What about something like this? It puts the Prep Zone on the peninsula and the range nearby. The range is protected and still against a wall for (1) less expensive, easier, and more effective venting and (2) far enough away from visitors that they won't get splattered by grease or have steam/smoke/odors in their face. You also have 42"+ of workspace b/w the prep sink & range for prepping...a good amount of space. You also have some space on the other side of the prep sink for setting things down and reducing the chances of pushing things off onto the floor. The prep sink will also provide a place for hand washing without having to go deep into the kitchen. It does close off the kitchen more, but it also provides more separation of zones. The only real drawback I see is that you will prepping in the only entrance to the kitchen...but perhaps a 49" aisle will be enough...I don't know if it will be for you, only you can answer that. It does, however, give you your "inclusion" with others for 80% of your work...prepping + cooking. You might consider either glass doored upper cabinets or no cabinets b/w the refrigerator & sink to reduce the "cave" issue. With glass doored cabinets (or none) plus the large window plus good lighting, I don't think the corner near the refrigerator will be much of a "dark cave". Layout #4: Layout #4 w/Zones: Notice how well separated the zones are and no zone-crossing. This layout would allow up to 4 people to work comfortably in the kitchen...Cleanup in front of the main sink, Prepping at peninsula, Cooking at the corner range, and Prepping or MW cooking b/w the range & main sink. BTW...that MW could be mounted on a shelf below upper cabinets on that run if you prefer that setup.

That sounds great. Jbrodie is one of my favorite kitchens on GW and she has that color scheme. Take a look at her finished kitchen post. It's gorgeous. Here is a link that might be useful: Jbrodie's finished kitchen

Khj- We were discussing a similar situation on another thread. Two dishwashers can be more convenient together, but if one is for mixing bowls, utensils, pots and pans...and the other is for dishes, glasses, silverware...then the two dishwashers can be in separate locations. It only gets confusing when you start mixing them together...and then have to walk all over the kitchen, to put stuff away. I think my favorite plan so far (given your building restrictions and DH's input) is Buehl's latest Plan B. It's really an excellent plan and I think you would love cooking in it. The only thing I might change is to put one of the dishwashers, by the prep sink in the island, just for pots/pans/mixing bowls and utensils. This way, you can clean up as you're cooking...but DH (or maybe kids?) can load the dishes after dinner, into the clean up area, by the pantry. This also gives you excellent dish storage area, by the dishwasher and close to the beverage center. Easy for other people to help/clean/or prepare snacks out of your main work area. I would also keep the two doors and leave the pocket door by the cooking area. You can close that off during parties and also close off the mess. When you're not cooking, you can leave that door open, for more light. So, Khj, can you see yourself in that kitchen? Can you visualize all your finishes? Working in the space? Making dinner or setting out a buffet? If so, I think you have a winner! :)

Here's my layout - very, very similar to Sena's. It provides three separate Prep Zones, all with approximately 60" of workspace and access to water. The primary Prep Zone is in the island with the Prep Sink and across from the cooktop. The two secondary Prep Zones are on either side of the cleanup sink. If someone is also cleaning up, then the secondary Prep Zone on the DW side will not be available until cleanup or unloading the DW is complete - but the one on the non-DW side is still available for use. Dish storage is on the Pantry side of the kitchen with 15" deep uppers as well as base cabinets. This location puts the dishes close to the DW for ease of unloading as well as on the side of the kitchen opposite the Cooking Zone and two of the Prep Zones, including the primary Prep Zone. This will keep those setting the table out of these zones and out from under foot of those working in the kitchen. The refrigerator is on the periphery for the same reason - it is easily accessible from the kitchen and the Dining Room and the rest of the house. Snackers and someone setting the table will not get in the way. There is a 6' long built-in pantry with 12" deep shelves on three sides. 12-inch deep shelves ares deep enough for the majority of items but not so deep that things get lost. 12" seems to be the ideal depth. You can get away with 15", but any deeper and things start to get lost! There are several advantages of a built-in pantry over a pantry cabinet: Much less expensive More storage space - no lost space due to cabinet walls & roll out tray shelf (ROTS) hardware and you can utilize the entire space - floor to ceiling More useful storage - no deep shelves over your shoulders that are almost impossible to see b/c even w/ROTS you still cannot see the middle of the shelves. You can see everything at one glance - no opening ROTS after ROTS looking for something Tray storage (cooking racks, cookie sheets, roasting pans, long platters, etc.) is above the MW oven in the oven stack. The trash pullout is in the island in the primary Prep Zone and near the Cooking Zone - both zones in which you generate the most trash & recyclables. It's also near the Cleanup Zone and the secondary Prep Zones. Note that the trash pullout is needed more in the primary Prep Zone & Cooking Zone than in the Cleanup Zone - but ideally it should also be near the Cleanup Zone. The island has seating for 5 - with one seat on the short end of the island. Having seats on two sides is more conducive to conversation. The cabinets on the sink run are 3" deeper than standard. This gives you more storage space as well as 3" more workspace depth. The base cabinets are 27" deep - if you can get them and they're in your budget. If not, then pull the base cabinets out 3" from the wall when they're installed. I did put in upper cabinets on the two side walls to give you more dish/prep tool/cooking tool storage space. The uppers on the Pantry side are 15" deep so even 12" wide dinner plates will fit. The uppers on the cooktop wall are 12" deep. They could be 15" deep as well, if desired. If you do not put upper cabinets on the walls, then you will need to create dish storage elsewhere. I don't recommend open shelves for anything other than items you use every single day. It only takes a couple of days for dust to start settling on items - requiring you to wash the items b/f using them and to frequently dust just to keep items looking clean. On the cooktop side, dishes on the open shelves will not only collect dust, but any stray grease, etc., will also settle on them. The hood is 6" wider than the cooktop - this is the minimum recommended. In addition, it should be 24" deep and the fan should be at least 600cfms. If you do plan to grill inside, then I recommend going even wider and a getting a more powerful fan (at least 900cfms). If all you do is boil water - then you can make do with a hood the width of the cooktop as long as you have upper cabinets flanking the hood. (If you do only boil water, then I question the need for a 48" cooktop.) The window is 10' wide to give you a lot of natural light and to open up the space. Normally, I would recommend a window to the counter, however, in this case I think it should be raised a few inches above the counter. It appears your kitchen is in the front of the house, so you don't want to make it easy for people to look in and see your dirty dishes or Prep Zones or Cooking Zone. Raising the window and putting in window treatments that can be partially closed when needed will help keep your kitchen condition private. (This is one of the reasons you don't normally put a kitchen in the front of the house.) Finally, I put in a 30" wide x 15" deep utility cabinet for a broom, dustpan, Swifter, etc. Here it is! Layout #1 . Layout #1 Zone Map .