Hi krkahn,
I'm just beginning to design our remodel and am finding all you wonderful people on GW amazing!

I prefer the second plan. I like the openness of it and it appears more inviting. Does it have less cabinet space than the first design and if so does it still work for you?
BTW, did you hire your KD's and if so how much does a plan cost?

I like the first one better overall. To me, it is the more open, spacious feeling plan. It may have to do with the cabinets along the right hand wall not being a massive wall of cabs.

Could you still close in the entry from the foyer? If so, I would seriously consider it--or at least have a swinging door there to close it off when you want.

Also, I would be very tempted to switch the refrigerator & oven placement for more convenient access to fridge without having to enter the cooking area.

Aesthetics are better with the first one. However, the layout: The first view of the house from the front door--the only view possible--is the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. All traffic in the house walks past the range, and anybody going to the fridge is walking through the whole kitchen into the cook zone. And the oven is pushed out into the dining room, so when it's open, there's a serious traffic hazard. There's also no peninsula seating. I don't know if that's a wise choice or a poor one, because we don't have dimensions.

The second one doesn't have as nice a look; the first KD put in more cute features like glass doors and tschotschke shelves. And I'm not sure I like the mass of the cupboard on the right. But closing the door was helpful.

For what it's worth.

I like #2. It looks like that plan doesn't have a wall between the kitchen and dining room (at least not on the floor plan.) #2 also looks like better access to the porch.

The visuals you have are at different vantage points. The second gives the look a tunnel effect I think because it is taken so far back.

More importantly though is the functioning of the kitchen, and even more so the entire house.

From experience, the kitchen designers on this site are going to want you to graph out the cabinets etc. to make suggestions off of.

Visually, I think it would be best to allow more space along the back with the vent and cabinets. Perhaps even some glass upper cabinets to provide a more open look.

Have you given up making the current door from kitchen to patio into a window? If you have, perhaps you could widen the sink window instead. With the extra cabinets on the opposite side of the pennisula, you should have enough storage to allow for loosing some storage to a bigger window.

Depending on your options for furniture placement in the living room, perhaps you can take down an additional wall between the dining room and living room to create a more open feel for the main living areas while still keeping the kitchen mess hidden to a degree.

Great feedback so far. I think we are leaning towards the second design because it gives us more countertop space near the range & more cabinets. We were thinking about shrinking the pantry on the wall as it seems a bit overwhelming.

One of the major flaws with the first one is the original design does not account for the bump out meaning the opening into the dining room is a little less than 3'. The other thing I don't like about the first is the lack of countertop space near the range.

I like the look of the first one, but the practicality of the second one.
Cooking in that first one would be a nightmare. The wall pantry in the second one is too heavy.

@c9pilot & all - thanks for the feedback. We are pretty sure we want the 2nd one but would like feedback on how to make it better. Many people have mentioned the pantry wall being too big for the wall so we will probably shorten it.

Here is the full layout / cabinet details (see link below). Let me know if you have any other thoughts / suggestions how to make the layout work better.
Final Layout Post w/ Pics

I like the first one. Part of it is probably the cabientry and appliances look upgraded, but I like the layout better, too. The fridge is closer to the range and the entry is from the foyer, not the living room. Much better, IMHO. I like the center entry, which would be directly across, from the new fireplace.

I also love the baking area in the kitchen, but try to get those glass uppers...they make the space :)