I really like that you have a place to prep food out of sight from guests, but will you be using that personally or do you plan on having that space for caterers or paid help? Will you use that primarily *before* guests arrive so that your main kitchen is clean? If you are using it yourself while people are over you may feel a bit left out. (but you may get done a lot faster!) I wonder if you would rather make the "food storage" in the pantry area in to a top cabinet and a bottom cabinet allowing you more counter space. I think that if you (or help) were plating food or appetizers the extra counter space would come in handy. And you could still store food in the upper and lower cabinets (besides if you are prepping *before* guests arrive, you could easily get the food you need out of the main kitchen) I definitely see the advantage of having the sink next to the espresso machine. I am not sure I would move the wallovens to the fridge wall. i think you will really like having the long expanse of counter space next to fridge directly behind the sink. Hmm, would you rather have 2 dish washers in the main area, or 2 dishwashers in the pantry where you can stash dirty dishes after a party? If you got rid of a dishwasher you could add more storage in the island or even an extra seat. I wonder if you would rather a speed oven in pantry rather than a microwave, and leave the microwave handy in the main kitchen. I imagine wanting to heat up that cup of coffee or quickly heat up a plate of food and having to walk back to the pantry. Would you be using the microwave a lot prepping for a party? Normally, I dislike hallways because they quickly eat up space. But I do like the way your office is separated a bit, but near from the kitchen and family room. And I like how you don't have to walk *around* the wall to get to the pantry - it needs to be easy and quick to get to. And the fact that it is hidden is a great feature. -Will your guests hang out with you in the kitchen while you cook, or are you a bit more formal? or both? -Would you ever want a separate entrance into the formal dining, if you were to have caterers for example? I did notice that you had 2 doors to the pantry, it may get cramped, but what do you see using the 2nd door for (the one past the elevator)? Beautiful=)!

Assuming you currently have a DW, try loading and unloading it from the front - especially the items that would be loaded in the back of the DW. This will not work. Why not put the sink and DW on the peninsula? Seems like an easy fix and would function better.

Yes, moving the prep sink closer to the fridge side gives you more continuous stretch of countertop to prep, instead of being chopped into two smaller spaces. Maybe if you put the sink base, then the trash, then the bigger cabinet on the end closest to range? I'm sorry, I cannot read the small print on your overhead view. I'm just counting the squares to figure out your isle widths. On the whole house floorplan it looks like the isle between your main sink and island is much wider. But then on the overhead kitchen layout plan, I'm only counting 3+ squares between. So is it maybe 42"? The isle in front of range, looks like 4 1/2 squares, so is it 54" or so? I would definitately make the sink isle bigger. I like mine at 52 or 53". This is so when you have fridge open or DW open there is plenty room to pass by. Also if someone's standing at the island prepping while someone opens the fridge it is not cramped. Same with if someone's loading DW or prepping at the main sink, someone else can be working at the island without feeling "cheek to cheek" so to speak. Haha!

Prep Zone...This is the zone where food preparation takes place. Food prep can be anything from making a sandwich to preparing a multi-course meal. It includes cleaning/rinsing food, cutting, mixing, processing, etc. For many people, especially those with small kitchens, their Prep Zone is also their Baking Center for rolling out dough, etc. 70% or more of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent prepping. It's the most often used and longest used zone in your kitchen! So, this zone should be placed in the most desirable place – where you will want to work and will enjoy working. . Cooking Zone...This is the zone where you take the food you've already prepped and apply heat...cooktop, oven, microwave (MW). Only 10% of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent actually cooking. This is the least used Zone, relatively speaking. Think about it, you usually don't spend the entire time standing in front of your oven or cooktop watching your food cook. Sure, there are some things that do have to be stirred constantly, but most things do not. And even then, you usually still spend more time prepping before you begin cooking. This is the zone that should be the most protected from traffic, especially traffic that's "just passing through". . Cleanup Zone...This is the zone where the dirty dishes are handled! Tasks include clearing the table and counters, loading the dishwasher (DW), wiping down the table and counters, sweeping the floor, etc. Since the DW is in this zone, it also includes unloading the DW, so Dish Storage should be nearby – more on this later. 20% or less of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent cleaning up – most of which is not spent at the sink (see above). [In the past -- pre automatic DWs -- far more time was spent cleaning up because all dishes were done by hand. Today, the majority of dishes are washed in the DW and, with today's DWs & DW detergents, dishes don't even need to be rinsed! So, the amount of time spent in this zone is far less today! BTW, this is where the paradigm of "the sink must be in front of a window" came from – back when so much time was spent hand washing & drying dishes). Today, it makes more sense to have the Prep Zone in front of window or in the most preferred view/location.] . . OK, now we know what the primary zones are. So, how do we design a kitchen keeping them in mind? . Prep Zone...works best when it contains a water source (sink) and is next to or across an aisle no more than 48" wide or so from the Cooking Zone. Trash & recycle bins should also be in the Prep Zone. More trash and recyclables are generated during prepping and cooking and for much longer work time than cleaning up, so place the trash/recycling in the Prep Zone and near the Cooking Zone. It should have a minimum of 36" of counter space (with at least 42" much, much better) that is next to a sink that is uninterrupted by the Cleanup Zone (dirty dish "storage"). If you have only one sink, then the Prep Zone is on the side of the sink opposite from the DW. (The DW side of the sink is the Cleanup Zone in this scenario.) . Cooking Zone...works best when next to/across from the Prep Zone (see Prep Zone). It's also nice to have a water source as well as trash & recycling nearby. Note that a pot-filler does not count as a water source since pot-fillers do not have a drain, a sink bowl, or access to both hot and cold water. . Cleanup Zone...works best when separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones. This can be on the opposite side of a one-sink kitchen from the Prep Zone or it could be in a completely separate location (the latter usually only works well if you have two sinks). Obviously, it also needs a water source and the DW.