SFGate

bepsf You really need to invest in an on-site consultation with a designer - There are a number of possibilities and questions to be answered that we're not going to know from a couple of photos:

Can the door next to the kitchen be moved or eliminated?
Can the archway next to the refrigerator be moved - or can that wall be eliminated entirely?
Is there unused space behind the kitchen where the wall could be bumped back a coupe feet?
Can the sink wall be cantilevered out a couple feet like Bud suggested in his idea book?
What's your budget?

guysns bepsf, thanks for the reply. The cabinet company will be consulting with us on the design/layout of cabinets, but I'd like to have some ideas beforehand and we're on our own for the other surfaces.
To answer your questions, 1. the door next to the kitchen is our main entrance and could be moved a foot or two, but I'm worried it would eat into the dining/living area (right now, the only separation between kitchen and dining is this door and the coat rack next to it, and the line where the floor changes from pine to tile). 2. The archway is the hallway to our bathroom, spare bedroom and basement stairs so it can't be moved. 3. No unused space behind the kitchen walls 4. Cantilevering out would be ideal but not in the budget.

I don't see how we can gain any floor space but I'm hoping by changing the cabinets (especially the half-pantry by the fridge) I can gain some storage/counter space. We do have the option of putting a hutch to the left of the archway that would compliment the kitchen cabinets and the dining area, and free up some storage space.

sschaedel Have you seen the fridge slide-outs that hold your pantry items? Great use of vertical space.

http://learning-to-b-me.blogspot.ca/2011/03/cabinet-diy-completed-and-tutorial.html

That space on other side of entrance by fridge seems like wasted space that could be useful.

Cabinets to ceiling for sure. Having them all one colour will make the space seem larger too.

Just my thoughts :-)

Schroeder Design Group, NCIDQ, Licensed See my suggestions below;

This year, we plan to:
1. reface or replace all the cabinetry- most likely replace. We're considering white (light and bright!) or wood with a pecan or honeyed stain (we love this look, but will it make the kitchen look smaller/darker?). Also, I'd love to have the upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling but will this make the room seem smaller? ** Bring the cabinets to the ceiling, it's not that high. Soft white on all cabinetry is a good and fresh, open idea....you have enough wood on the floor already, in my opinion and see below on that too re; flooring ****

2. replace the countertop- we've picked out a "Basalt-Slate" laminate that we love the look of and is budget-friendly. Yes, it's dark but it's the one thing that hubby and I completely love and agree on) *** sounds nice with lighter cabinetry and stainless appliances****

3. Replace the sink- seriously considering a single, with a larger bowl than either half of the double but a smaller footprint overall (more counterspace, especially between stove and sink where is is much needed!) *** How you wash, cook etc. in the kitchen is personal, no right or wrong on sink really, but stainless to match new stainless appliances and for a more consistent look is always good*****

4. Install a dishwasher- SS of course, but do we put it to the immediate right of the sink, or at the end?*** depends on plumbing, electrical - discuss with a contractor *****

5. Replace the flooring. Loved this tile when it was installed, but no matter how much we reinforced the subfloor the grout continually cracks and pops out (we have regrouted more than once with different products, no luck). What to replace it with? We are considering vinyl (cheap, easy to clean), laminate tile (will moisture be a problem?), cork (again, concerned about moisture) or extend pine plank from living room? *** Extending the pine plank into the kitchen with the light cabinets would really open up the place and make it look more like a great room *****it would be way less choppy ***

I also need storage ideas for spices and pots and pans (I have a lots of them and I love to cook). As you can see there is limited wall space for racks! *** Talk to a cabinetry designer about that ******

Also, consider canned lights in the ceiling or a new central light fixture that is more of a chandelier or something more interesting, on a dimmer. The yellow on the walls is fine, that's enough color in that room.

