I think it looks good. My only concern would be the "lost" cabinet space in the corner in using drawers on the right. Ofcourse you could overcome that by using one of those pull out blind corner things.(Can't think of the name but have seen them on HGTV I think.-might be crazy and just dreamed it up)

Will the walkway from the eating into the kitchen get blocked by the micro drawer?(It is a drawer isn't it. I Don't think having to bend down to a regular micro would be good)

Love the island by they way. That curved bartop is awesome.

Looks generally very nice.

I also wonder about the lost corner...But then again, I shouldn't talk, because I framed mine in, because I don't like corner storage. ;-)

I would prefer the microwave in the island across from the fridge and beside the prep sink, since much of what goes into the microwave comes from the fridge or freezer. I also use mine while cooking, thawing things out or steaming veggies, so like mine near the cooking area. Maybe it depends on how you use yours, but having it where I suggested keeps it handy to you and allows others to use it without getting into the cooking zone.

What are the cabinets flanking the sink? I don't think I've seen a cabinet between the sink and dw and wonder if you'll have a lot of dripping mess.

I'm not usually one for curved bars, but this one is very cool looking. However, just one other thought about that...Having the island at all one height allows it to be used from all directions, and as soon as you put a raised bar, it functions more like a more limited perimeter counter, although facing out.

It looks beautiful. I love the built-ins beside the dining room doorway.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

As for the corner cabinet, i originally put a lazy susan in there, but really hate them and decided on a blind corner cabinet - yeah, we'll lose some storage space, but I really hate lazy susans and they cost a lot... forgot to mention that we are gaining a good size pantry around the corner from the kitchen - you can actually see the walls for it in the first picture - it's opposite the bathroom which is adjacent to the kitchen...

I've struggled with where to place the microwave! Right now, it's my current microwave, placed on a shelf in the island. It does get used quite a bit and would probably make more sense on the side facing the stove, where all the prep will take place - probably opposite the fridge... I'll see what I can do. Right now, the island is designed with garbage pull-out, sink, tray/cutting board storage and open shelves (only 12" deep due to the microwave on the side).

We've gone back and forth re: the bar height vs. single height. Ultimately, we really like the way the bar height looks and breaks up the kitchen. That island is quite large and was afraid it would look massive it was all one level!

I agree about the cabinets beside the sink - I really like the way they look, but am worried about dripping on the floor while loading the dishwasher. The other options I've seen are to just add some skinny 3" posts or something to the left & right, just to offset the dishwasher from the farmers sink... looks funny having the two side by side. We could just forget about the farmers sink altogether...

FYI - the opening between kitchen and dining room does not exist today... we are opening that up so we'll, hopefully, start using our dining room more... at least it will look nice and open things up quite a bit!

Thanks again!

I made some tweaks to the design...
Moved the MW opposite the fridge, slid the sink down on the island and put a bookshelf where the MW once was.

Also, removed the drawers left & right of the main sink.
Thanks again for the feedback...

New pics posted...
https://picasaweb.google.com/jdcipher/Remodel#5576929613930911202

dcipher - can I ask a quick question that doesn't involve giving you any advice? Did you use a software program to make those cool drawings? (I would give you advice if I could but I am a real newbie here.....)

I'm digging the design but confused by the shallow cabinet on the end by the dishwasher. Why is it shallower? It looks like the odd man out, kind of like you had an extra cabinet laying around so you used it.

Is there a purpose to having it be more shallow?

The designer put the shallower cabinet on the end - actually, it was a tall cabinet that was shallower - but we decided we didn't want a tall cabinet and would benefit from a set of drawers near the table.

He wanted to make the passage between the table and the door to the screen porch wider - a way to gradually end the kitchen. I like the look, but now sure we'll end up doing it as it's a custom cabinet.

SusieQusie60: I use Google Sketchup to do the drawings - it's FREE. Like any modeling program, there's a bit of a learning curve - I'm still discovering new ways of doing things! It's really an amazing program - and lots of designers work with it too, so you can share your sketchup files.

Just realized I can put the pictures directly in my post...

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

dcipher, did you ever get the help you needed? I notice the one "zone"that seems to conflict with others is food storage and snacking. I don't see an easy pantry space for either prep items or Bugles (does anyone still eat Bugles?) that is easy to access without interference. Other than that, this looks pretty good to me.

One design point that may or may not matter to you: the run with the fridge at the end has a very large terminus:(the fridge).

The sink run steps back and steps back again, kind of shrinking back against the wall as it terminates, which is a weak terminus. I feel like the saber-like eating counter is thrusting at that corner and pushing it back. I also tend to think that the sharp acute corners on the curved top are going to be kidney pokers to the uninitiated.

I love that bar top - very cool. I think it looks odd having the step back for the cabinet by the DW. If there was a specific construction reason for it - fine, if the corresponding upper stepped back as well - fine if it was matched somewhere else in the space - fine, but just for fun - nuhuh. It isn't properly balanced. My suggestion is not to do it.

Thanks for your feedback.

We have modified the design a bit since I posted these pictures, and really can't thank everyone enough for their help. I love what we have now - I'll post final pictures once I have them.