Why do you need two doorways into the pantry area? You don't. One is sufficient.

Close in the door actually in the kitchen and make the other one bigger if need be for your anticipated traffic. A 36" door is plenty big enough. That gives you wall space in both the pantry and the kitchen. Put the cooktop there with the wall ovens, and put the fridge where you have the ovens located currently. It's better access for the fridge from the more populated areas of the house there anyway.

Holly- Thank you for the response!

I was hoping to have the pantry be an extension of the kitchen, but didn't want to walk through the kitchen to reach the bathroom, laundry, etc.

Here's a quick 'cut and paste' of Summerfield's plan, showing the area, behind the kitchen. Thank you for your input and a fresh set of eyes!

The hot tub is on the screened porch, to keep the barn kitties, racoons, porcupines, etc. out of the space. We'll have a patio, with BBQ and seating, off the back steps. {{gwi:1651982}}From Fairy tale cottage

And inspiration picture for the front...mainly the vestibule, pergola and upstairs dormer. {{gwi:1397301}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

OK, layouts aren't really my forte, but how much do I LOVE that inspiration pic for the front?!?!!!???!!! SO perfect! I'd move in tomorrow : )

Thanks, Fishies! :)

I love the blue tile. It'd look very nice in this plan with light coming in from 2 directions. Nice.

Rosie- Thank you. I think the entire kitchen will look better with more natural light...but I agree about the tile :)

Couple of questions for you:

Is it really really true that you'd lose the window if you put your cooktop next to the oven? There was a post on here a couple of weeks ago about having a window behind a cooktop...seemed like it was workable.

Also, what directions do these windows face? And is your farmhouse kitchen in a two-story section of the building or a one-story section?

Karen Belle- I don't think we can have a window over the cooktop (code wise) but I wouldn't want to do that, anyway. It would be difficult to have any privacy as the front of the house faces the road.

The corner of the kitchen faces south, so lots of nice light. Southeast for the dining area and small window and southwest for the windows, over the sink. I'm planning to put an arbor over the sink windows, with such great light :)

Oh, and the area with the kitchen is one story only. The dining/seating area is two story, but the utlity area is planned as a one story addition.

It's great that the kitchen area is one story, because I was going to suggest a solatube or something like it if it was. Check it out - from what I hear they are really bright and I think it would add a lot of light to your kitchen. You could put a couple of these in instead of recessed cans. I think you can also get a light fixture that somehow connects with the fitting so that you can have light at night.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solatube

If it is one story, you can go crazy adding skylights and solatubes. Our house is full of natural light because we got large skylights and added a 5' eyebrow window that lets a ton of light in like a skylight.
Our solatube in the master bath is so bright that it took weeks before I left the room without trying to turn it off.
That leaves you free to have privacy from the street and also to use the wall space as you see fit. By putting in a skylight, the room will feel more spacious as well since it opens up the ceiling.

If the kitchen is one story, why not just put a large skylight in?

Well, I did say I need more natural light in the kitchen...so I appreciate all the suggestions! What I should have said is that I need more natural light and views of the garden/pasture/horses, etc. My SIL had a skylight and her kitchen was always too hot in the summer, so I'll have to do some research, but thanks for the ideas :)

Even though we have lots of snow, long winters and did I mention the snow?...we also have very hot summers. That being said, I still want to bring the outdoors in (as much as I can) with the arbor over the kitchen window, bay window seat, and my secret weapon...the greenhouse!

Today, we had a blizzard (it's been mud/snow/mud/snow all month) so I'm really looking forward to my 'indoor garden' in the greenhouse, as well as the natural light and wood stove, in the kitchen. And, we do lose power sometimes, so the big windows will bring in needed light...whereas today, I'm thinking the snow would be covering the skylights and solar tubes.

We had a skylight in the kitchen of our previous home and I LOVED it. It adds so much light, and the sound of rain pattering on it during a summer storm was such a soothing and homey sound. A large skylight would be a great addition to your kitchen.

I just put two solartubes in the new kitchen (just framed as of now) and they do let in alot of light. We used Velux brand.

