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paligirl25 Btw the fake snow on top of the cabinets will be removed. Here are two additional pics showing my idea.

eagledzines A sketch with dimensions would be helpful. Are you stuck on having a dishwasher? Do you have a double sink? Are you stuck on having a double sink or would a single work?

paligirl25 Thanks for responding! I do have a double sink and yes i would like to keep it, as well as the dishwasher...a def necessity. Will try to get a schetch uploaded.

onthefence I'm looking forward to seeing what creative solutions come up. It looks like the fridge move would be a problem since I think it would intrude out over the window quite a bit. I also wonder if the door would even open fully.

paligirl25 I am not really concerned with covering the window, and the fridge opens just fine with about 2" next to the window. That was my purpose of moving it to see if it would work. Given the size of this kitchen I don't have many options...envious of the large kitchens on this site but trying to work with what I have:)

Barbara Griffith Designs The fridge moved to that corner will block a good portion of light from the window, and I think would look awkward. I would leave it as is and add your microwave with vent above the stove. Your table & chairs are just too far out from wall. I would suggest building a banquette seat (padded that goes high up the wall, with a thick colorful cushion. Turn your table so long side is to wall and 2 of your chairs on the outside. Other two chairs could go somewhere else and be used when needed. Replace blinds with Roman Shades, lined woven woods, or print geometric fabric maybe same as on banquette. The cabinet/appliance layout will be just fine if you balance the room.

Lizabeth I think you will be very happy with the fridge in the opposite corner. You will need about 6 inches between wall and fridge to get door to open 90 degree. You can get a smaller fridge or change the dishwasher to an 18 inch model and/or shrink the sink by 6 inches.

Ideally you want countertop at least 18 inch next to stove for cooking purposes. You don't have that now and will appreciate gaining that space. Same for fridge. You have no landing area now for groceries.

Yes move the micro off he countertop either above stove or place it in an upper cabinet.

And you do have room for an island. Not a big one but a slim one. Keep 36 to 42 inch between island and row of cabinets. You say room is 12 x 13 so I am guessing about 2 feet on counter and then space of 3,5 feet and 24 to 30 inch deep island and that should leave you with a 42 inch corridor.. Use upper cabinets which are only 12 inch deep facing the sink and then overlap island top another 12 to 18 inch so you can put counter stools under the island.

Again leave a 36 inch t space from island to stove . You may have to turn it into to a pennisula but if you have 13 feet in that direction you can have a small island of perhaps four feet.

Instead why not place a cool breakfast bar on apposite wall, Some very nice wood butcherblock or stainless steel or granite scrap that is 18 to 22 by about six feet. Either open the top up to view into next room or hang a large mirror to visually double the space.

Good luck.

jgoodmon Not that it would be the best solution necessarily, but have you considered getting rid of the 24"D full-height pantry cabinet and moving the fridge into that space to give more room for the range on that same wall? Does your fridge allow you to change which side the doors swing. Right now, the doors open the wrong way for this kitchen. Handles should be on the right, which would be perfect for moving the fridge into the space you have proposed. :)

eagledzines Handles are normally reversible. To check, just look at the top of the fridge to see if there are plugs where a handle would go.

paligirl25 Lizabeth, Yes this is what i was envisioning. Having the extra cooking/counter space next to the stove (my reason for centering the stove) not to mention with adding the base cabinets next to stove would also give me more storage, something I need desperately! I didn't think about doing a breakfast bar on the opposite wall because I am leaning toward having that wall removed. Thank you for the advice on the island, I plan to do some homework on the sizes...I may decide to paint the cabinets and maybe I can splurge and replace counters with granite to match my island:)

paligirl25 jgoodmon, I did think about relocating the pantry. Other side of the kitchen is a small laundry room, but that would become crowded and just weird. I still need somewhwere to store all my food:)

eagledzines It would be easier to give you meaningful advise with a sketch and dimensions.

paligirl25 Thanks don't have one handy, but will try to upload a sketch when I get home.
It's funny how others can see your space much clearer than you can see it.. I love this site! So many ideas...and of course to every problem there is a solution:)

Marilyn Wilkie Go to ikea.com
Find the Kitchen Planner Tool
Play with arrangements to your heart's content after entering your kitchen's dimensions, doorways, windows, etc.
Buy your new stuff ANYWHERE after planning it out. But if you go iKea it will price it out too.
Anyone can use this tool and see exactly what it will look like in the end, including wall coloring and flooring.

See attached example plan minus appliances.

Lizabeth Yes Ikea kitchen planner is a great tool. I am going to suggest you check your library for a book by Myron Ferguson " Build it Right!" which has a ton of useful info on design and layout.
Paligirl,
I think you know what is wrong with your space. Trust your instincts and continue to play with real size models. Little layouts are great to play with but real people have different tolerances for space. In Europe kitchens are much smaller and people stand closer in Asian countries. You can do a mock up of an island using dining chairs covered with sheets to see how bulky an island would feel.

Anyone can design an uber kitchen with tons of space and money, the real challenge is to do an elegant and useful design with low dollars and small space. I have been in many many homes with flashy looking kitchens that did not function well at all.

Cathy Darby Just finished ours. Some of the tile I got from Home Depot.

Bill Cassaday move fridge where stove is, you will have to move the hood, it will make it easier to get into fridge from stove. or redo all the cabinets, rearrange them

Marilyn Wilkie Or......do one with appliances also....

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/rooms_ideas/kitchen_howto/NA/plan_your_kitchen_in_3d.html

Lizabeth Bill, are you kidding? If she just flips the stove into where the fridge is she will have a four inch countertop to use for prep work. That is smaller than what I have seen inside a sailboat.

Marilyn Wilkie Hmmmm....do you have a separate dining room? I would be tempted to get rid of the table and chairs and use some of that space for kitchen. Maybe there would still be room for a breakfast bar or something. Stoves should have 12-15" on each side ideally.

eagledzines Sorry to harp on this, but that's why a drawing is so helpful. You not only see dimensions to windows, doors etc. but you can see adjoining spaces, windows, doors, etc. and how these might totally change a suggested design.

paligirl25 Marilyn, no dining room:( That's where I was thinking the island could come into play if I removed the wall.

Marilyn Wilkie Oh, I missed the wall removal...yes, remove it and have them hide the beam (if it's a bearing wall) above the ceiling. We did that with our new kitchen in 2010. We removed the wall between the kitchen and the living room, also removed two small existing closets in the kitchen and the one for the adjoining tiny bedroom on the same wall. That gave us 2 extra feet of width and also room for an island. If you get a chance over the weekend, draw up a plan showing room dimensions, and where the windows, doorways and wall to the living room are. I know there are people on here who would love to play with it.