Why is there "no scenario where I will have cabinets on both long walls"?

Is there traffic passing through your kitchen?

Aisle width needs vary depending on where they're located and what's in the aisle (e.g., if you have a DW opening into an aisle it's best to have it at least 42" wide).

Here is ours. I find it very comfortable to work in.

Thanks!
Buehl-- I like your kitchen a LOT too :) To answer your question I thought I'd post the floor planof our first floor as it is right now:

And here is another pic that might be a bit easier to read:

This is a close-up of our current kitchen floor plan:

The "old" dining room was turned into a playroom (my kids are 2 and 5). And the wall between there and the current kitchen is going to come down.
We use the far end of the kitchen for dining although there are currently two highly used doors that make that part of the kitchen very tight and a giant traffic mess. One to the garage, one to the back yard. We plan on closing in the far end of the garage near the kitchen and making a mudroom. The new door to the backyard will be relocated there. The current french door to the backyard can be turned into a regular window (or two) so... with all those changes we are looking at something like this:

And there just isn't a lot of wall space on the south wall of the room.

Also, originally I posted a floor plan where the dining area (banquette) was on the right hand side near the garage, but I have decided I want the dining room/ banquette on the left side of the room so there are NO MORE traffic lanes in my dining room.

Raen-- your kitchen is right up my alley!! Love the two-tone look... I'm planning on mid to dark toned quartersawn oak on the base cabinets, and a creamy yellow on the uppers, and using a red on accent cabinets. Are your lights from IKEA?? If so, they are the same ones I plan on using! I guess I really do like the look of so much flooring-- yours is beautiful :)

I was just going to post about my old kitchen, which was A LOT like Raenjapan's...and how nice it looked to have all that pretty floor showing. It really made for a nice, clean look...and it definitely didn't look like anything was missing there in the middle. Love both of the kitchens posted on this thread!

Ah! That answers my questions...you don't have two long walls! And, yes, there will be traffic! (Garage/Mudroom-to-DR/Kitchen/FR)

OK...so if you're taking down the wall b/w the Playroom & Kitchen and using the entire 28'9" as the Kitchen + Dining area, does that mean you're eliminating the Playroom? Will there be a Playroom for your children elsewhere? (We used our DR as a Playroom until our youngest was around 10.)

I just want to be clear about what needs to go in the space you drew.

So if I understand, the door to the backyard goes away, and the table moves left into the play room space.

So I'm seeing a breakfast nook in the corner where the backyard door used to be - maybe just a two person coffee nook since you have the DR on the other side. Chairs or window bench.

Then the bulk of the kitchen along the outside wall, coming down a few feet past the old fridge position. Move the range to that wall to enable a hood. The old stove section can be opened with a pass through or made into a peninsula.

So you still need a tall section for the fridge - someplace that won't block a view. I would extend the section marked 24 inch base to the right a few feet, and put the fridge in there.

Question - with the table in the old play room, do you have room for cabinets along the back of the tv wall?

I don't have an island. It's a G kitchen like RaenJapan above, except that width is smaller, peninsula is larger and has a second sink. Microwave in same spot. My refrig sticks out more. She's got more cabs, I've got more windows. It's extremely efficient and allows multi-cooks.

Not every kitchen needs and island. I am planning our kitchen reno and there is no island in the planning. I actually have a peninsula which will help greatly with storage. I love both the kitchen posted here. Great job!! Raenjapan where did you get your light fixtures? Can you share?

I have a kitchen with similar dimensions--11'x25'. The difference is that I only have one door on one of the long sides (plus one corner taken out where the basement stairs cut in.) The traffic pattern is straight down the middle of the kitchen.

The first six feet have a breakfast nook (L-shaped banquette) on one side and butler's pantry cabinets (holds all our dishware) on the other. Then in the working part of the kitchen, the refrigerator is on one side, and everything else is on the uninterrupted long wall. It reads like a large galley. The distance from the fridge doors to the opposite countertop is 74".

Given the distance from the fridge to landing space on a counter opposite, we're trying a mobile table (think cutting board on legs, 19"x29") in the middle. So far we like the center open, however, and only bring the table to the middle for extra chopping/prep space.

Good luck with the planning. Lots of possibilities with the blank canvas you have!

I should have explained more clearly--I have one door on each short end (to dining room and out to the back porch) _plus_ the one door on one of the long sides (plus the basement door in a corner).

Buehl-- we're hoping that the spare bedroom upstairs will end up becoming the new playroom, and some stuff will be in their rooms. We'll end up with a small toy chest in the living room and the rest upstairs. So the whole "new space" thats created when we take down the wall will just be kitchen and dining room.

After seeing Raenjapan's kitchen I may be swayed back to keeping the kithen to the left side and moving the bench for the banquette along the 94" wall and putting a penninsula between the other two windows.

Lyvia-- the two 24" bases you see in the current kitchen are actually an island with a strange overhang. I wouldn't be able to put a fridge there. (I know the drawing is a little confusing, it was drawn mostly to show the layout of the first floor.) I also think I won't really have room for two separate seating areas in the kitchen, even if one is really small. Once I start drawing things in, and factoring in wide enough walkways it gets crowded fast.

nini & florantha-- seems like G-shaped kitchens are more popular than I thought!!! That is what I origianlly was thinking for the kitchen (towards the left of the empty floorplan above). I love hearing that you have this same thing and it works for you. Also, we currently have Austrailan Cypress flooring in about 75% of the downstairs and plan to push it right through the new kitchena nd dining space as well. Its really beautiful (here is the internet pic.)

LRy-- I think the pendants are from Ikea. if not, they are almost identical. If you go to their website ikea-usa.com I think under other departments they list lighting, and its 3 or 4 pages in. $29.99!! I saw them last weekend in person and fell in love. They are really sharp looking.

Mnerg-- there are LOTS of possibilities with this blank space. TOO many! LOL! I am having a terrible time making up my mind. I keep worrying I won't ever get it right! I have also considered a small movable table for the center of the kitchen. I guess if I end up with a large center space I can always buy something like that to hang out in the middle when I need it to.

Thanks everyone for all the help!!

Hi noebee,

I hope I am not too late. I had a G shaped kitchen but
turned it into a U shape for better movement. My kitchen is
messy right now and I am waiting for it to be finished but
I have images of other open kitchens without islands.

~boxer

White Kitchen 2

Nova Scotia Kitchen Features

CASW

MIchegan

Fine Wood Cabinetry

Boxer-- you are never "too late" to the party to actually PARTY :)
Thank you for all the wonderful kitchen eye candy. Its always new and different every time you post photos... you must really LOVE google image search, LOL!! It is always much appreciated!
noelle