Your sink and stove are fabulous! The problem that leaps out at me about your plan is that your island seems to be functioning as the dreaded "barrier" island. That is, to get back and forth from your stove to your fridge, you'll be hiking around the island.

The other thing that bothers me is the placement of your prep sink (I'm assuming that's what that is in the island), which seems very awkward. It also eliminates the only good spot for seating.

If you could add the additional 2 feet you mentioned, you could orient the island in the other direction, and have the prep sink at one end and the seating with backs to the fireplace. If you then moved your stove down a few feet toward the mudroom entrance, put the fridge on the wall by the sink and the freezer in the pantry area, you would solve those problems. Are these options for you?

Thanks Holligator. Yikes. I was afraid I might be breaking the barrier island rule! I did think of running the island parallel with the sink with the seating backs to the fireplace. I also thought of splitting the fridge and freezer and placing one at either end of the sink run, but was afraid I might be limiting my counter space too much. With the island running the other way it might not be as much of a problem. Do you think it would be too big an issue with the refrigerator and freezer opening into the walkway from the mud room and pantry areas?

Thanks again for your ideas.

Love your vintage stove and sink! Your kitchen is going to be gorgeous! I'm in agreement with holligator on the barrier island. Is it important to you to have your sink under that window? How about if you place the cleanup zone(trash,sink,DW) on the south wall, frig & freezer units separated on the east wall on either side of the window w/ the frig up closer to the range, and the prep sink on the east side of the island. You could have 6' of dish drawers in the island across the aisle from the cleanup zone and still have 2' of overhang on the fireplace end to place 3 stools.

We were posting at the same time. I think if you scoot the frig/freezer towers(24" towers?) towards the window that should leave room for movement. I forgot to ask if you have kids and how many? That of course would affect how much traffic, etc.

Here's what I was picturing.

This makes the island a lot more functional and the seating more comfortable, with people sort of facing one another. The prep sink would serve the cook at the stove well there, too. I made your pantry a tad smaller and that hallway a tad wider to accommodate the freezer.

The wall where you had the fridge and freezer now has a hutch or other furniture piece. With that sink and stove, I think your vintage kitchen is screaming for a huge but shallow apothecary-style cabinet. Something along these lines, but with open shelving on the top...

Wow Holligator and Laxsupermom! You two are amazing. I never thought of a square island. It really makes nice use of the space. I'm in love with the hutch idea. Oh, and no kids ... looks like it will probably stay that way. We do have lots of visiting friends and family, though.

Argh. I'm having trouble figuring out these Gardenweb posting rules.

Here's a better example of the hutch I'm picturing. Go to the link below and scroll down to the green "Solid maple buffet and hutch" about halfway down the page.

Here is a link that might be useful: hutch

Oh, that hutch is beautiful! I was afraid that wall would be wasted space without using it as the fridge wall. Your idea makes it not only useful but a real stunner, too. Do you still think it would help to scoot the range down toward the mud room door?

holligator's hutch would be perfect. The unfitted look with your vintage pieces would be gorgeous. worldmom posted a link to a pic that matched your room layout and holligator's island so well that I had to link it. The huge window on the wall seems to be the same proportion as your proposed window. The range is in the same spot and framed to be a showpiece. Your range deserves a center stage spot, too. And the island is exactly like holligator's down to the prep sink. I drooled a little when I saw the pic and I'm not even a white cabinet kind of gal.

Here is a link that might be useful: inspiration pic

Holy cow, Laxsupermom! I actually gasped when I pulled up your photo. I think my palms are sweating. Well, I think I've got my inspiration now!

Regarding seating on adjacent sides...you cannot have two people using the same knee space. In the layout above, the two people on the corner occupy the same knee space. So, there's seating for 3, not 4, assuming there is 4' of seating space and at least 12", but preferably 15" of overhang for knee space (15" is the recommended minimum for counter height seating). But, since you only want 2 or 3 stools, that should be fine.

nutherokie, where will the 2' come from? The Pantry & closet?

You show a table in the kitchen as well, is that necessary?

Do you still think it would help to scoot the range down toward the mud room door?

If you move the fridge, I don't think you would need to move the stove just to address the barrier problem I mentioned before. However, I generally like having some landing/work space on both sides of a stove. On the other hand, your stove is so different that it's hard to imagine whether that would really be necessary. So, my answer to your question is I don't know. :)

Buehl is right that two people can't share knee space, but I was estimating that island at approximately 5'x 6', so there should be plenty of room to scoot down. That is, unless you want to make the window side of the island all storage, which would be a good idea. You could do that and still have enough room for one stool on that side.

