IF you decide to go with a movable island, you might also check your cabinet line. Some of them have movable islands that you can get to match or complement your perimeter cabinets. I know, for instance, that KraftMaid does as my KD showed one to me when she was trying to talk me out of my mini-peninsula...she thought it would be more useful. [I love my mini-peninsula, btw! It protects my cooktop and has become my Baking Center.] I'm someone who went from a small "L" shaped eat-in kitchen to a 2-peninsula kitchen and I definitely do NOT regret it...as a matter of fact I think I gained an amazing amount of counter space, in particular...and I then had room for a Prep Sink...all pluses! There is a lot of anti-peninsula sentiment on this Forum, so you will probably not get much support for it. Most people (not everyone growlery!) prefer islands...stationary or movable. If you go w/a stationary island, I don't think 36" is a big enough clearance on the sides...I think 42" minimum, preferably 48". There will be a lot of laundry basket carrying through there as well as, I think, the traffic from the back yard (I can't tell for certain on this point). I'm guessing there's no garage so groceries will be coming in from the front door (is that correct?). You also need to have enough room to carry those groceries into the kitchen.

Herbflavor- I will try the 3 sketches. I've heard of the Liebherr, might be a bit out of range, $3000 for a freestanding 24", also sounds like service maybe expensive too. I do like the counter depth and compactness it would provide though. Katsmah- great idea, although the fridge door swinging how it does makes easy access to beer when I'm in the next room over (living/dining room). Moving the fridge towards the right may address this though. roarah- Another great idea! Except my sink/cooktop wall is an exterior wall, I may not be able to do this depending on what's behind there, but I can do it on the opposite wall. Also- a standard studded wall is 3.5" deep, how did you fit a toaster here? fori- Aisle is 49" wide from edge of existing countertop to countertop. I may be able to get a few (3) more inches by taking out studs on the fridge wall. It's a non-bearing wall, I planned to do this with the 'fridge anyhow so it doesn't stick out as far as it does now. I'll see if I can fit 30" depth cabinets but I dont think there's going to be enough space, not to mention the added expense. Yes, cabinets all the way up to the ceiling is in the plans, and yes I can, there's nothing behind there but air. On the existing fridge wall, the soffit stops at the pantry. I made a graph paper sketch, I'll have to find it and scan it.

Also to consider is an interesting idea in the new Consumer Reports kitchen issue that I actually haven't seen covered here many, many times already. Nothing's new under the sun when it comes to layout, of course, but they reported as a trend the laying out of narrow kitchens with all storage floor to ceiling (or however high) on one side, allowing the main side to remain open counter devoted to work space. It makes excellent sense for some situations as in a narrow kitchen it would provide very generous storage space a quick pivot from a nice spacious work counter. And that middle area that's usually air space above a counter would instead be very convenient-height storage for the most commonly needed items. The sort of setup where a 7-foot width to work with could be an asset, and basically like some of the recommendations Charlikin is considering. Like her, an issue would be the fridge, which would need to be storage-depth or not much more one way or the other, either by buying a shallow one or by borrowing a foot of depth from a spot on the other side of the storage wall. Regarding mention of a dining area (hi, Laurence), years ago a friend had a long narrow kitchen with a very cushy comfy seat and table built in across the far end from the door. (Lots of cushions covered with sari-print fabric, that's how long it was.) Anyway, even though they had no kids, lots of people were always dropping by and hanging out there with the cook. There was no window, but they did cut a little opening in a side wall for a kind of surprise diagonal view across the entry and a bit of the living room.

A piece of information for you to factor in: If you're looking at the big national places to install, make sure they will come to your house to do a small job. I'm working my way through this now. For example, M. Tex will only go something like 250 miles, and only to install 30 sq ft or more. Less than that and they'll fabricate, but you have to template and install. But they have the greatest variety of stone. So it's a bit aggravating. Other DO install small projects far away. Just make it a question you ask up front, if that's what you're looking for, not after a 20-minute conversation about types of stones or something. It is true that, for things like glasses, when they tip over, you also have to worry about them breaking on the SIDES of the sink. Not insurmountable, but something to consider.