I'd put a pullout cab in the gap on the left. It would be ideal for a broom, which is handy near an eating area.
Forget perfect symmetry. Once a person steps into the room, they are no longer lining up the 2 sides visually, but presumably sitting at the table and enjoying the food and company. Having it line up from the doorway may even be preferable if you had to choose one or the other.

The only other way, is you could use window treatments to help camouflage the window placement by cheating a little. That would allow you to fake symmetry a little better, but the exposed part of the window would not line up perfectly.

I LOVE symmetry and balance.

that being said, the eye can be fooled very easily. I am sitting in my dining room right now and the chandelier is NOT centered in the room. I've lived in this house for 2 years. It took me about a year to realize this, because of the different window openings and doorway openings of the room.

the EASIEST fix for your problem that I can see, and most practical, because you won't be losing any space, but gaining storage....

have your GC rebuild that left cabinet, making it 11 inches bigger. - since both GC and architect are taking responsibility, perhaps it will be at no cost?

speck it out on your program to see what it looks like, but I bet you will think it's fine.

if you are desperate to have the 2 cabinets be the exact same size, then have your GC build an 11 inch cabinet to go in that space....

maybe those ideas don't suit you, but I'd hate to give room space up to a hallway when I don't have to...

I would think about having them make the built in on the left 11" bigger, as a viable solution as opposed to making the room smaller.Here's why:

I live in a large Greek Revival building that is extremely formal. Symmetry was only slightly less important to the builders of this period than in the Federal Period where they went so far as to have fake doors.

I have done a lot of surveying (measuring and drawing out) various parts of this building and found out that there is actually very little absolute symmetry and an awful lot of Balance throughout the building. I have a large room with double fire places and a main interior elevation of three large windows that are set in paneled embrasures:

The windows are spaced evenly but not centered the room.

The fireplaces are not exactly across from each other nor are they the same size (one has three fireplaces below on other levels the other only one--so the flues are different)

This type of "not quite" exists throughout the entire house:
There is a later Colonial Revival stair hall with a juliet balcony and I only noticed recently that the large columns are not exactly centered in the stairwell and its a main focal point. (And I notice almost everything).

It actually creates a comforting feeling of overall symmetry while being a bit more lively, imo.

I think making the room smaller is viable option because I am not sure what the downside of it is...

I would put a slim cabinet for brooms there, but make it only 18-20" deep. I think the two big cabinets would still take center (literally) stage and the eye would perceive symmetry.

This is my house, and I think it illustrates what I'm trying to say better than I can say it with words. That little "extra bit of house" on the left doesn't detract from the symmetry because it's not on the same plane.

Symmetry is VERY important to me. You should have been a fly on the wall here yesterday as we were discussing whether our island pendant junction boxes could be installed before the island is in place. (On the plans, my cooktop/wall oven wall is perfectly lined up with the island, with the wood hood/mantle perfectly framing the pendants.) My husband and the contractor both suggested that they could be off by an inch or two and no one would notice. I assured them they were incorrect. ;o)

Your breakfast room is charming! This does not look like a formal home, but a more casual home with a country kitchen (which I love) so I don't think the symmetry is a big concern.

The windows are centered on the opening, which is wonderful. If they weren't, then it might be more of a problem. As for the cabinets, leave them as is, add a filler, or rebuild the one on the left...but I don't think it's a big deal.

I like Dianalo's idea of stashing the broom there! Use that 11" in a creative way...that's what country homes are all about :)

Thanks, Lavender.

Hmm, DH and I have been having heated arguments over this and now we are divided again.
He really likes the utility of making one of the built ins 11" wider (and no, we wont be charged ... at least explicitly ... for any solution). And I agree that's attractive. I also have to say that we have brainstormed probably a dozen ideas but never thought of that!

But the argument about different planes, plus the photo, really speaks to me, too.

I've got something similar going on - but symmetry wasn't even remotely possible with my setup.

Eventually there will be a window seat with a trestle table in front.

I'd have them make the one cabinet larger - that will be less noticeable than having them different distances from the window.

IMHO....I wouldn't make a separate broom closet that doesn't extend out as much. I'd fear that tucked in a corner like that (as opposed to the house in the photo which has open space and trees on both sides) you WOULD notice the asymmetry and feel it was somehow off...a makeshift solution.

On the other hand I think few would even notice the assymmetry of one cabinet 11" wider than another and if they did, it wouldn't seem odd. Moreover, you can easily visually "balance" the narrower cabinet with the wider one with what you put in it. Keep more open space in the wider cabinet and put some more "solid" items in the narrower one. If the visual weight of the two cabinets is similar, they won't feel off-balance even if the sizes are different.

