Okay so forgive the terrible quality but we will be getting a real floorplan from the kitchen company later this week. Please keep in mind the proportions may be off.

One concern that has been brought up with other posters is the sink being across from the stove.....I will make sure that isn't the case when I get our 'real' floorplans.

Just to explain....the blue lines are the lowers with the light blue line is uppers. Beside the fridge is a pantry. One the one end of the island is a bar fridge (the other is the dishwasher) and I have included an overhang for stools on the island.

One other option is to move the sink from the island back to its original location but that doesn't leave us with much room beside the stove.

Another proposed layout is to have the stove on the right wall near the fridge.

Any thoughts, questions or do we have any red flags or no nos in our plan??

Why do you have that wall running along your family room? Can you take that down and open up that space?

We had an almost identical split, though we never did redo the kitchen. While our kitchen was like yours used to be, we did not have walls between the living room and the rest of the house, and I was planning to put them in, in some form. It was just TOO open, no intimacy in the LR (it helps that you have a fireplace, though, for coziness) or separation from the bedrooms upstairs. I really loved the house otherwise, though!

Downstairs, consider removing the wall, at least partially. It would give you more room, more openness, and still a little privacy for the powder room.

In the kitchen, well, I like an L or U kitchen anyway, and think the stove on the right hand wall and sink in its original spot would be nice, leaving a clear island to be seen from the rest house. When you entertain, it would be a great hangout, and no dirty dishes or wet work going on, I'd leave the bar fridge there, for sure. When you don't entertain, it's still a clear spot to work, eat, do crafts and homework (it'll be no time till she's in school!)

This post was edited by bpathome on Wed, Jan 29, 14 at 13:46

Teachertile and bpathome: the wall between the family room and the hall is a load bearing wall so we couldn't remove it. We did however open it up to an opening of 5 feet wide to make it feel more airy and part of the rest of the house.....we were all thinking along the same lines

bpathome: thanks for the suggestion of the stove on the side wall.....I agree that I like the island to be one big workspace away from water. I just like having the stove/hood (we are using a chimney hood) as a feature between the windows.

I will revisit that layout

Thanks!

That is a lovely look, a great hood between windows. Lavender lass here has shared some wonderful inspiration pics. In your house it would the the first thing guests would see from the front door. Maybe some great artwork would look good there if you move the range to the right.

Are you planning on a pullout pantry, or a pantry cupboard/closet, next to the fridge?

In the lower level, does the garage open to the house, or do you have to come in through the front door? Since you had to keep most of the hallway and it has a closet, a garage door there would be handy.

Range/hood b/w the windows would look great, but with a small kid in the house, my priority would be to keep the range at a spot where it would be safest.

It would be a very good idea to have a sink on the same counter with the range.

I agree with sena01 on having your main sink or a prep sink in the same run as your range. Lots of prep takes place between a sink and a cooktop/range.

Visually,the range and hood on the right side will be a nice balance to the fireplace diagonally opposite.

Does the dining room have a slider to the back yard?

If you don't love a white kitchen, there is no reason to do one. Since you prefer dark floors, choose a wood color in the light or medium range. Here's your Superior's hickory molasses flooring:

Using light/ish colors for your other elements, I don't think you need to worry about being too dark. My recommendation? Nail down the floorplan and then see about the rest. It's going to be great!

Here's an idea for you:

I moved the fridge closer to the DR so it's easier to grab milk or whatever else you need to grab to put on the table. It also means that anyone in the LR or DR won't have to traipse through the cooking zone to get to the fridge. The downside is that anyone coming from the FR will need to walk through the kitchen. If that's a concern, consider adding a bev fridge in the island facing the pantry.

The fridge is a counter depth fridge. If you prefer a standard depth fridge, you should increase the aisle width and decrease the island's size accordingly.

I moved the clean-up sink and DW to the windowless wall. That's the only wall where I put uppers. You could do uppers on each side of the range or you could enlarge the windows and bring more light into the kitchen (helps with your concerns about creating a dark kitchen).

I put a prep sink in the island. I didn't realize until I drew it out and did the math, how large your island would be. You've more than enough room for a prep sink, plus it will come in handy whether you use the island for art projects (water for water colors) or for baking (water nearby to rinse sticky hands).

I did not place the prep sink at the corner of the island on purpose. I wanted to keep that end clear to give you a place for putting bags of groceries carried in from the garage.

There is a row of shallow (15") cabs beneath the island. Use these to store seldom used items. Or maybe kiddy art supplies. They won't object to climbing under the counter on a daily basis like us adults. ;-)

The island is large enough to accommodate 5 seats. The post is at the edge of the island's counter, not part of the island, like this:

[Modern Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by New York Architects & Designers Bates Masi Architects LLC

Or this (less beefy support, of course)

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Palo Alto Kitchen & Bath Designers European Cabinets & Design Studios

Or this:

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Traverse City Kitchen & Bath Designers Bay Cabinetry & Design Studio

Disaster28, I'm going to be watching the responses to your post very closely -- my layout is very similar to yours and I'm looking for inspiration. Recently, I also asked the Forum for help and received several thoughtful suggestions. Maybe their responses will give you some ideas:

Here is a link that might be useful: Ready for a challenge? Split-level needs you (so do I)