I think a comfortable distance between the island and the counter is around 42". It seems that you have only 30" between your cook top and the counter. I might be a little too tight. The wall between the entrance and the kitchen could be 4' long instead of 6', you would then be able to move the island a foot which would give you more room between the cook top and the island. Could you switch the location of the toilet and vanity in your dad's bathroom so your enter facing a vanity instead of a toilet which is a lot nicer.

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

For the living room, the focus should be the balcony area. So flipping the couch to face the wall and not the dining table will help. Kind of like this pic. Even if you already have the sectional that is in the diagram, you should be able to flip it. In fact a sectional would probably work better than the couch in this pic. I also really don't like the style of this pic, but it showed what I meant, For the girls' room: No matter which bedroom you choose, you should maximize floor space so that they have the biggest play space possible in their room (as they get older you can add desks for school work and such). To get this space, I would give them bunk beds. This configuration gives them an open feel and more storage, essential for girls. You posted two different kitchen designs. This makes it hard to give you advice. I agree with other posts that your sink should be away from the wall. This allows you to have stuff to the left of you (drying dishes in my house), while you wash vegetables on the right of the sink. You need the same space on both sides of the stove, also. At least 24 inches on both sides is good. 36 is better, though. The first design has a nice little countertop space that adds a place for your daughters a space to sit a watch/ talk to you while you're in the kitchen. When they added this to the first design, you lost cabinets on the other wall. This is bad, as the space is already storage limited. Try making the rounded countertop bump out into the living space more. If you play with the shape, you could make it work without losing the cabinets on the other side. It doesn't have to be rectangular or a perfect circle. You can see how this one isn't confined to the floor plan of the kitchen. I think this is what you would need to do to make it the most functional.

Hi! This is my first post on here- sorry in advance for the length! We recently purchased this 1930s colonial and we are renovating to make it more functional for our lifestyle. We just got engaged, no kids yet but hope to in the future. We love the charm and character of the house (millwork, crystal knobs, red oak floors) but it needs some work. It was also in a great location for us, close to family and where we grew up. Here are my dilemmas/concerns/questions: The previous owners had an addition put on in the back (9x6.5) in the kitchen area which is where the sink and dishwasher are. Problem is it creates an awkward corner and weird layout. We were thinking of knocking down the wall between DR and kitchen as it is non load bearing. But wondering if bumping out that corner / reworking the back area would be better as there is a lot of space back there , but we also are on a somewhat tight budget so I realize that may not be a possibility right now. Previous owners also converted a closet into a powder room on first floor which is great to have but really blocks the flow of everything, I would love a hallway that you could see through to the back of the house from the foyer / entryway. Just feels so cramped there. Painter had said that in order to paint the wall up the stairwell, he would need to remove the posts on the staircase which I definitely don't want to do. I was wondering about relocating the powder room, maybe under the stairs, to create more of a thruway space? I would really love to create a space for a washer dryer on this level too. Since there's already plumbing there, wonder if this could be done around the powder room? Or would this really interfere with my idea of the open hallway? I don't hate the idea of a separate, formal dining room, and would keep that wall if we could, to maintain that original aspect. However with eventually having kids I feel like we would need somewhat more of an open plan so that I could have eyes on the living room in some way / while cooking in the kitchen? I realize my wish list is large, and there may be some contradictions in there. But overall, just trying to create a plan to work towards, do what we can now, and have something to work towards in the future. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Pictures attached! Kitchen with addition Addition side view Red door is exterior door that leads to basement steps Door in kitchen - leads to 3 steps down and landing. to the left is exterior door, to the right is stairs to basement. The wallpaper wall is the other side of the powder room. other view of the (not sure what to call this?) Stairwell next to powder room Powder room again. they must have bumped out 1ft to allow for sink (approx. 8 inch sink) exterior photo for reference (shutter/color will be painted....not sure of color) Side porch with the two french doors from living room. Ideally someday, would like to tie the side yard to the back/patio area somehow. (again - long list) Thanks again for any/all help!!! General floor plan done with our appraisal but it doesnt include dining room/interior walls, also the side entrance is on the wrong wall. The left side of the staircase is where the powderroom is. Floor plan I drew. Sorry its a little hard to read.