Thanks...I did move it to the discussion side and I'm still hoping to get more feedback...my fingers are crossed this morning as I check!

How about you put a pass through hidden by a cabinet door such as one used on an appliance garage - not the roll-up kind, but the flip up kind so you can easily transfer dirty items to the other side. This would work good if the range is on one side of the wall and the sink on the other side. I'm guessing the sink you would have in the open island will be large enough to wash a pot if you need to re-use it as you are cooking so I'm not seeing an issue. I guess if you wanted you could put 1 dishwasher drawer near the island sink to run a few things in that area if you need it. Also if you make your cabinets on the range wall open on both sides then you could get dishes from both sides as well although it would be hard to reach the other side so that might not be the best idea. Just typing as it popped into my mind. I personally would love to have a clean-up are in another room that I could easily hide stuff on a night when I'm tired and it can wait until the morning.

Thanks so much, everyone! Rookie - you have great taste as well ;) !! I have posted on your pics before and LOVE your space!! I can be flexible on the window location and size around the range and thus the range hood size itself so I will see if I can add more landing space. I am sure that this hood will be very expensive so I'll have to see how that plays... I have been thinking about the landing/enclosure issue for a while and don't want the look to outweigh the function so that has been a big concern. I do love the look of those hoods though and how it would "make" that wall... sigh. Skyedog - thanks for the info on the combustible material (I will look into that!) and the upper cabinets. I'm wondering if I can rework the configuration on the side walls so that there is a single cabinet in the corner and then a double next to it, to avoid the door issue opening towards you... thanks for bringing that up!

that picture is gorgeous! i wonder how that works from a "work triangle" perspective. there's not a lot of triangles in a straight line. :) would your sink/stove/fridge all be on the same wall? would your kitchen "stuff" all be on an exterior wall or interior? i love natural light in the kitchen! just the practical stuff to think about but from a prettiness perspective it's lovely. :) we're building an open concept familyroom/kitchen/dining room as well, and i think both the kitchen and the family room are sort of "featured" as they share an exterior wall. the kitchen has a huge 9' long window and the family room has a big fireplace and you see them both equally from the foyer.