greencleaning - Thanks for the compliments! singingmicki - "shallow cabinet beside the fridge" "put upper cabinets and a countertop but leave the bottom open for your dog's needs" - Brilliant! We love this idea! What a perfect spot! (I didn't want to get rid of the hutch next to the fridge in order to put the dog bowls there, and now we don't have to.) Thank You!! buehl - We do have a dining room and need to banquette to seat a family of 4. I see what you mean about the leg room issue. From your post, I think we're going to need to put a Lot more thought into the banquette. Thank you for all the great info! davidro1 - Again, thank you so much for your reply and terrific advice! We will take everything into consideration and we revisit the fridge wall options. Right now, we're trying to finalize the "L" cabinets. We put together 2 mockups based on all of the great suggestions we've been receiving here and on IkeaFans. What option does everyone like best for the "L?" CHOICE A: SYMMETRICAL 15's ALL of the wall cabinet have 15" doors (on both the stove and sink sides)! LOVE the symmetry (achieved by cutting down the upper corner cabinet). [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5672410282/) Stove wall base cabinets: From left to right: \* corner piece (with two 12" doors, one on each wall) \* small cutting board pullout \* 15" (not sure if I would do all drawers or some drawers...still need to decide on that) \* stove \* 15" drawers And I gain a bigger stretch of countertop between the stove and the sink. Sink wall base cabinets: From left to right: \* 18" drawers \* 24" dishwasher \* 24" Domsjo single bowl sink \* 15" (for pull out garbage) \* corner piece with two 12" doors (one on each wall) Questions: 1\) Glass cabinets \- I'm not sure that I have enough pretty dishes to fill the deep corner cabinet too. Would it look strange to keep that as a regular door? 2\) There are 2" of extra space to the left of the far left wall cabinet (next to the nook) \- DH would love it if the wall space flanking the nook window was symmetrical (not displayed in pic). Right now it is 13" to the left and 15" to the right. Is there anything that can be done with that extra 2" inches to fill it in? (We ended the backsplash to match the upper \- not sure if that's the best idea either.) CHOICE B: BLIND UPPER CORNER CABINET AND SHELVES Stove wall: [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5672410196/) [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5671843445/) Stove Wall Uppers: \* a 30" (which has 12" hidden) with an 18" next to it (two 18" doors so it LOOKS like a 36" cabinet) \* 30" above the microwave (two 15" doors) \* 18" with a 6" shelf on the end to fill in the space. Stove Wall Base: \* corner piece (two 12" doors, one on each wall) \* 12" \- yes \- bottom section for cookie sheets and things \* stove \* 24" drawers Sink wall: Here's where it gets super custom. [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5671843503/) [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5671843323/) Sink Wall Uppers: From left to right: \* 6" shelf \* 27" custom cabinet \* window \* 27" custom cabinet \* (not seen \- but there would be 12 inches of the blind cabinet from the stove wall) The two 27" glass cabinets flanking the sink should be the perfect amount of storage to put my beloved dishes. Loving the symmetry here. Now 27" cabs are not that much bigger than the 24" cabs with 12" doors that I was trying to avoid. I think this plan would commit us to paint grade Shaker doors since we'd need custom door sizes. I saw companies selling paint grade doors that might actually be cheaper than Adel White (which is making DH very happy), but more research is needed. Also, while it would give me an excuse to buy some adorable ironstone creamers and/or pretty colored glass vases to decorate the corner shelves \- I'm not sure about all that dusting. Sink Wall Base From left to right (same as Choice A): \* 18" drawers (the pic is wrong \- it should be all drawers) \* 24" dishwasher \* 24" Domsjo single bowl sink \* 15" (for pull out garbage) \* corner piece with two 12" doors (one on each wall) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you all again for your help!!

