The best advice I can give you is IKEA PAX system. Are you near IKEA? If so, take your measurements there and ask help from on of the kitchen “designers”. Or, try the on-line planner. My daughter uses this even before she goes to the store.

She lives in an urban loft…all concrete, so no good closets. When she finished with the PAX install, she has as much storage as she will ever need. Pieces are in her kitchen; bath; spare room, entry. And, they look amazing as you can switch up doors to get the right look for the right space.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/ikea_kitchens/

The cabinets are the least expensive and quickest fix for you right now.

What is the mini fridge for?

A pantry in the corner is the way to go. Maybe a small hutch so you have coffee space.

Buffet of Buffet With Wood Top and Hutch, White · More Info

Bryony Metal Baker's Rack · More Info

I'd also have a thin, high table to act as an extra counter.

Metal and Wood Console Table · More Info

I wish we could expand the kitchen into the mudroom/laundry, but it's actually not level with the kitchen. The mudroom is 2 steps down from the kitchen. *face palm*

The mini fridge and rack were things my relatives brought over, just to help fill the space and get my appliances off the counter. Right now it holds beverages but is completely unnecessary.

I love the hutch/cabinet idea, but am worried it might not unify the space.

The mudroom is two steps down. But you can still put the microwave or a hutch or a pantry down there. Having the canned goods out of the way gives you more kitchen storage for dishes and pots.

Hi, miiichele! You have a fair amount of options but would need dimensions to help make any feasible recommendations.

Here are the main dimensions. The room is 10'-0" x 9'-6".

The dimensions are for the inside of the walls, I just put them on the outside for space.

Curious about the lay-out of the mud room. Is that wide opening necessary?

We would like to keep it wide, but it can be narrowed. All of the natural light that comes into the kitchen is from the mud room.

How high is the ceiling in the laundry room? If high enough you might be able to level the floor and include the extra space into the kitchen. Or maybe steal some space from the dining room?

another thought...what about a portable dishwasher where the mini fridge is now?

We have considered removing the wall next to the fridge and installing a tall pantry cabinet that connects to a cabinet above the fridge, but the narrowest cabinet at IKEA is 15'' which means it would seep 1" into the entry to the dining room. I wish we could move the opening to the dining room around 6" to accommodate a pantry but it is a load bearing wall and I'm not sure we'd be able to afford it. Our budget is only around $5k. Is moving a wall opening a few inches costly?

The ceiling in the mud room is slightly vaulted, but probably not high enough to raise the floor to level with the kitchen. There are built in cabinets along one wall of the mud room, you can see a glimpse of it in the fridge photo.

Planning on getting a contractor here in the next few days to look at that soffit, and get some price quotes. That soffit is really ruining my kitchen vision for me.

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I really appreciate them and am considering all of them! :-)

What about moving the fridge to the mini fridge location and using the current fridge location for a built in pantry/cabinet/or coffee station?Ask about what it would cost and/or what advantage you might gain by also removing the fridge wall. I would relocate all kitchen items that are not used daily or regularly into the mud room- god luck with your contractor tomorrow!!

Last night I whipped up a layout after listening to your ideas, how does this look?

If the soffit is not removable, could I just extend it all the way down? I know a portion of it would be against the range, but it would just look so much better.

Instead of a pantry cabinet in the corner across the fridge, Ikea sells 15" deep base cabinets. I was thinking that would make a great coffee station, with some open shelving above?

The pantry to the left of the fridge is still interfering with the entry into the dining room, but less than an inch. I think we could figure a way to make it work.

Another option is...

What if we got rid of our fridge (30" wide) and swapped it for a European style one that is 24" with a pull out freezer drawer. I've always liked the look of a smaller fridge. Then instead we'd have plenty of room to fit in an 18" pantry to the left of the fridge.

*one day* we're hoping to put in a 2nd bathroom somewhere. Then we could close up the current bathroom entry in the kitchen, and have the access from the master bedroom. But that will be years down the road.

As much as we'd like to have a dishwasher, my husband does not want a portable one. Only because we hardly have enough space as it is.

I think the refrigerator moved to where the rack and little fridge are now would be best (for me). Then for now, put your little fridge in the nook where the big refrigerator is now and have your contractor put shelves above it and maybe later put a door on it.

First and foremost, congrats on buying your first home!! This is a huge step and should be congratulated. I love small bungalow houses. As a professional, I never want to be the bearer of negative news but also feel obligated to help with a reality check as soon as possible, avoiding a painful path. If your budget right now is $5k (I hear that and respect that), it won't be possible to do cabinets (even Ikea), tops, plumbing, electrical, flooring, drywall, demo, etc. and all that it effects. I would recommend: 1) Live in the space for a while. This comes from 30 years of experience and 100% client feedback. 2) Look at the house and kitchen holistically. Either with the help of a professional (which can actually save you time, energy and money in the long run) or by yourself - do a lay-out of the whole main floor and certainly the mudroom area. What I do for clients is to look at the big picture in a way they often times can't. (Example: Mudroom - Great suggestion to use the mudroom for additional pantry storage, the micro, etc. Dining room - possibly a banquette that can act as seating + non-essential storage for the kitchen.) I do these really quickly because of years of practice.

For immediate relief, get a ready-made tall unit, as someone suggested or possibly a small, narrow movable island and creatively max out that mudroom, put it to work. Don't throw $5k at a band-aid that won't improve the big fix - the bones, the plan. Save ideabooks and set aside more money. FYI, I took my own advice and did only minor things early on for my own kitchen and waited until I could do it right...many years later (I just finished my own). Along with my clients' experiences, I'm so glad I did. Enjoy your new home, listen to it and, again, congrats!

Nicely done!

Hi Rhonda, you give me a lot to think about and I really appreciate all your help. I've been thinking about what you said, and perhaps I do need to wait a little while before moving forward with long term plans.

In the end, we'd really like to add a dishwasher and at least double the counter space. So we sketched up some new ideas for what would work better for our needs. I think if we opened up the wall to the dining room and minimized the entry into the mudroom, we could have a better kitchen layout, that would give us everything we need.

We are going to save more money before we move forward with anything.

But since now it's looking like it'll be around 2 years before we'll be able to afford the updates, we did decide to paint our kitchen and we built a custom shelf on that strange wall to the left of the fridge. This allowed us to empty an entire cabinet, which we REALLY needed.

Thanks so much for your help!