You're quite right to be worried about a kitchen that puts the fridge next to the stove. The heat from the stove can affect the food in the fridge, and eventually even cause damage.
Not knowing what your kitchen looks like, the simplest thing to remember about saving money when rearranging a kitchen is not to move the plumbing.
While this is not always avoidable, shifting plumbing is extremely expensive. When redesigning a kitchen, make moving the sink a last resort (unless you have an unlimited budget).
Property investors usually need to save money on their renovations to make something back from them, so it's very important unless your sink (or the whole kitchen...) is in a totally impractical place!
If your kitchen is very old and battered, it may simply be time to remove everything and start again.
You might also ask a carpenter if there's a way to split the benches and counters to put a cupboard in between the two appliances.
Another option (if your kitchen space allows) is to fill the stove area in with another cupboard, or even a dishwasher space if plumbing isn't too far away, and put the stove and cooktop in a centre island.
You may find that you can simply change the countertops and doors to make one of these options work. It's a lot cheaper than replacing all the carcasses as well!
I really hope one of these options helps you, Leonard.
