Nix the desk and put the fridge there. Kitchen desks are nothing but dumping grounds and most people who have them are looking to get rid of them. In this day and age of laptops, desks are pretty outmoded for everyone. Your desk is a seat at your island and maybe a printer somewhere in a more central location.

Then put the sink where the fridge was. I'd still do a small prep sink (with cutting board overlay insert) on the island almost across from the wall oven, and that would separate your prep and cleanup functions well and give you a large area for prep and seating.

Thanks for the suggestions, Hollysprings! Believe it or not, we actually requested the desk area. With school age kids, we're constantly checking powerschool or having to supervise the children when they're doing their online assignments. We want this to be the central location for our Mac. (I am nixing all the little open compartments above the desk, though. I think they will get too messy!)

And if it helps visually, I'm going to try and do the finishes very similar to my last kitchen. I loved it! (The new kitchen doesn't have the windows, but luckily the adjacent breakfast room has a wall of windows!)

I agree with Holly about the desk. My kitchen designer tried to talk me out of it and I didn't listen. The only thing good about my desk, is the file drawer. If I had it to do over I would skip the actual desk and add another file drawer. It made keeping track of the kids papers so much easier. No one ever sat at that desk.

Moving the fridge out of the main area is a good idea. It really helps with the traffic flow.

I agree with moving the fridge too... Can't the kids use the island as a work station? Have a cabinets for storing school, and home office type equipment where the fridge maybe? Then you can get a window in there too.

And if this IS a forever house, how long will the kids be using the workspace considering the length of time you plan on living there?

Southern mum--I hate to beat a dead horse, but the kitchen in my 7 yr old house is so similar to yours.

There is not enough cabinet space, counter space or storage space.

I also have a large, beautiful desk that I insisted on on another wall. It has a printer drawer that does not house a printer, a pull out drawer for the tower which is empty, and tons of storage that I really could have used in my kitchen.

And yes, it is a constant battle to keep clean. A dumping ground (or "drop zone") elsewhere would have been nicer.

With that 6 ft I could have done a spacious beverage/breakfast center or put the refrigerator.

We all use laptops...no one wants to sit at that desk. The kids really don't want to sit there to do homework.

Just sharing my experiences...hope it didn't sound like nagging. Here's my dinosaur when we were building...pretty but oh what I could have done with that space.

{{gwi:1385449}}

You might post this in the kitchens forum as you'll get a lot of good info from the folks who frequent there.

I agree about not liking the sink in the island, but if you move the fridge, then you will increase the work triangle by a lot, and you will be far away from off loading area for the fridge. I don't normally like it, but in this instance, I would think about a 2-height island with the seating side raised so as to provide some separation from the sink and the sitting area and to provide a backsplash by the sink. The other alternative would be to swap the sink and the cooktop and put one of the pop up vent units in...which should work well esp if you get an induction cooktop which needs less venting. This would give you a lot more space for the dishes to collect around the sink and have them convenient to the cabinets for emptying the DW.

But I am one who has a desk area in the kitchen and we use it all the time. No kids here, but it is where our mail lands, our keys, the mail gets sorted, the coupons are kept, the bills reside until they're paid, etc. etc. Plus we use the area underneath to put a stool which we sit on and use to climb on to reach the upper cabs. Also the basket for recycling junk mail is underneath. The phone is there, the backsplash is cork for notes and such since our fridge is cabinet fronted so no place to put notes there. So it is extremely useful for us.

I would also question the glass front cabs...you don't have a lot of uppers and unless the glass is obscure, you may find it difficult for storage....

I'm going with the flow here: That's the world's biggest refrigerator, and it's taking up a disproportionate amount of space in your moderate-sized kitchen. Along with the group, I'd ditch the desk and move the fridge to that area. It solves your sink problem and gives you the whole island for prep.

If you move the fridge, you have almost exactly MY kitchen plan, so obviously I like it.

You say you have a mudroom through that door . . . how about putting the desk in the mudroom? That gives you good access to it, and it can serve as a drop-spot for papers, phones, etc., but it'll also be out of the main kitchen. You could watch a child who was working at the desk, but he or she would have a little more privacy.

Alternately, could you put a little "slot" under the island on the seating side -- something just big enough that you could slide a laptop into it? I'm imagining the desks we had in elementary school, the ones that held books just under the desktop. This'd allow you to use the seating part of the island as a desk (when it suits you) and to store a laptop under the desk (when it doesn't suit you). If you go that direction, be sure to include extra outlets in the island.

And, for what it's worth, I took an iPad class last summer (it was a continuing education class through work), and the instructor says that laptops are on the way OUT. She says that within ten years no one will own one anymore, and we'll all be using tablets. She also said that her 2012 New Year's resolution had been to use ONLY her tablet, and she said it had been a challenge, but do-able. I don't know if I believe all that or not, but I did learn in that class that my iPad can do a whole lot more than I thought it could. I do suspect that it won't be long 'til a tablet can really replace a laptop. If this is true, the desk will be needed even less.