Or, how about this. (See below for the Zone Map) . Laundry: I moved the Washer/Dryer to the other side of the Kitchen so it's closer to the bedrooms. To hide the laundry center when not in use, the washer/dryer is in a cabinet or closet. While it fits your current appliance, it will also fit a stacked washer/dryer if you ever want separate appliances. (I don't know your experience with your all-in-one model, but the reviews I've read about them in general aren't that great - but if you like it, great!) Above the washer/dryer are shelves or cabinets (your choice) for storing laundry detergent, dryer sheets, etc. If in the future you switch to stacked washer/dryer, you can simply remove the shelves/cabinets and put in the stacked appliances. This gives you options. . Kitchen: All perimeter counters are deeper than standard The sink/cooktop counters are 28.5" deep with 27" deep base cabinets (3" deeper than standard. The short counter run on the right is 6" deeper than standard with the upper cabinet to the counter 9" deeper than standard (at 21"D). There are two windows - a 63" one centered over the sink and a 36" on the other side of the cooktop. Both flank the range hood over the cooktop. The 36" window helps to open up the corner and adds more light. There are only two upper cabinets - the Dish Hutch next to the DW and the appliance garage (or other storage) next to the tall oven cabinet. I moved the refrigerator to the other side so it's now next to the DR and is a straight shot from the Living Room. This way, someone looking for a snack or setting the table will not get in the way of someone prepping and/or cooking. The move of the refrigerator also helps keep the workflow consistent with the normal Kitchen workflow of: Refrigerator --> Sink & Prep Zone --> Cooktop/Oven & Cooking Zone Instead of pantry cabinets, I put in a reach-in/step-in built-in pantry. This type of pantry is not only much less expensive, but it's also much more efficient, flexible, and overall useful pantry than cabinets. You can utilize the entire height (ceiling-to-floor), can see everything with one glance (no opening/closing drawers/doors looking for something), and shelves can be adjusted to fit your needs now and in the future. The oven cabinet houses the wall oven and a MW in an alcove. With an alcove rather than a built-in MW, you can easily switch out the MW if it dies; plus, a standard MW in an alcove is less expensive than a built-in MW. Another option is a MW drawer - perhaps in the 24" cabinet next to the prep sink. I was trying to save you drawer space since you want as few uppers as possible and you do not have a separate pantry elsewhere. Above the oven & MW is tray storage for cookie sheets, cooling racks, muffin tins, roasting pans, etc. Next to the oven cabinet is an upper cabinet to the counter for appliances or other storage. This helps to eliminate the "dark corner" that often results from tall cabinets near corners. The upper cabinet is 21" deep - plenty deep enough to house just about any small appliance you can think of. It will also provide you with some deeper storage for items that might require it. Other than appliances, I probably wouldn't store frequently used items, though - unless you're tall. [See the end of this thread for how it might look. I can't easily show the 3D version of the appliance garage - but the upper cabinet is shallower than the base and there's counter b/w them.] The range hood is 6" wider than the cooktop and 24" deep. It's especially important to have the wider & deep hood b/c you do not have upper cabinets flanking the hood to assist it with capturing steam/smoke/grease/odors/etc. I wasn't sure what size the cooktop was, so I put in a 36" wide cooktop. If you're putting in a 30" cooktop, then you have 6" to play with. Personally, I'd increase the space b/w the sink and cooktop those 6" to give you more space to work with either as a tertiary Prep Zone or for the Cooking Zone, but it's your call. There are several Prep Zones in case the two of you want to prep or cook together - or if you have guests who want to help out. Finally, the island. The island has the primary Prep Zone with a generously sized prep sink. You said you like to sit and visit while your DH preps - this provides ample room for that. There are 4 seats arranged in a better configuration for visiting. Sitting all in a row is not conducive to visiting - it's more like sitting with strangers at a diner. By having the seats around the corner like this, it makes it easy to converse with guests! Note that I put an 18" overhang on the end - this is in case you or your DH or guests are tall. 15" is the minimum recommended overhang depth - but it's for short-to-average height people, not tall. I wish I had done an 18-inch overhang instead of 15"! (We're all relatively tall - we range from 5'10" to 6'7".) There is plenty of workspace for your DH! There's also additional workspace if you also help out occasionally or if a guest would like to help. There is plenty of storage on both sides of the island. (I added storage wherever I could to make up for the lack of upper cabinets.) Overall, the island has an area (to the left of the prep sink) with a wonderful expanse of uninterrupted counter for large baking projects (like holiday cookie baking), crafts, wrapping gifts, etc. Here is the layout's zone map. Zone Map: . . Oven cabinet with wall oven + MW + Tray storage and a sample of what it might look like with the appliance garage next to it. . . Tray & platter storage example:

Thank you for all the comments. To answer some questions.... The wall on the left is 163". The baby gates are for babies (but there is a possibility of getting a dog in the future). The doorway at the bottom of the kitchen leads to the living room. There are currently two adults who both cook, although generally not at the same time, plus one toddler, and second baby on the way in this growing family. The fridge isn't against a wall - it has an 30" pantry and mini oven on it's left, which this angle shows a little more clearly. I agree that the space at the sides of the counter are too narrow - especially the side with the sink. Perhaps this is why the space feels so crowded? We have opted for no upper cabinets - just a small shelf for some greenery, and to fit the task lighting (led strips) to the underside of. We are hoping this keeps the kitchen feeling open and un-cluttered. So, once I switch the dishwasher to the right of the sink, and slide the sink closer to the corner, it opens up the space around the sink more, and allows space for a kitchen door to the outside. This seems to improve the issues of the narrow space around the sink, and the usability of the corner (prep and cleanup at the same time).

@mama goose_gw zn6OH Husband already drags the KA down from the shelf, a food sealer from the back porch, and many things from the basement...he's used to it. Lol! Even having it all in one room will be a HUGE improvement. I think we're going to skip the beverage fridge for now. I do like the idea and I think it would be a nice extra, but we don't consider it a must-have for us at the moment. So what do you think of this one @mama goose_gw zn6OH? By the way, THANK you for all your input and perspective. Greatly greatly appreciate it. I added on about 6 inches to the overall amount of space (I think we can eeeek that out and . be okay - we'll see) to give a little more breathing room, and moved the fridge over so it's nestled in a bit. It's a counterdepth, which is what we're used to. Also gives a tad more counter space for counter-top appliances when we need to plug in the rice cooker or whatever. It does make the pantry entry a bit snug but I think that's okay? Also, love love LOVE the full run of counter by the coffee station. I'd like to put the micrwoave in this area if it works. We generally don't use our us a ton other than reheating meals and occasionally defrosting. We're a fairly tall family, so I don't think undercounter is for us, so probably will do a built in. Now that I'm thinking about it, that means those upper cabinets will have to be deeper so we can house a microwave, right? I think a small sink there does make sense - my husband would want that for making espresso/coffee/etc. I'll see what he thinks, but I like that idea a lot. Distance from island to front of the fridge is about 4 ft. We can adapt the overall size of the island a bit if needed - I realize it may be a bit wide across.