Thanks for all the great inputs! This is very helpful. Yes what I meant was more like a wet bar/buffet cabinet and would give us extra storage within the dining room. We always want to have a butler pantry but our floor plan now doesn't allow us to have a hallway in between kitchen and dining room to do that. We have also seen a lot of great designs that people are actually having a wet bar inside the dining room and we love the idea. Now it's just a matter of whether this will make the dining room too packed. We haven't bought the dining table set yet so for it to be a round or rectangular table, we are flexible though we most likely will go with a rectangular table and would like it to sit 8 people comfortably. It looks like a standard wet bar counter length will be about 2 ft deep and that will leave me around 12.5X13.5 for the room. beaglesdoitbetter and pps7, thanks for the photos, that helps give a good idea! athensmomof3, thanks for bringing up the lighting fixture position issue. Didn't think about that, now this is something to think about on top of the space issue!

Moving the range closer to the wall ovens as rhome suggests is a very good idea, especially since your range doesn't actually line up with anything in particular. I don't need that much space next to my range to really cook, and you'll have the island across from it as well. Putting the microwave near the fridge however is crucial. Having to walk around your island every time you want to use your microwave will make you crazy. Also, I don't know where you're putting your trash storage, but next to the fridge, near the pantry and the entry to the garage is the best place for it. Most of the working portion of your kitchen in your current kitchen plan is where the range, fridge and little sink are. If you move your cook top a little closer to the main clean up sink, it will be much easier to wash pots and pans there. In my kitchen, the main ''clean up'' sink is farthest from my fridge and range, very similar to your plan. I realized I would be using my ''prep'' sink (the one closest to the range/fridge) as much as the ''main'' sink, so I made it almost as large as the clean up sink. What I've actually found is I use it as much for cleaning up pots and pans as I do for prep work. In that respect, moving the range closer to your biggest sink would be a wise choice. The counter space on the DR side of the kitchen seems excessive. How were you planning on using that space? I have an 8 foot length of counter with my island. The rest of my counters are much shorter in length; I think my longest stretch is four feet of space. That is plenty of space for individual ''stations'', even if I were teaching a cooking class. Your kitchen is Huge; I think you can have what you want from it as long as you're flexible enough to design space that will work for you.

I like LL's suggestion to use a piece of marble. You could use one of your kitchen stones for each side of the sink/wet area. Possibly a remnant could be used, then use more budget-friendly wood/BB in the remaining areas. Just to clarify, if anyone is considering plywood tops--the plywood used in the links I posted is better grade (currently ap 50.00/sheet at home centers), not sheathing plywood. We have two birch plywood counters, installed 20yrs ago as budget-friendly DIY, in the den and in the laundry area. They are finished with polyurethane, are as smooth as silk, and are still holding up well (no sink on either top). The home center in our area also offers oak and maple veneer.

This is just bad. Starting with having to walk through the work area of the kitchen to get to two of the bedrooms. From there it goes downhill. Sorry to be so blunt. Here's my list that hopefully helps you rethink what you have: The best houses orient the public rooms towards the south for the best passive solar heating and cooling The best houses are L, U, T, H, or I shaped. The best houses are only one to two rooms deep. And covered lanai, porches, garages, etc count as rooms in this case. The best houses make sure kitchens have natural light, meaning windows so one doesn't have to have lighting 24/7 to use the kitchen. (And no, dining areas with windows 10' or more from the kitchen will not allow for natural light.) The best houses make sure all public rooms and bedrooms have windows on at least two walls. The best houses do not if possible put mechanical rooms, pantries or closets on outside walls The best houses keep public and private spaces separate. The best houses do not have you walk through the work zone of the kitchen to bring laundry to the laundry room. The best houses do not have the mudroom go through any of the work zones of the kitchen. The best houses do not use the kitchen as a hallway to any other rooms. The best houses do not put toilets or toilet rooms up against bedroom walls or dining areas. The best houses do not have walk in closets too small to stand inside. The best houses have an organizing “spine” so it’s easy to determine how to get from room to room in the house and what makes sense. So how many of these best practices does your house have?