with moving it across the room. Still, though, I started mocking something up in my software and I kind of like how it's evolving!

My concerns are:
1. if the fridge moves to the opposite wall (where we fill in that pesky column), when you round the corner from the living/dining room, it sticks out right in your face. I thought nestling it into the old doorway was clever, and I lose that with this layout. Also, it puts the fridge a few more steps away from people hanging out in the family room (admittedly, not a huge deal, but something to consider).
2. Keeping a window cutout in the old doorway means I lose some upper cabinets. I think I can squeeze more continuous prep space out of this one, though, and my base cabinet storage potential increases, which is a HUGE plus.

Here's what I have so far (please disregard what is going on in the dining room with these pics ;-). In both cases, the microwave is next to the fridge (shown as an OTR that isn't located over a range):

Layout 1: Nestles the fridge into the old doorway. Note the extra 5 foot run of upper cabinets above the sink. My corners aren't very functional in this one, but I'm totally open to suggestions. Garbage pullout is "south" of the stove in this layout, in the middle of prep space.

Layout 2: Keeps a cutout to the family room (reflected as a window above the sink), moves the sink to the opposite wall. Really like how the fridge wall is shaping up with this and that I can get a susan in without sacrificing drawer space. Garbage pullout is just "north" of stove, on the edge of the slightly more expansive prep space.

In either case, with the 24 inch sink base (which is what I have now), I'd try to squeeze in as large a sink as possible, hopefully a d-bowl with the faucet off in a back corner. With Layout 2, I could probably go up to a 30 inch sink base and shorten the bank of drawers next door from a 30 to a 24. That base cabinet is where I was thinking of storing dishes, and I think it can all squeeze in.

I should mention that due to cost, I'm probably going with Ikea cabinets or Barker depending on cost, or perhaps a combination of the two if i'm finding I need a lot of special sizes.

What do you think?

I'm a newbie with regard to layout, so I don't have anything to offer you there - sorry! :-) BUT, I was wondering what software you used for the layouts in your original post, and in the follow up posts that show just the kitchen. Thanks!

Hi Madtown!

For the pictures in my original thread, I used floorplanner.com. Accounts are free (but you can also pay to have more than one "project"). I have a free account and have been able to use the multiple floors in my "house" to mock up the same spaces with different layouts ;-)

For the kitchen cabinet layouts, I have been using the Ikea planner. I also use the lowes layout planner (it's the same software engine as ikea, but has more cabinet size/decor options and the 3d rendering is nicer, but i've been trying to stick with Ikea wherever possible to force me to standard sizes (and lower costs ;-).

Hope this helps!
Michele

Cool, thanks! That is a good tip about using multiple floors to get more than one layout - thanks!

Good luck with your plans! :-) For what it's worth, I like Layout #2 in your follow up post!

What's the motivation to keep that piece of wall between the kitchen and family room? From an purely aesthetic standpoint, I think passthrus look dated and awkward. So I think it would look better with just a peninsula there, and if you needed a structural support column, then I'd integrate it into the peninsula.

Is your basement ceiling finished? If not, moving the plumbing might not be that big a deal.

I like Layout 2 as well. I have a U-shaped kitchen, 10' x 10' (but open to the dining room, as yours would be). Keeping the fridge at the end of the run maximized counter space.

There has been a lot of discussion on this board about corner cabinets. In my kitchen, I have a super susan in one corner, and I closed off the other corner, with drawers on each side (I am thrilled with the way that worked out!). I also replaced diagonal upper cabinets with easy reach uppers, and I love those too.

I'm impressed with the different ideas you've had so far - you are obviously not stuck on anything specific yet, which is wonderful. I'm sure you'll get lots of good ideas here.

Another idea.

Move (and maybe shorten) the wall b/w dining and kitchen towards the DR a little (leave 9' for DR) and have the fridge + a small cab for landing there, and have an L at the left and bottom wall. Have 2 doorways to the FR.

I think 9' section of the DR would be fine with a bench/window seat.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of opening up that wall entirely, GauchoGordo! I've even mocked it up and the sight lines would be AMAZING. I am quite smitten! Now, the trick will be to figure out how to phase a change like that in little by little because otherwise, it will be years before we can afford to tackle it in one fell swoop, and the kitchen in its current state is very challenging to work in. I'll have a chat with my contractor to see what he thinks costs may look like with a few different scenarios.

Annkh, we will have access to the ceiling from the basement (right now, it's those weird 60's tiles that are cobbled together like a puzzle), but i have hopes to replace them with removable drop ceiling tiles, so i'm there with you! And thank you for your insight on corner cabinets. At first I was a nonbeliever, but after doing some plans and seeing how much there is to gain by going all drawers, I'm sold. I just wish Ikea had better corner upper cabinet options (Sena, thank you for taking the time to mock that up for me! I don't think there is space to put a normal fridge on that wall -- what is there currently is only 15" deep, and that would have to double to keep the kitchen walkway clear, which means the dining room shrinks accordingly =( I love my house, but oh, how I wish I had an extra foot or 2 in any one direction, lol!

I think the new plan is to work towards something close to Layout 2 with an eye towards eventually opening up the wall to get a peninsula. The good part about this is, if my 33" fridge conks out between now and when we're getting down to remodel business, I know I can just get rid of that dumb column, block off that wall, run some electrical and and get my 36" wide fancy dancy french door fridge with very little impact to the existing cabinetry! It won't be pretty, but to anyone other than you guys, nobody will probably notice, lol. That's actually quite a relief!

Now I get to come up with 39487293487 more cabinet permutations for you to put through the ringer (in a good way!) and help me get to my final final vision! Thank you sooooo much!