The major issue I see is lack of a visible pantry, adjacent to the refrigerator. In the flow of things, one brings groceries home and stores them, usually in the pantry and fridge until needed. At meal time, food stocks are taken from...wait for it...the pantry and the fridge.

The food stocks are then prepared by opening, washing, mixing, etc., and taken to...yes...the cooking area. Serving comes next, followed by clean up after eating.

So follow the work flow and that will result in a good kitchen, including a convenient triangle (in this day of huge islands, the triangle seems often forgotten, but it still works).

Where's your pantry? How close is it to the refrigerator?

Good luck on your project!

For sure elicit the help of the kitchen forum! They really know how to get an optimal layout from a blank space...

The horse is surely dead by now, but desks in kitchens are beyond obsolete. It would be better to put a entry organizer/sorter in the mudroom to serve as the dumping ground.

And for sure, the fridge would work MUCH better where the desk is currently located. Maybe with a small secondary island with a MW drawer located in front of it to serve as landing zone for the fridge and as snack zone for the kids?

I'd also challenge you to think about your refrigeration needs. With a refrigerator that large, it takes up a disproportionate amount of room compared to the other appliances in the kitchen. Perhaps do a refrigerator only like the Electrolux Twin and do a separate freezer in a pantry area? That would give you more actual refrigerator space for the more often used items as well as more counter space.

Agree that the fridge is huge, but I would not put is where the desk is (too far from the island). The fridge should be swapped with the ovens.

If there is not a pantry elsewhere, then I would do a full size pantry cabinet where the desk is located. If you do have a pantry elsewhere then I would create additional counter space with the coffee machine and microwave, speaking of which- where is the microwave?

I would leave the sink as is.

Thanks for the responses! Interesting... Okay, to answer a few questions -- yes, there is a pantry. It is thru the mud room entry, and is virtually right behind where you see the wall ovens. It is in a different room technically, but close by. It's the only place we could make one fit. We had this huge kind of fridge in our last house and we got spoiled with it... BUT, I don't want it to be the elephant in the room! As far as where the microwave is located, instead of going with double ovens, I'm doing the stack with micro/convection oven on top, and oven below it. I'd be willing to nix the desk, I guess. My husband will not agree, but I'm the one that spends the most time in this room! I definitely want it to function well! Thanks for your input. Keep it coming...!

A plan would be easier to understand. What is on the other walls? Can't the desk or the door be moved so you can build a kitchen with some workspace? This one looks like something you would find in an urban apartment where people eat out often and spend little time in the kitchen.

Here ya' go! And no, I definitely don't want an urban apt. kitchen where people eat out. I have a son with severe food allergies and we eat every. single. meal. at home! That's why I need to get it right! Thanks for your help! :)

btw - red lover, your desk is gorgeous! thanks, though, for your honest opinion about it!

Why wouldn't you place the pantry where the desk currently is shown (adjacent to the refrigerator) and relocate the desk to the blank wall in the utility room, just below it's currently shown location?

That would make storage and retrieval of food stock most convenient.

I'm one of those folks who think that there is a good value to a desk/work area close to the kitchen (but it doesn't necessarily have to be IN the kitchen).

Do you have enough space between your island and your cabinet row for more than one person at a time? Or is this an issue in your family? If more space is needed within the work area, you could easily "flip" the L-shaped island.

Good luck on your project.

Thanks virgilcareter, I like a desk, too! We're actually changing the L-shaped island to a double-depth rectangular island, like in the rendering at the very top of this post. Our house is very traditional, and I just thought the L-shaped island that was shown in the original house plan might look awkward.

I share the "nix the desk" theme! I had a desk in our old kitchen and in the new house I opted for a buffet instead. It looks like a buffet, but I have a filing cabinet in there along with drawers for my desk stuff. I never actually sat at the desk in the old kitchen but I used the drawers for my paperwork. So I decided to make it a buffet which has more storage area than a desk. I have drawers for paperwork, but it also houses my fine china and has a glass cabinet at the top for "show off stuff!"

I also went with a single wall oven with a built in micro over it. It looks nice and functions well.

Well, amazingly, after I told my husband about all your suggestions to nix the desk, he has decided he can manage to live without it! We do have a study located on the front of the house, off the entry, so our computer can go there. (Not as convenient, but it will still work.) Wow, now I have a place for the massive fridge! Hollysprings, your idea was obviously very popular! :) Thanks, everyone, for chiming in and for the great ideas!

downsy can you share a photo of your buffet? Would love to see how you incorporated that idea.

Here's the buffet.

If you need a closer photo let me know. I used what I already had on my album.
The lower right drawer has the filing cabinet inside. We had our cabinet maker add some cubby holes/mail slots (not sure what they're called). We use them for mail, bills, general storage!