BEFORE: The 24-inch range and dishwasher in this late-'70s kitchen blocked access to the lower cabinets when opened, and the corners of both lower and upper cabinets were almost permanently inaccesible.

AFTER: In order to reconfiguire the dishwasher and a new standard-width stove, the lower cabinets had to be ripped out and replaced. (No big loss!) That made the decision easy to rip out the uppers too.

BEFORE: The short upper cabinets looked as if they were installed by an overheight contractor. The oven door barely cleared the fridge when opened and the apartment-sized fridge was short and too wide.

AFTER: The sink, formerly a scant eight inches to the left of the range, was relocated, while still allowing a large surface area to serve as a sideboard or at-counter seating. The new fridge is lean and taller than usual.

BEFORE: Replacing the battered 24-inch stove with a new, higher-quality version would mean a costly upgrade to either a European model or a built-in wall oven with a separate, wider cooktop.

AFTER: Installing a standard 30-inch slide-in range required cutting into six more inches of valuable counter width, but the new ceramic-glass cooktop now serves as working counter space in a pinch.

BEFORE: No amount of colour could disguise the fact that this kitchen was so lacking in storage, most of the plates, stemware and serving dishes had to be stored in full view.

AFTER: With the dishwasher moved to the left, it is now possible to hand wash and load the dishwasher with ease. By moving the sink to the corner we gained a large amount of room below and beside the oven.