Here's one possibility for configuring the island (this is a very rough estimate of measurements on a 5'x 6' island)...

Several people here have a corner prep sink like this one with the faucet at the inside corner to make it accessible for prepping on two sides of the island.

Thanks Buehl! The house is new construction so we can just add the two feet. It doesn't have to reduce anything else. We'd originally had the kitchen at 18 feet wide but the architect thought that might be overkill with the four foot wide island. The little table isn't truly necessary. He added that and I thought it was a nice touch. I'm open to changing most anything. I really wanted the sink under the windows - but they may not have to be quite so wide.

I really like the island configuration ideas Holligator. I'm coming from a very small 1920s kitchen and while I'm craving space and storage, I'm not very good a figuring out how to get there!

Welcome from another Okie!

Love your Chambers stove and the wonderful sink- what treasures!

We did a remodel whoa! 4 years ago (how time flies) in a colonial and tried as best we could to honor the home and era when we did the kitchen.

Although I think we accomplished our goal, in our zeal to have more space, we made the aisles too wide. Sure, we can have 2 or 3 people cooking (but they never do!), and the parties end up in the kitchen anyway, but we have 44" between the perimeter cabinets and the prep island and the two steps it takes to bridge it does make a difference. If I were to do it again, I'd make it a turn and swivel- and there would still be plenty of room.

Make sure you have a good, workable distance. Drawers, including dishdrawers, will let you reduce the distance if you are so inclined.

Also, think about whether you would want to give up a window over the sink. If you are used to it, it could be a rough transition to face a wall. We Okies like our space!

Sorry I don't have anything to contribute toward your layout (do love the picture that you have now claimed for inspiration, especially the windows) but wanted to say that I love your Magic Chef stove and sink--they look great! We are working toward a vintage kitchen as well and have an older commercial Chambers so I am looking forward to following your progress so don't forget to post pictures!

Thanks for the kind support Pecanpie. Love that name! I'm sick of my tiny kitchen but I do love its windows. I'd hate to give up something that I already know I like so much. I do worry a bit that I underestimate how convenient it is to have everything within a step or two. I laughed about your remark regarding Okies loving their space. You are so right about that! My husband resents trees and mountains because you can't see who might be sneaking up on you.

Farmhousebound, I've drooled over your fantastic Chambers. I look at it and your gorgeous hood when I start to get cold feet about the vintage range. I hope someday I'm in a position to post pictures. Things seem to move so slowly.

I agree with pecanpie about the dangers of making your aisles too wide. So many on here promote aisles of 48" or wider, but those would make me miserable!

Another way to think about making the "working" part of your kitchen a bit more compact is to flip the stove and hutch walls, putting the stove closer to the fridge, pantry, and dining room. Being closer to these things seems much more convenient. That would also make the view from the entry as you come into the kitchen more decorative, looking at your beautiful hutch that I keep imagining for you! :) If you did that, I would flip the island, too, to put the prep sink near the stove.

Something like this...

This would also solve another problem that I noticed earlier. Your mudroom entrance in the previous layouts forces traffic through a work zone--either the cooking zone or the clean-up zone. With things flipped, traffic can go behind the seating without getting in the cook's way. Since it's just two of you, this probably wouldn't matter a lot, but avoiding it is a bonus.

I love your plans, Notherokie. They're very similar to a kitchen I planned before I made the mistake of taking my contractor's advice. But, :), since this is a new home and Holligator's opened the subject, will you be entering your kitchen after plowing the east pasture and cleaning the horses's hooves? Entering through a mud/laundry room is certainly extremely time-honored, but these days having direct access to the outdoors we went so far out of our way to have is lovely. Do you really want and need a utility room between you and the garden, or could it access a more central area directly and be replaced by a door to a cook's porch or patio? The end.

Yes, Holligator. I know you're probably right about switching the stove. That's where the architect put it too. I just had this sentimental vision of walking into the kitchen and facing that great old range. Darn this "form following function" stuff! ;-) Seeing your layout makes me re-examine my stubbornness.