P.S. Love your inspiration for the exterior.

i think the heat inside (if you have electricity for it) rises and melts the snow off of it. I sure do understand you wanting to see out tho. I'd want to see the gardens, horses and even the snow.

how about building the d/ovens 'into' the pantry space where you have a doorway and moving that doorway between the ovens and the other door - and doing away with the 'other' door? would that work? the doorway would still be rather close to your cooking area - and close enough for others to use also. I think.

I can understand the other posters reasoning for the fridge where you have the d/ovens on the layout. It'd be closer for anyone at the table to get into - and anyone coming from the LR too. Wouldn't it be better to have the work space between the fridge and sink? (I don't know really myself, but think that's how I'd want it.) It'd keep anyone from coming into that side of the island when you are cooking.

will the dw be to the left of the sink?

I do think it's smart not to over build for just the 2 of you. the others will be there mostly on holidays/special dinners - right? you'd still need to cool and heat any extra space even when others not there too. At the cost of energy these days I wouldn't want to do that. It'll go higher too.

Thank you all for the helpful comments!

Last night, my husband made french fries (with the deep fryer) and I don't think the cooktop is going to fit on the island, anymore...at least not with the fryer. I think I might need to lose the small window, put the cooktop/range over there...and get a huge hood/vent! LOL

Steph- After last night (nothing like having the windows open to air out the kitchen, while it's snowing) I think you're right...I'm going to move the wall oven into the pantry area. So, I'll probably leave the fridge 'as is' on the plan, so it's closer to the baking area...which now seems to be going into the pantry :)

Dilly, Taggie, Anna, Dianalo, and Karen Belle- Thank you for suggesting the skylight/solartubes. If I'm not putting the cooktop on the island (so no hood/vent there) then that might be an excellent place for a solartube or skylight. I'll check and see if it will work in the space!

Holly- You're right about the two doors! After playing around with the plan, it makes a lot more sense to close off the door, by the seating area. More space for the chairs and with this version, we can access the bath from the hall...DOH! :)

When it snows, the skylights glow a white light and look really pretty. That and rain on them are some of my fave parts of having them.
We have the kind that open (manual for the ones we put in, motorized by the p.o.s). They let out the heat on hot days and let us use less a/c. Between the skkylights and the ceiling fans, we save a bunch by not having to run the a/c so much. They are also good for windy days when opening a window is too breezy. If you have a moon roof on your car, you can appreciate how handy they really are.

The solatubes are cheaper and provide light nicely, so I'd use those instead of extra hi hats (even at night our solatube works like a nightlight) and make sure to have at least one large skylight. We maximized our natural light by using natural light from the ceiling wherever possible. Our house is very cheerful and bright, even on cloudy rainy days.

Thanks, Dianalo. The skylights and solartubes are sounding better, all the time. It's great reading about everyone's experiences with them...and I don't remember seeing too many threads about them, but maybe I just missed it. Seems like a great way to bring in light and air! :)

'the island (so no hood/vent there) then that might be an excellent place for a solartube or skylight.'

My sister's kitchen skylight is over her island. her island is small - no seating at it. her kitchen and DR are divided by another about 7' long strip of a 2 level counter top with seating on the DR side.

Steph- Do you like the skylight?

Another skylight fan here!

Also, is your heart set on a stovetop+double ovens? If you did a range, your fridge could go where your ovens are. You could keep the window on that wall. Then scoot your sink/dw towards the bottom of your diagram. Then, range to the right of the sink. An extra oven, if you need two, could go somewhere in your pantry, or maybe even in your island. You might have to play with the symmetry and the windows, but 16' is probably enough room for cooktop (or range)+sink on the same run.

Chompskyd- Thanks for the suggestions. I've been really watching how my husband and I cook lately...and I think it might be best to have the range on the short wall...so we don't see it from the table! LOL

Seriously, it would be nice to hide some of the clutter, since this is our only eating space. I also like the baking area in the pantry area (where I can maybe put some marble) and have the wall oven/microwave handy to the fridge. If I move the fridge, it will be a lot of walking back and forth, from the baking area.

