SummerfieldDesigns, thanks for the plan! Wow! It looks lovely and makes me excited to have a real plan, although it's just an idea, still. I'm not sure about the switch of the butler's pantry and mudroom. I was thinking of the mudroom as more "utilitarian" while the butler's pantry would be more of a "pretty" space. So now my kids will have to pass through pretty to get to the utilitarian part--not sure about that :) But I DO like ow you opened it for easier access to the powder room, which was suggested by a PP. As for the kitchen layout, I will take a closer look. Not sure about the fridge's placement (I'm assuming those are the fridge freezer towers?) I'm still on the fence about a prep sink at all. I've never had one, nor does ANYONE I know, so it's hard for me to see the benefit. Yes, I've read ll about them here on GW :) As for space usage, I think my kids will come in and out from playing through the back of the house somehow, more so than from the side (mudroom) entrance. That will be the get home spot, but the playing will be done in the big backyard, for the most part. scrapbookheaven, I do love the idea of bigger windows to the back.. Right now in my current house, I have huge windows to my backyard from every room , and I just love it! I love being able to see the kids playing, and all the light it allows in! That back wall of my house will be south facing, though, so the sunlight could get to be too much? What do you think? cj47, thanks for sharing! Yes, one thing I've learned on GW is base drawers all around :) I WILL do that for sure, just not sure how to change the program I am using to all drawers instead of cabinets. SO I've left it for now, to block out the space itself. And 16 " overhang--good call! I also like how your other 2 stools are on the lower side of your island, not in the sink aisle. But I DO like in jbrodie's kitchen how that entrance end of her island is a bit raised, to hide clutter (which I have too much of, I'm afraid!) But having stools on 2 sides seems more conversation-friendly that all lined up on one side.... oh, so much to think about :) thanks for any and all suggestions, ideas, feedback. so many great minds here...

buehl - yes, the big rectangle is the kitchen, and you were right about the gray walls. There isn't much contrast there - sorry about that! To answer some of your other questions, our home is 100 year old brick, so moving windows would be very difficult. The sunroom was originally a porch, and it was enclosed sometime in the thirties. It is not well-insulated and would be extremely expensive to convert into a kitchen, plus we have dreams of opening it back up one day. (It's a beautiful two-story, columned bump out on the back of the house). We are knocking out a wall in the kitchen that currently forms our mudroom (a six-foot wide "hall" from the back door to the sewing room wall) in order to enlarge the kitchen. As much as I like having a mud room, I would rather have a bigger kitchen. We are going to have hooks for coats in the side hall, and one base cabinet nearest the back door will have cubbies inside for shoes. I'm very strict on the no-leaving-your-junk-by-the-back door-rule as it is, because as you can imagine, 14 junk of 14 people adds up quickly! ;o) We do plan to build a storage area in the garage, right outside the garage entry, which can be used for coats and boots in the winter. Doorways - back yard door is 36", garage door is 32," and side hall doorway is only 29.5" Doors could be moved on the inside, like the side hall and/or bathroom/coat closet. I've thought about switching the dining room and kitchen spaces, but the large window seat would take up a huge chunk of the available wall space. I'm not sure how to work around that. laxsupermom - the windows in kitchen have cabinets under them now, and they are about 38" from the floor. The sunroom windows are 36" from floor, but as I said above, using the sunroom for kitchen space would be an expense we can't afford right now. bmorepanic - we can't take space from the garage for the pantry, etc., because the garage is so narrow (plus we drive a 15-passenger van and our "small car" is a Suburban!) but your second layout hits on something I've been toying around with. It has really inspired me and I appreciate you taking the time to draw it out! I love that I could have a "mini-mudroom." :o) I'd have to figure out where to get a substantial pantry and laundry space in there, but I like this idea! Thank you! If anyone else has any ideas, but please keep 'em coming!

@cpaartist - I am 100% sure that the porch was originally an outdoor porch - I opened up part of the wall in the laundry room and found the original wood siding and openings where windows originally were in the bedroom. Sadly they did a very poor job enclosing it. The back bedrooms were originally some kind of mechanical workshop - I haven't figured out exactly what type yet. There is a large barn door that runs along the exterior wall in the hall - they enclosed the wall and left a single door in behind the exterior barn door - I would like to restore that and have it open to a patio. There are a couple of houses in the neighborhood that are very similar to mine. I believe that the part of the living room with the fireplace was a later addition as well - the other houses don't have that. I love old houses with all their quirks and mysteries!