Schroeder Design Group, NCIDQ, Licensed See my suggestions below;

This year, we plan to:
1. reface or replace all the cabinetry- most likely replace. We're considering white (light and bright!) or wood with a pecan or honeyed stain (we love this look, but will it make the kitchen look smaller/darker?). Also, I'd love to have the upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling but will this make the room seem smaller? ** Bring the cabinets to the ceiling, it's not that high. Soft white on all cabinetry is a good and fresh, open idea....you have enough wood on the floor already, in my opinion and see below on that too re; flooring ****

2. replace the countertop- we've picked out a "Basalt-Slate" laminate that we love the look of and is budget-friendly. Yes, it's dark but it's the one thing that hubby and I completely love and agree on) *** sounds nice with lighter cabinetry and stainless appliances****

3. Replace the sink- seriously considering a single, with a larger bowl than either half of the double but a smaller footprint overall (more counterspace, especially between stove and sink where is is much needed!) *** How you wash, cook etc. in the kitchen is personal, no right or wrong on sink really, but stainless to match new stainless appliances and for a more consistent look is always good*****

4. Install a dishwasher- SS of course, but do we put it to the immediate right of the sink, or at the end?*** depends on plumbing, electrical - discuss with a contractor *****

5. Replace the flooring. Loved this tile when it was installed, but no matter how much we reinforced the subfloor the grout continually cracks and pops out (we have regrouted more than once with different products, no luck). What to replace it with? We are considering vinyl (cheap, easy to clean), laminate tile (will moisture be a problem?), cork (again, concerned about moisture) or extend pine plank from living room? *** Extending the pine plank into the kitchen with the light cabinets would really open up the place and make it look more like a great room *****it would be way less choppy ***

I also need storage ideas for spices and pots and pans (I have a lots of them and I love to cook). As you can see there is limited wall space for racks! *** Talk to a cabinetry designer about that ******

Also, consider canned lights in the ceiling or a new central light fixture that is more of a chandelier or something more interesting, on a dimmer. The yellow on the walls is fine, that's enough color in that room.

archadeckjulie What I did right in my kitchen: put the dishwasher next to the sink ( no mess, no excuses for not loading it!); got a double ss sink; tile floors (kids & dogs). I haven't had any issues with grout or tile cracks & my house is 10 yrs old. I wish I had cabinets all the way to the ceiling because the 8 or 10" up there is good for nothing but dust collecting, my cabinets are 42". I have a big kitchen but still don't have enough storage. Do we ever, really? Good luck with your remodel.

Sheryl Horton Your list is a good starting point for meeting with a qualified kitchen designer. Use frameless cabinets for about 15% more storage in the same space. Before deciding on a single bowl sink, look at double bowl versions that have one larger bowl with a standard bowl on the other side. The faucet is installed on the standard size section with larger section extending back. This sink fits in a standard cabinet. By all means use cabinets to the ceiling, it will actually make your space seem larger. You might consider using glass in the top section of a few cabinets to add interest. The most important space saving thing you can do is have a garage sale or give unused items to charity. Plan to store items you use seasonally or occasionally in the upper shelves or in another location. Be ruthless & get rid of items that don't contribute to cooking or that don't have a purpose.
Enclose your refrigerator with side panels. Extend your wood floors into the kitchen. Use indoor outdoor rug or runner. White cabinets will brighten & enlarge the space. Now all whites are stark.Consider using a white dishwasher( check out the Whirlpool white ice collection) Stainless steel will break up the space. if you are using white cabinets.
Have a professional help with your lighting plan! Please use undercabinet lighting! By all means, meet with an experienced Kitchen Designer now! - before you have made costly mistakes. The suggestions I made are off the cuff. A personal visit to your existing kitchen & with you is the best way to get a design & style that will meet your needs & budget.

Danielle Correll If you redo your kitchen DYI and shop for major deals you can usually be pretty successful at saving a TON of $$$$$!!

I am a designer so I thought you could use the assistance and save some money.

1/ I would just change the doors of your cabinets to your desired style. The flat fronts are modern and you could buy new knobs (try an antique finish silvery metal w/ black rubbing) if you are wanting to save money. If you are going that route to save money and time really I would remove all the cab doors (TIP: Make sure you keep track of what doors go where -- ex. U1 = Upper 1, U2 = Upper 2 etc. for lower L1 etc. work from the left to right on both top and bottom). After the bases are painted (min of 2 coats --- semi gloss or gloss for kitchens = easier to clean) and the doors are painted allow everything a min of 24 hrs to dry.