And I'm laughing Rosie because we definitely will be coming in after cleaning the horses' hooves. I'm hoping to avoid any plowing though! I had originally hoped to have a door out the back, but although it seemed like I was going to have scads of room, it's not working out that way. I guess my insistence on a fireplace didn't help. There are doors out to the back through the dining room. I'll attach a picture that shows more of the plan and see if you think that's close enough. Otherwise, there may be some way to rework the mud room area.

Thanks so much for everybody's help. You all are great!

Where do groceries come from?
Which direction do you want to face whilst chopping?
Are you height challenged?
Do you bake a lot?
Do you can or steam lobsters or any unusual cooking?
I'm guessing you don't have or want a kitchen garden?
Do you entertain a lot? WHEN you entertain, are the guests in your kitchen or is there catering?
Is there another powder room somewhere?
Are you going to have a buffet in the dining room?
Any special needs not covered above? Like expresso station, bar, sofa to go with that table? Pizza oven?
GE Monitor ref?

Just saying some stuff while waiting - you already have a fairly substantial hutch area in the butlers-pantryish area. It is possible to countersink the ref into the pantry portion. It is also possible to create an exit or a passthru to the outside in the butlers pantry. It is also possible to create a more direct access from prep to pantry.

How about putting the range on the wall where you have your main sink? Put a prep sink near your range
Put two windows on both sides of the range
Put sink on island across from range make longer to fit DW and waste basket
Leave Ref where you have them and put a beautiful buffet where you have your range? The buffet doesn't need to be as deep as the other cabinets so you can make your island bigger
Can you put seating on both sides of the island take advantage of the FP and put a TV above?
I like the idea of the FP on one end and the Range on the other

Love the size of your utility room! You could fit a sofa and TV in there

Just a note to say that I love this sink so much that it took three people to talk me out of getting it for my bathroom! The problem was, I wouldn't have enough room for a cabinet next to it and there was no place to put make up, toothpaste, etc. I thought the wooden cutting board would work just fine! Ha.

Yes, I felt a huge pang of jealousy as soon as I saw the photo so give it a hug from me when you get it. I settled for the Porcher Large Sonnet console instead. It's here but the bathroom isn't quite ready for it.

Hi Bmoreanic. Some of the things that strike you as odd may be things that I just got used to in our current house and am now unnecessarily replicating in the new build.

Let's see, groceries come in through utility area. The garage will be detached and a breezeway will connect with the utility door. I'll probably prefer to face the front windows and fireplace. I may even engage in the controversial practice of placing a tv over the fireplace so as to feed my political habit while cooking. Cuisine really suffered here during the election season!

Neither of us is height-challenged. I like to bake but it's such a pain in my current kitchen that I don't do it that much anymore. I'm not great at it anyway.

I don't can or steam lobsters though I think my husband harbors a fantasy that I'll be canning okra and pickling beets once we move to the sticks. We do plan to have a garden. We've grown tomatoes and herbs for several years and hope to expand a bit.

We have people over quite a bit and they try to congregate in the kitchen which is just not workable. We've had a couple of catered events but I can't see that we'll ever do that very often. I'm sort of afraid no one will want to make the drive out once we move anyway.

There'll be a powder room off the main living area. There'll be a buffet in the dining room. No espresso bar necessary. I'm thinking I'll have to sacrifice the pizza oven and while I'd love a monitor-top refrigerator, there are sometimes that modern is just better.

Y'all are right about access to the back porch being awkward. How about bumping the utility area out a couple of feet and putting a door in there adjacent to where the washer is drawn?

Oh, and I was hoping to turn that little table area into a banquette, but it may be too cramped. Sorry to be so long-winded!

Oops Sunnyd, it took me so long to type my rambling and incoherent answers to bmorepanic that I missed your post! So at least you won't be aghast at my tv over the fireplace idea?

I'll sketch out your ideas and try to get a better vision of it. I love the idea of windows flanking the range. Unfortunately, I seem to love the idea of windows everywhere.

I'm feeling sheepish about the size of the utility room. I don't have one now and I may be overcompensating!

Golddust, the sink is in my garage and I go pet her every now and then. I'll give her your regards. I'm sorry you were forced to bow to practicality because I'd have LOVED to see that sink in a bathroom. But honestly, I love that Porcher console too. I've tried to figure out how to fit one in our plan, but I don't think it's going to work. Only on Gardenweb do we actually recognize the names of plumbing fixtures, eh?