Here are a couple more examples of "symmetry plus." ;o)

I don't have the other side of this scanned, but on the opposite side of the run of base cabinets you can see on the right, there is a cream, skinny cabinet just like the one you can see.

And this is my cooktop wall. As I said in my previous post, my island is perfectly centered in front of the mantle section. The wall oven part doesn't detract from the balance (I don't think, anyway). Your "frame" is your entry into the breakfast room, where everything is perfectly balanced.

Thanks, Macy, but this part of the house was newly built!

Worldmom, great photos. Interesting that when people go asymmetric they seem to go with a different finish, too.

hmmmm

To my way of thinking, the further your eye is from the center of the window, the less likely you would be to notice the lack of perfect symmetry. I agree that what you are going for is the APPEARANCE of symmetry (balance). Fill in the space with cabinet and move on to the fun stuff.

We have a dining room ceiling fixture that is just the same...centered in one direction but not in the other. We are able to center the table under it and that allows for walking space and no one is the wiser.

HTH

If the Greeks and Romans were considered "small minds" - then yes.

I know how disgusting it is to have the builders mess up. Our WI house was built for us, and we were going to do all the basement ourselves, but the builder talked us into letting his crew do the rough framing.

I had the plans all laid out with detail measurements. We deliberately had the rooms slightly under 12' wide for ease in laying carpet.

Those yahoos put the walls at 12'3". It's not physically possible to stretch carpet that far.

It seems builders get sloppy about some things. Our MN home was a track built home (three styles to choose from in neighborhood) what was surprising was how different the same house would end up as to exact location of windows, inside walls and things like that. I guess they put the window where it lined up with the studs, instead of adding more studs to get the window in the right spot.

The other frustrating thing is when the builder finds a problem and works around it instead of calling and asking the owner's preference. That is the number one reason I hate hiring someone to do work for me.

Alright, then antss, what would you do?

Symmetry is achieved by arranging your elements around a
center point. You are doing this with the table. I guess
I would ask which is more important to you: the extra
space of 11 inches or symmetry?

Once you know that everything else falls into place.
For what it is worth I think it is beautiful and perhaps
I tend to like spaces that tease the brain. At first they
look symmetical but really there is a little secret.
Hiding not telling anyone and tricking the brain. It is not
until you live in the space, get up close and personal that
you realize the little secret. It is magical to
discover. Perhaps it is my deep love of nature. I have
never found a peony, lily, tree, wooded path, branches
covered with snow, tiny shoots coming up through the
crumbling earth, sunlight sprinkled through leaves or the
gurgling path of a stream to be pefectly symmetrical.
And yes I embrace the tricks of symmetry on my brain.
The leprechauns, hobgoblins, wood fairies, brownies,
(roman) lares, and all adorable creatures that play tricks.
~boxer

Even those Greeks that antss mentions used architectural tricks and an understanding of human perception to give the appearance of regularity in some cases where none existed--just look at the dimensions of the Parthenon.

There's nothing wrong with going with perceived symmetry instead of actual. (A wider cabinet on one side would be my choice.) Emerson's hobgoblin, if I recall, is a foolish consistency, or in this case, not symmetry itself but insisting on symmetry when common sense says that the deed is done so pick a solution that gives you visual balance and move on.

Everyone's going to focus on the windows and that lovely bench.

For what it's worth I have almost the exact situation, only the room is shrunk down quite a bit. In a space that's 9' wide from cabinet to cabinet I have 5" of wall beside one side of the window and 18" on the other. We moved the window as much as we could but there is only so much we could do. My table runs out from the window so it highlights the center even more. You would think it would drive a person crazy but surprisingly, it is not noticeable, unless your looking for it.

The cabinets doors are balanced on either side of the walls and the chairs are balanced around the table and the window has a center stile and that all lines up with a hutch that sits across the aisle so I think "balance" comes from that and the mind just accepts the rest of the room. And since your room is looking pretty great already I think it will turn out fine. Like worldmom said, your room is framed from the entry and that's what people are looking at. If you do turn the 11" into storage it sounds just big enough for your kids to store their band instuments in - no excuse not to practice!

This is about quality as much as symmetry. It's about the quality of the experience in a room after it is built and whether the sight lines are good or will always be "off."

This wouldn't bother many people. It would bother others.
It's about what people refer to as a house having "good bones." Meaning, architecturally correct for its style.

