"Help me Robert, Help, help me Robert"

Thanks for looking at this:

For our first phase of the Kitchen Remodel Project, we are going to convert a front hall closet into a kitchen pantry. The picture below is an artist's rendition of what the final project may look like. We're not really in love with the blue and the green parts, but we're certain that we really don't like what they are drawn over. Except for the picture of Christ, that we really like. . . er, love. Of course.

The perspective is a bit skewed, but it conveys the basic idea. The stove will move over to where the dark brown cupboard is, and the pantry will take about a foot more on either side of the closet. The cupboard that is over the stove will have to be removed. We'll change the door from the hallway side to drywall and framing, and put a 45-degree angle door in, that faces the kitchen. Shelves and organizers, and all the miscellaneous nonsense on my counters will be tucked into the new pantry and Marie will cartwheel across the yard for joy!

The next project will entail creating a new traffic pattern for the kitchen. As it is right now, our kitchen is just a glorified hallway from the front part of the house to the sun-room and basement. We want to close off the current door, and pass-thru and make a new access in the far right side of the living room that is four feet wide. The new entry would also require cutting back counter-top and removing some currently almost useless drawers and an upper cabinet. I'll have to relocate my fridge as well, probably putting it over next to the new pantry. Framing in the open spaces seems pretty straight-forward, but this is a load-bearing wall, and we are understandably wary of knocking parts of it out without some help. Let me know what you think, and thanks again for looking this over.

Ty basically figures he can handle the pantry project, but I think we'd benefit from some guidance. And your help would be invaluable with the new entrance to the kitchen.

I'm thinking that there are some great deals on cabinets from newspaper classifieds and craig's list, so that's probably what we'll be replacing our crap ones with if we can find something suitable. We are not going to spend fifty thou doing this, but we do want to pay for your help, and not sparingly. If we can get good help, we can make do with second-hand cabinets.