As far as taking the cabinets to the ceiling -- DEF would make the room look taller... taller = the facade of a bigger room. This is super easy to do ---- take 1 x 4's (the 8 ft length pieces) and run them through the saw so they are 1/2 = 2 strips = 1x2" --- Do this with 3 to 4 of the 1 x 4's so you will result in 6 to eight piece long strips. using thinner shorter nails (usually a 2 inch nail) is a good choice and hammer strips in directly above current cabinets all the way around and level the second piece above the other strip which would then be on the ceiling. Be sure to measure the drywall (usually 3/8 to 5/8") and go in that much w/ the strips. After the strips are in then measure the areas above the cabinets and cut drywall to measurements (Be sure to Measure 2x or more before cutting drywall). After the drywall is cut to measurements install drywall and hammer into the strips. Once hammered in mud the drywall areas lightly and sand them. Once sanded paint to match up to cabinets. Once the wall add on is complete I would then add a bit of crown molding to make a visual statement. Modern Traditional would be a lovely add on..... Crown is also easy to install. Be sure to paint it well before installing and then after installing touch up the nail holes. Easy peezy!!

Another idea if you didn't want to do the drywall trick is to add lighting -- up lights (what I call them) or theater lights are pot lights that plug in and point upwards but you can actually find the ones that you can aim whatever way. They also have LED lights that you can do the same trick with.

Your kitchen is a fine space and will work fine with a few minor changes. Think about adding a portable Island where the cross over between the kitchen and where you took the photo -- Something 6' long by 3' wide with extra cabinet space :) If you want to leave it stationary think of the cabinetry on the kitchen side and molding on the opposite side (tip: Buy a plain frame (abt 24 x 36 --Measure for sure x 3 frames) remove the hardware and the glass and paint the frame to the cabinet color. Then be sure to measure out on the cabinet area 3 equal spaces for the frames to be and allow a min of 3-4 inches between each frame - line them up evenly across up and down and tack or panel nail them in and then continue painting the cabinet so that the frames look like they are part of the island cabinet). Cheap way to install molding squares :)

After that pick out 3 bar stools and a set of hanging lights (Lowes has fantastic glass pendant lights and usually you can find a hanging pendant kit and just pick out your glass) This is where you can put a pop of color... something like colbalt blue would be great!!

guysns Wow, I was so surprised to see all these notifications in my e-mail 10 mos after my original post. Thank you all so much for the great feedback. To give you a little update, we have started reworking the existing cabinets ourselves and are about a 1/3 of the way through (pantry and lower cabinets are left). Hubby has routered out the doors and inset them, and added a crown molding at the top. We're painting it all a warm white (Pittsburgh Paint's Alabaster).

guysns Schroeder, thanks for the detailed post. 1. We have gone with a soft white although we decided not to tackle extending to the ceiling (still not sure what, if any, decorative touches will go up there when we're done) 2. The basalt slate counter is still our plan 3. A new single bowl SS sink with built in drain board, and a new gooseneck faucet, are happily waiting to be installed 4. You can't really see it in the pic, but we have a new SS dishwasher next to the sink 5. We're planning to extend the wood into the kitchen, but we're still deciding whether it will be pine or hardwood. Hubby thinks we should replace all of the flooring downstairs with one material throughout and would like it to last forever, but the one hardwood we've agreed on so far was ridiculously expensive :(

We have our hearts set on schoolhouse lights which I hope will add more interest- we actually have a couple of vintage shades already but can't find 4" fixtures to fit them so may have to go all new. Would you go with a short pendant in the middle of the room or a ceiling mount?

guysns Sheryl, you're absolutely right. I'm trying to be ruthless about what goes back in the cupboards as we redo them. Not an easy feat when you love to cook! We're still deciding on floor but think the wood will be extended. Alas, no rugs or runners unless we want to pick them up every night (our dog insists on using them as a rest stop). Re the dishwasher, we got a great deal on SS before we decided the cabinets were going to be right but I agree, white would've blended nicely.

I like the idea of under the cabinet lighting, not sure what kind would work best. I have a cheapie that I bought at Walmart in the darkest corner (plugs in, not wired) but when I tried to buy a replacement bulb they didn't have any that size- I won't make that mistake again! Do you have any budget-friendly suggestions?