Obviously, making this right by 1 foot requires a huge effort. The answer, for me, would be this: if I made a compromise and didn't do it over, would that room ever truly feel right to me or would I always regret that I didn't push enough to get it architecturally correct?

I'm one of those people who can see if something is 1/4" off and things like window placements and proportion are really important to me. People will say "oh, it doesn't matter you won't see it after ......" I'm someone who will see it.

If you're wired like that, then there's one answer. If not, there's another.

Personally, I would move the wall. I would place a bookcase / display shelves framing the doorway on the other side to use up the extra 11" on the other side. The extra foot on the built-in would bug me much like rococogurl, once I notice something I can't un-notice it.

Symmetry, depending upon how you define the word, is more or less possible to attain. A sphere is the only shape that has perfect symmetry in every perspective; it is said to have "Unity".
If you take a typical kitchen elevation, with identical cabinetry on each side of a vertical center line, it has left/right symmetry, but not top/bottom symmetry.
But, this symmetry exists only on the paper that it was drawn; in the real world, you don't just view your kitchen from one single fixed point. Symmetry becomes a problem when due to lack of detail it degrades into "dull and predictable".
I think the theme of "balance" is better than adherence to an illusory "symmetry".
Balance means an overall evenness of light/dark, mass/void and smoothness/roughness(or pattern/plainness). I'm saying they play off one another with the result being a richness that delights the eye.
The best designers know this and mix them up appropriately.
I think ancient ruins are all the more enticing because the predations of time have done in their former symmetry.
Casey

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful considerations. It is so helpful to read pros and cons.

It's so funny, I read one post and am certain I will just make a new or bigger cab.

Then I read rococogurl and I am afraid i may be "wired" that way. (I first read it as "weird", lol. I am probably weird too).

Right now, the GC is taking full responsibility as they should! My biggest worry is that I compromise, and that it bugs me every day and someday when the GC is long gone, i pay to fix it again!!

Brickton, that is BRILLIANT! I think that is my new fave idea. I think it also means no patching of my lovely wide plank floors! Plus ive always loved bookcases that go over a door, too!!!

Since the problem seems solved (and I agree with Roc, btw) - Do the drawers on the right cabinet open all the way, iow, clear the door frame? Looks like pinched fingers to me.

If you can adjust it to a point where it won't bother you then that's the answer. Depends on what that means.

Quick addendum to my previous post. For some reason I thought that the wall was just framed in. If the wall is closed up then 'just move it' might be short sighted. If there are any wires/supplies/drains/vents etc it might be a lot more work than it seems. I just had my GC move a wall but we're in a new build and it was worth it for the 7" since it was just a rough framed wall. With a fully sheathed and looks like finished (ie has baseboard) wall then I'm not so sure...

Thanks, Brickton, but this it totally the GC's fault and part of an 18month job gutting most of a 5600 sq ft house and adding 2000 sq ft more. Yes, it's involved to move the wall ... but that is their suggestion. In the scheme of the job and budget, they should shoulder something like that.

I was mulling whether I should make them move the windows, skylight, and kitchen opening instead! They should feel lucky im not forcing that, imho.

Sorry, I'm back to ask for your indulgence again.

I was so excited about the book case idea. Till I went back to the site. We could do it, but only on one side. Can you spell "a-s-y-m-m-..."

However, I am still thinking about it. The photo shows a hallway leading to the banquette. This is a side entrance. You come in the house, turn left, pass a pr, then a mudroom, then go thru this entrance to the banquette. The doorway you are looking at is the wall that would move 11" back to meet up with the built in cabinet.

This hall is informal. The side entry is slate, then there is a step up to wide plank which continues on. The pr is mean to look old, with an old crazed vessel sink on what looks like a potting bench, and an antique wooden toilet tank on the wall. You may notice the right hand side wall has exterior shingles, to suggest that that was the outside of the house and this is added on (which is true).

So it's casual, funky even. We will put hooks along the shingle wall.

If we did the "bookcase idea", you would just see a book case on the right.
ON the left, there is no wall ---- there is our mudroom. We could build a bookcase in there too! It would not be visible, but it would have utility.

Here is a link that might be useful: looking at the wall from the hallway

I'd go with a broom closet to the left that doesn't come out as far as the base - in a darker finish like the bench.

You mean like below? ( the closet below is flush with the uppers).

Keep i mind the level of difficulty between the two options does not matter. It is not our problem or cost. The wall does not have any vents or plumbing and is not structural.

So do we
1 move the wall and build in one bookcase in the hall, to the right, and the other bookcase/shelves in the mudroom, to the left)
or
2)
put in a closet like below

Here is a link that might be useful: closet option