While I do cook some things, I don't eat red meat or do a lot of frying/broiling, but my husband does sometimes, so it might be nice for him to have his area and I can still bake. I enjoy making all kinds of muffins, biscuits, cornbread, cakes, cupcakes...and I'd like to start making bread, if we had a bit more counterspace :)

My in-laws have a solatube in a guest bathroom. I always try to turn off the light when leaving, just as a poster said. And even in the heat of the summer at their place, it doesn't make the room hot.

Waterdamage- Good to know about the light...but no heat, in the summer. Solartubes are looking like a good option :)

Here's my revised layout, with the range on the side wall. I'm debating about the wall oven opening into the pantry and making it a baking area...or having it open into the kitchen and using the island for a primary baking area. If the oven opens into the pantry, I can put some cookbooks and display on that wall, but if the oven opens into the kitchen, it would probably be more practical. I could still use the pantry for an expanded baking space, especially during the holidays. {{gwi:1651983}}From Fairy tale cottage

Here's a clip showing Laura Calder's kitchen (my favorite) with the wall ovens built into the wall. What do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Laura Calder's kitchen on Youtube

Again. Swap the oven and the refrigerator. Refrigerators belong on a kitchen's outskirts, not in it's heart. You're creating crossing traffic patterns that will be a PIA. Use the depth of the pantry to be able to recess a full sized refrigerator.

Swap the cooktop and cleanup sink and flank the cooktop with two windows. Put a small prep sink on the island. Now your traffic patterns don't cross and you have a dedicated counter for baking from the wall ovens into the pantry area with the sink there and the oven is close enough to the cooktop to be able to sear something and finish it off in the oven.

The food goes from the fridge or pantry on the outskirts to the island at the kitchen's heart to be prepped, then a quick turn to place it on the cooktop or into the oven. The prep stuff gets hidden in the cleanup sink and the island serves as buffet space for the dinner. Then all of the dinner dishes and prep stuff go into the cleanup sink area which is closer to the dining area and that's where the clean dishes are stored when they come out of the DW. Ideal traffic patterns for both the people and the things.

Holly- Again, thank you for the detailed response. I appreciate you taking the time to offer an alternative layout :)

While it may not be as efficient, I really like the fridge by a counterspace. We don't want a side by side, so the fridge is easy to open and move things to the counter...rather than carry it across the aisle.

I know many people like a cooktop/range with windows on each side, but I've never cared for it. I would rather have the upper cabinet storage, close to the cooking area. And, the view is better out that side, while the road is out the front. Also, I am a messy cook. (The first step towards changing is to admit you have a problem, right? LOL) So, I'd rather have the cooking area hidden from the dining area than the sink.

Holly- I think your layout makes a lot of sense and would work very well for a vast majority of people planning a kitchen. I just don't think it would work as well, for us...but again, thank you for the detailed response.

I looove the skylights. daytime I have no need for a light in kitchen or mstrbath - even on an overcast day (we don't get a lot of those). I didn't notice it being extra hot in there last summer - i wasn't living there tho.

My sister loves her skylight also. She had one in the mfg home she lived in before they built.

I think the fridge where it is will probably not be the every day problem for you with it just being you and dh than it would be for someone with kids (and their friends) in/out of it all day / night long!

I sure do understand not wanting the stove to be in eye shot while eating too.

oven in pantry - if you'll be doing lots of baking (bread etc) it might be better there - will keep your kitchen proper clear for making meals during those baking times.
you can have baking going on in there while working on dinner in the kitchen.

I watched that video of your beautiful inspiration blue tile kitchen... Now I'm hungry! Thanks;-)

Kbncan- LOL! She does make some wonderful looking food...and the kitchen is half the fun of watching the show, IMHO.

Steph- I'm glad you liked the skylights! I think if we had kids, the fridge placement might be more of a problem, too...but since it's just the two of us, I like that it's close to the pantry and the microwave. The more I think about it, I like the oven opening into the kitchen and then we have the pantry for extra prep space, if we need it.

Here's a quick 'cut and tape' of the overall plan, which shows the rest of the storage areas. I also like that we can cut through the hall bath to do laundry, to save a few steps :) {{gwi:1651984}}From Fairy tale cottage

The kitchen/keeping room looks like a great place to work and just be, Lavender, and your rationale makes perfect sense when you explain it. It'll work very well and is going to be gorgeous in blue. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

Thanks, Rosie :)