Thank you all for your input. I have been listening. We need to get this hammed down because we have to put the order in. This is what lowes had. The island and peninsula are the problems still. All the measurements are correct but this isn't to scale. We're not fans of the half moon and the 2 stools. Its a tight space so we have to pick our battles. For Stove items if we put something in the stove it will be for at least 30 min, so i don't mind walking over there. As far as the turkey dinner goes, the bird gets priority. If I need room, i'd tell the person to move out of the position so i can set the turkey down. We do want the desk, with 1 baby and another on the way, we want a place to keep family business in 1 place, process mail ect. Also I figure we could do photo editing there too while the kids play in the living room (when there older). Everyone I know who has had a desk in the kitchen has loved it. So we'd like it. It doesn't have to be as big though. As far as being social goes, I really mean for family dinners if possible. We do have a casual dining room on the other side of the oven, so I may say screw it and go back to the architects rough plan and try to stick a extra at one end. Any other advise? [URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/59/captureswa.jpg/][IMG]http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/8577/captureswa.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL] Here is a link that might be useful:

IF you decide to go with a movable island, you might also check your cabinet line. Some of them have movable islands that you can get to match or complement your perimeter cabinets. I know, for instance, that KraftMaid does as my KD showed one to me when she was trying to talk me out of my mini-peninsula...she thought it would be more useful. [I love my mini-peninsula, btw! It protects my cooktop and has become my Baking Center.] I'm someone who went from a small "L" shaped eat-in kitchen to a 2-peninsula kitchen and I definitely do NOT regret it...as a matter of fact I think I gained an amazing amount of counter space, in particular...and I then had room for a Prep Sink...all pluses! There is a lot of anti-peninsula sentiment on this Forum, so you will probably not get much support for it. Most people (not everyone growlery!) prefer islands...stationary or movable. If you go w/a stationary island, I don't think 36" is a big enough clearance on the sides...I think 42" minimum, preferably 48". There will be a lot of laundry basket carrying through there as well as, I think, the traffic from the back yard (I can't tell for certain on this point). I'm guessing there's no garage so groceries will be coming in from the front door (is that correct?). You also need to have enough room to carry those groceries into the kitchen.

Lucky you! Your house is beautiful! If it were mine, I would put a very long dining table behind that long sofa instead of that small round table. Then I would create a long island to leave the 4 feet of walk-through space needed in your kitchen. If possible, I would use the solid wall for tall cabinets to house all small appliances, pantry storage and counter depth refrigerator. On that island, I would put in the sink and 2 dishwashers, plus pull-out trash bin. You can see that gorgeous view while doing cleanup and food prep. In no way would I lose those floor to ceiling windows! Just my humble opinion, but in this case, form trumps function! But I feel the function is there in this plan. You will still have plenty of prep space on the island, plus there is some counter space on either side of the stove. But it would seem that that view is the reason you are building there. I wouldn't compromise on that.

Excellent work! I would like to do something similar for a house recently bought and have a question about dimensions and if I have clearance for a large island. You said your island is 4’x8’ and kitchen 12’x13’, how much space is left between countertops? 36”-40”? Thank you so much, the 4’ wide island is great.