Thoughts on this drawing: - Is that half-bath 4 1/2 x 4 1/2? If so, it's too small. I strongly suggest you drop a tape measure in your purse, and every time you use a bathroom -- at the dentist's office, in your friend's house, where ever -- measure it. Develop a sense of "just right". I promise you, it won't be 4 1/2 x 4 1/2. Consider grandma using this space with a walker. If you go with a pedestal sink, it'll be a space-saver (and you don't need to store much in a half bath), but it'll still be too small. - Still on the half-bath ... go with an in-swing here. This door, as shown, can block your hall traffic. - While we're talking about doors, the pantry door will stay open most of the time, so I suggest a pocket door here ... if you're able to "park it" in the wall by the fridge. Why? Same reason as the half-bath: as shown, it's a traffic blocker, and with only a 3' walkway into the pantry, you don't really have room to comfortably "park the door" in that pantry entry. - I'd like to see a pass-through door between the pantry and the kitchen. Imagine how convenient it'd be to walk into the pantry, pick out your cans and "set them through" to the kitchen countertop rather than carrying them. - Beware of placing the freezer against a wall. Be sure you'll be able to open the door all the way. - Will you have a cabinet near the fridge in which you can store glassware? You know you want these things close together. - You have 4' between your island and your cabinet runs. I know this is what most people consider "just right", but I find it a little wide (then, again, I am small). Go down to Lowes with the aforementioned tape measure, and you'll see that most of their stuff is 3 1/2' apart. Decide for yourself whether you find this comfortable. - What's the cabinet between the sink and the dishwasher? - Your "serious cooking zone" seems to be angled towards the crook of the "L" ... as such, I'd be tempted to bump the dishwasher to the other side of the sink ... or to flip-flop the dishwasher and the sink. This would give you more storage /drawers in the spot where you'll cook most. - In a dream kitchen, in a kitchen this big, I'd want a bigger sink. Seriously, it's the most used appliance. Go big. - Where's your microwave? coffee pot? trash can? - I see you have a second reach-in pantry. Unless you have some very unusual needs, I don't see the point in BOTH large pantries. - I'd extend the mudroom wall so it "touches" the refrigerator space. This would hide the exterior door, and it would place the half bath and pantry door IN the mudroom. Can you swap the mudroom and the pantry? A mudroom would benefit from windows - and maybe you could even put a door to the back yard in there. Of course without seeing the rest of the plan, I have no idea if that would make sense. Yes! Mudroom on the corner would be nicer ... and windows in a pantry are a negative (light is the enemy of food storage). I spend A LOT of time in the kitchen ... So this is going to be a huge upgrade to me in terms of space. Since I do spend so much time there, I’d love to bring some beauty to the space too....namely the windows. Red flags ... a bigger kitchen is not automatically a better kitchen. What you want is an efficient, well-designed space. Who says this? A person with a very large but poorly laid-out kitchen. No one ever says, "This room has too much natural light." Love big windows in a kitchen. As far as appliances, I’ve never cooked with gas ... but I was leaning towards an induction range, 30 inches. I have only limited experience with gas, but I'm not overly impressed. I would also consider a cooktop with separate double wall ovens (we host large family dinners so an extra oven would be appreciated). I also considered a regular range with a separate wall oven on the wall with the reach-in-pantry. Just don’t know if that would look weird. I’ve never considered two dishwashers but I don’t hate the idea. Before you start adding in extra this and oversized that, consider that all these extra appliances drive up your space requirements ... especially since you've already said you want the large windows /thus will be giving up some upper cabinets. How often will these things really be used? Will they "earn their keep"? I doubt it. but maybe a 5 ft window is still good enough? A 5' window is nice, but it isn't going to give you the sweeping views /light that I think you were pining for earlier. Are all meals at the island? No love for your island seating. Take the family down to Waffle House for a meal and sit at the bar. Did you interact much? Did you enjoy this seating pattern? An island is a great place to sit while you work, and it's a great place for a child to sit ... but it's NOT a great place for family meals. I like this pantry /half bath layout better than the OP's original. I'd put a pegboard for storing cast iron pans and utensils on that blank pantry wall.