Garage: How cool that you have a 3-car garage, but only 2 bays dedicated to cars! That means all the bikes etc. will not scratch up the cars. You might want to make that door extra wide or a double-door to accommodate the in-and-out of bikes, and golf cart if you get one for FIL and MIL to cruise the property. You might want to build it so that you can, perhaps, add a garage door if the kids get a car...it's not long off! Mudroom: I agree with the mudroom being mostly hooks; no one uses the closet in our house, only the hooks; I'm planning to take out the closet but keep cabinets for the "stuff": batteries, sunscreen, bug spray, caps, etc. Inlaw suite: Perhaps put the door on the back of the mudroom wall, instead of flush with the soon-to-be-gone closet door. Makes a little more of an entrance, so it looks less like a closet from the hall. This might allow the door to open further to accommodate the wheelchair. You might want to include an egress, just in case. Also, where is the accessible entrance to the house, a ramp? You could quietly incorporate it along the garage to the front porch, if you pull the porch and posts out a bit and if you don't have a step from the porch into the foyer. Remember to add a window, perhaps a French door for egress, facing the back yard for the in-law's room. Basement: Include a bathroom in the basement for the kids, it'll be great for sleepovers. FR: I kind of don't mind the dead space between the island and FR; the kids can make a mess there without getting it on the FR furniture, or they can just gather without being on the island, and it opens up the flow. Library: How do you plan to use the library? Maybe add a window to the side? It could be a high window with bookcases below. Maybe a window in the turn of the stairs, too. Seems like a nice family house :)

I adore your cabinets! Absolutely adore them. Are they in good shape? Are you at all interested in retrofitting your kitchen so you can keep at least some of them and then just add complimentary cabinets for any new ones you need? If not, if you live in the PNW, I might be interested in buying them off of you if they can be torn out without harming them. The most functional plan is the first one that you threw out because somebody didn't like the fridge blocking the window. What is behind that wall where the fridge is? If it's your art room, you can easily recess that fridge and make that wall of cabinets a bit shallower. If it's the outside, it can still be done but it's more complicated and a bit more expensive. Although I don't see what window it's blocking. Are you putting one in on the current sink's wall? I have to admit that I don't like windows being blocked either. Recessing the fridge should help with that issue. One reason why that plan is more functional is that it gives you the ice-water-stone-fire layout recommended for efficient food prep. But, also, because the fridge is where people can access it from other parts of the house, for a drink or snack, while someone is cooking without them having to cross through the prep/cook ones. For those reasons, I'd pick that plan. However, if the window crowding would bother you, Mama G's suggestion to put the sink on the right-side wall is a good one.

Lisa, funny you asked about the configuration of the pantry because I am actually unsure about how I want several of the drawer stacks to be set up! I originally thought I would do 5-10-15 for all of them but laid awake just last night thinking that there was probably a better configuration for several of them. I'm now actually leaning toward 5-5-10-10 in a couple of places. And I left the pantry with the 15-15 bottom drawers and then 2 internal drawers as the planner showed. I'm thinking it will be mostly for renters use, so I have no idea if that will work well or if there is a better way! Since we have the owners closet/pantry, that is where we will store most of our food. There will be open shelves to the left of the range also which could be good for renters to store food. Finally, I was thinking that both the 21" upper cabinet on the left end of the window wall and the 30" drawer stack below it could be for food like cereal, snacks, etc. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts about the best storage options! If I order before the sale ends, I was planning to order only the frames for several cabinets that I am unsure of. Then I can use the gift card later to add the drawers and fronts for those units. A few other things I want to mention and get everyone's thoughts - first, the cabinet I have for the prep sink is a smidgen too small for the sink I want and will require the front edges of the frame to be notched to allow for the sink lip. We did this in our regular kitchen (also frameless cabinets) to squeeze in a small second sink and it was no big deal. Its either that or give up 3" of passageway space leading into the kitchen. WWYD? Also, I'm surprised no one commented on the wide "filler" pieces at the ends of the uppers on window wall. I really want DH to build me some of those cubby cabinets to go there - one for wine glasses, and one for coffee mugs. Ikea has them but they are a bit too wide and they don't look very well made to me. The other option would be to move the glass cabinets away from the window frame to eliminate some of the filler space. Thoughts? Thanks!

Thanks all for the replies. I am seeking a little more guidance from the experienced community here. This is the final plan which we have come up with our KD. As mentioned by some of the people here, removal of wall with island cooktop (something which we really like the idea of but seems non-functional in standard design) make the space a little weird. It should be noted that with this plan unless we move the garage door we cannot switch the range with sink so that the sink is in the island. We really don't like the idea of moving the garage door due to cost involved in it and also it will make the door end up opening right in front of the dining table. Pros: - We get an open kitchen something which is liked in the area we live in. Maybe higher resale value? - Island cooking (something which we like but can live without) Cons: - Loss of cabinet space. Since the wall is removed there is no space for wall cabinets now. - The kitchen side of area has minimal cabinet space. With the refrigerator being moved against the wall that space is also gone for wall cabinet. Very limited drawers to store cooking utensils and even less for pots and pans. No dedicated cabinet for trash. - Removing the wall and replacing it with the beam is expensive due to the span of the beam approx 23ft and since we are in high COL, construction cost is higher. We have been quoted 20-25k to just remove the wall and put the beam. - The ROI on removing the wall seems low. It does give open concept but does not increase any effective kitchen space and take away cabinet space. We also considered many other floor plans which were proposed here (thanks a lot to everyone who shared their idea. Really appreciate it). From all the plans which involved removing the wall the above was the only one which we really liked. Now our second option is to not remove the wall at all and do a total facelift with additional cabinetry in dining area for pantry and other stuff. This is something similar to what @mjlb proposed. I quickly played around with this idea in chief architect and here are some exports. Please pardon the amateur design. Pros: - We do not need to remove the wall. We save approx 25k for the wall removal. - We get to keep the wall which gives us more wall cabinet space. - Simple facelift which minimizes all other cost like permits, electrical, plumbing etc. All appliances stay where they are so no cost of moving those. - The above means that we can do more work by ourselves i.e. demo, cabinet install etc. We plan to hire specific trade for new gas line in kitchen, countertop install, electrical. - Less money spent in kitchen allowing us to put our money in other places of the house. Cons: - We don't get the open concept which is sought after. We wonder how much does it affect the resale value of the house. - We have already spent 3.5k in structural and other design and calculation for wall removal. That money is lost :( @mjlb, @itsourcasa, @Muriel Thompson, @margaret17, @houssaon: Any inputs? Thanks.