Kitchen Layout Design Help - BRRRR

[Kayla V.]

I'm kicking off a renovation on a single family home in an A- neighborhood in Akron, Ohio that I plan to BRRRRR. The layout of the main floor is below and I'm struggling with how to update the kitchen. There are five doorways into the kitchen- to the living room, to the dining room, to the basement stairs and driveway access, to the powder room and to the mudroom with backyard/deck access.

There is currently no fridge, a rolling (not plumbed) dishwasher that sits next to the stove and limited cabinets/counter space. 

How would you update this kitchen to rental grade? Tear down the wall between the kitchen and dining room? Reconfigure the powder room to open to the mudroom and somehow use that eat-in space? Other?

[Jen R.]

Is the dining room/kitchen wall load bearing? If not, I would consider opening that up and then eliminating the door from the kitchen to the living room. Keep the sink where it is, add the dishwasher, then take the cabinets around in an L with the fridge at end of the short side (along the basement stairwell wall). Then, add an island and place the range in the island across from the sink. Alternatively, if there is not enough width for an island, you could add a peninsula between the kitchen and dining room and essentially have a u-shaped kitchen. Either of these options wouldn’t involve moving plumbing around so would hopefully be pretty affordable!