Hello all!

I've been reading posts here for awhile but this is my first time posting myself :)

My husband and I are two months into our new home (yippee!) and in the very beginning stages of redoing our kitchen. So far all we've done is replace the refrigerator.

We've gone back and forth between just staining the cabinets and replacing the countertops, keeping the same layout, or completely tearing everything out and starting from scratch. The previous owners, when they redid the kitchen, located the refrigerator across the kitchen from the sink and water line. Hence, no ice or water to our beautiful new fridge unless we shell out some major plumbing money. Also, there are some breaks between the bottom cabinets where we can peek in and see nastiness lives, but its impossible for us to clean without tearing it all out. And, the floor is in bad shape, could use replacing.

What I would love some advice on is new layout ideas for if we completely start from scratch and rip all the counters out. If anyone has any creative ideas for where to put the appliances, do we keep the squared in concept we have going now or extend the cabinet along the wall and do a big island? Etc :)

I am a huge cook, I spend a ton of time in the kitchen, so I want to make sure I make the best use of the space! And I'd like to have a starting point design wise before we start talking to actual designers and kitchen people.

I'm addicted to Pinterest of course but it's a bit hard to use it for ideas when all the spaces have completely different configurations.

Here are some pictures of our kitchen area- it shares a bigger room with our family room, which I love. That way while I cook for dinner parties, I can be involved in the party.

Thank you for any ideas!!

xoxo

Jessi