Yes, Buehl, I agree proper supervision is always important. But....have you ever had a "climber" or a "scientist"? Anyone who doubts our relationship to monkeys needs to spend just a day with a climber. Anyone who doubts that we have been created in the image of God should spend just a day with a scientist with infinite curiosity. Only one of my three was a climber and luckily we have both lived to tell the tales. The other two were scientists and never used a toy or household device as intended if they could find another use for it. I don't mean to turn this into a child rearing issue but I've been forever changed by these experiences. While stoves can always be turned on accidentally by a young child lock out devices can be used and no cooktop in use should be unattended with young children around. While we can't prevent every accident, an airswitch and the temptation for a child to grind up a sister's toy or even their own gives me the shakes even though my baby is now 21 and has outgrown this particular form of amusement.

Hi Annie, Remodelfl and Rhome! Annie, Sorry to confuse you by not having the appliances drawn correctly yet. I just had the architect flip the island just to get a visual without spending time on planning where functional things should be. But I'm with you, I love the idea of facing the view when I prep but because it's open to the living room, I was concerned about seeing the side of the island too. Funny you gave me that suggestion (and thanks for taking the time to post the pic) because when she heard I love booths, she suggested the island facing south with a big booth connected to it facing the view. The ideas seem similar. It partially solved the problem of looking at the side of the island because you were just seeing one big mass, but there were a couple of things that concerned me. I was mainly worried that it would be too much of a reach for me to try to clean the far side of the island on a daily basis without walking around. To create a separation from the living area, you'll see she also drew a big buffet that would also help to create a visual barrier like an island facing the living room, I supposed. But it would still be low so I'm not sure if that works in practice? I think the buffet would be fantastic to serve on when having a dinner party. My concern was that with the south side of the island taken up by the booth and the buffet on the side, then everyone would be squeezed between the buffet and island if they wanted to talk to me. That isn't a bad thing, but I was thinking, and please tell me if my thinking is wrong, if I'm going to have the very open plan, creating little aisles and things to have to walk around and not having big open places for guests to stand seemed to defeat the purpose. Am I wrong on this? I Here is the pic of that idea. Hi Remodelfla, Great question. This house will be in northern CA so we will be able to be outside a lot of the time. I'll tell you what outdoor areas we have to see what you think. That porch you see at the end of the living room is a screened in porch that can be accessed next to the fireplace. I was thinking that location was good because it's blocked by the fireplace and it's central to the living area and bedroom. I can see hanging out there quite a bit. But, your point about how far to take things is excellent. The other spots, so far... we have a big entry courtyard and I picture having some furniture there because it's very windy where we are and sometimes it might be nice to be outside but protected. I like how we will be able to peak througn the front door and out the back entrance to see some view too. All the doors aren't drawn in yet. And then we currently have a screened in porch left of the entry door on the south side. I'm thinking we don't need two screened porches and we can just make that an outdoor area with the grill. There is a door to get there from the kitchen at the bottom of the page. Does it seem better knowing we'll have multiple spots now? Rhome, thanks! When you say keeping tasks separate, I'm interpreting that to mean you think it's okay to have the short side of the island facing the living room so it's not as a part of the main room. That is a relief. To the right of the kitchen is the dining and living room. To the left of the kitchen is an outdoor space. I'm also soooo glad you commented on which side to have the cooktop in relation to the cleanup sink. I've been spending weeks and weeks trying to go through this in my head to decide which is most beneficial (currently my cleanup sink is not near either ... don't get me started!). I was never quite sure but I was starting to think exactly what you advised. A friend told me you have a great kitchen and fantastic organizational sense so to know that you wish yours was oriented differently carries a lot of weight. I had actually looked up your kitchen and saw your cooktop wasn't on the long side of your island so I thought, oh, I guess it doesn't matter! :) So thanks for mentioning that.

To figure out what you can really fit, keep in mind the following: Standard base cabinets + counters along the perimeter are 25.5" deep (24" deep cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang) Standard base cabinets + counters in an island or peninsula are 27" deep (24" deep cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang along the front + 1.5" counter overhang along the back) Heights: Counter height counters are 36" off the finished floor (34.5" base high cabinets + approx 1.5" thick counters) Bar-height counters are 42" off the finished floor (40.5" base high cabinets or pony wall + approx 1.5" thick counters) Table-height counters are 30" off the finished floor - usually no base cabinets, just legs or similar for seating - similar to a table Note that counter stools are designed to meet one of the above standards Island/Peninsula seating: Counter-height: minimum 15" of clear knee/leg overhang and 24" of linear space per seat Bar-height: minimum 12" of clear knee/leg overhang and 24" of linear space per seat Table-height: minimum 18" of clear knee/leg overhang and 24" to 30" of linear space per seat Aisle widths Minimum aisle width for one-person kitchen: 42" Minimum aisle width for two or more people in the kitchen (prepping, cooking, and/or cleaning up): 48" Aisle width behind seats with no traffic or counters or cabinets or appliances behind the seats: 44" Aisle width behind seats if only minimal traffic and no counters or cabinets or appliances behind the seats: 48" Aisle width behind seats if normal traffic and/or counters or cabinets or appliances behind the seats: 60" Appliances Depth measurement for aisle determination is from the handles or whatever sticks out into the aisle the farthest. Measuring/determining aisle widths Important: Always measure from counter edge-to-counter edge or to/from appliance handles, not cabinet-to-cabinet. . Now, to determine what you can reasonably fit in your kitchen: Add the items together for what you plan to have. Note that with a 10' deep kitchen, your best option for seating in the kitchen is a peninsula, not an island.

Thank you. Here are my vendors: Cabinets—Bilotta in Mt Kisco, Danielle Florie Brand is NAC, color: Decorator’s white Floor is porcelain from Terra Tile, Gina Counter—Secolo porcelain from Walker Zanger, fabricated by Ecuastone. Pendants—Pottery Barn