Three things about the space...I think the fridge does work best by the main sink, especially if the table is over there, too. The prep sink on the island is FOR the cooktop/range. Without it, you don't have a very functional kitchen. I think the island works best opposite the cooktop, but maybe just a bit smaller. The desk should be in the kitchen, IMHO, but not in the main work zones. By changing the island slightly and moving a stool to the end, you are no longer all lined up and it will be easier to visit with the cook and each other. Also, the desk chair should be the same height as the table chairs...that way you can move it over for extra seating, when needed. The banquette will give you MUCH more seating, because people can squeeze in, where chairs would take more room. Having the banquette on one side only, makes it easier for people to access and with outdoor fabric, a breeze to clean up. There are some beautiful outdoor fabrics (that look like indoor) that would be perfect for the banquette, cushions, chairs, etc. Oh, and I think the banquette will allow you to sit in the sun and take full advantage of the windows and view...although the windows will have to be a little higher from the floor, for the banquette. Hope this helps :) From Kitchen plans One more thing...why is the laundry door opening out? It would probably make more sense to swing into the room, against that right side (away from sink) but can't see entire space. This post was edited by lavender_lass on Mon, Feb 24, 14 at 18:45

With the smaller tread of 9 1/2 " , I got them to fit straight. The riser works out to 7 3/8". This will be MUCH better than what I have now (which is 9" treads, 9.5" average riser), BUT, I'm wondering if it will be comfortable? With the 45deg bend, I can have 10" treads AND have a little more room at the bottom of the stairs. Im not sure how important that extra 1/2" is... I am preferring the idea of only having to build a simple straight stair! I fiddled with the kitchen as well, I moved the wall, made the mudroom basically a foot more narrow, put in cabinets, got the Island bigger. However, I didnt care for it as much - the space ended up looking a little lop-sided. I like how as it is, the kitchen entry points on either side of the island basically line up with the two big windows in the living room (which can't be moved since I JUST put them in), and I think that adds a sense of proportion and order to the whole room. I dont know if that is actually important, but I like it. I am perfectly fine with having a 5 foot island with 3 barstool type seats at it. In fact, the kitchen size/shape is my FAVORITE part of this plan, and I do pretty much owe that to you renovator 8 - Thanks! Updated Plan:

alku05, I just looked at your post in the decorating forum. I would suggest once you get some feedback to try again in the BAH forum, as you suggest above. It looks right up the alley of a lot of posters over there and I think you'd get some good advice. I'm going back to study your plans in decorating again...

Not commentary about any of the above - just additional ideas in the drawing. The commentary is about the half-table and trying to seat 3 people in half of a 42"ish table. The first bit is I know they are kids now, but kids become bigger quickly, then start having friends over. I'd have to have you build something that had a life span of less than 5 years because your kids grew up. A child starts to use adult sized furniture at ages between 9 and 13. The next bits are about how big people are and how they fit and how chairs fit and legs! Ask me how I know and I'd show you my halfish 48" round table hung on the wall and supported by two legs. Halfish because it's more like 3/4. We bough an unfinished undercarriage and legs for a round table base from tablelegs.com. We assembled the "ring" with two leg positions showing and chopped off the back of the ring and substituted with a straight board. A french cleat is attached to the wall and the table. In our case, a "lock" was fashioned from a piece of molding that finishes off the joint to the wall. It slides in from the side and keeps the table from rising up off the cleat but yet I can easily remove the entire table for deep cleaning of the floor or when I want a new rug. The legs are because it's too large of a thing to cantilever and its subject to a fair amount of weight. Lots of people use the table edge to push themselves up or let themselves down. The younger crowd might decide it makes a nice stage or place to fine groom your 75 pound dog or bang together some school project on top of it. If you're lucky, they'll forget about the air nailer in the garage. Rule 1: The chairs need to be able to fit within the legs. We decided on the size of the base by the distance between the needed legs plus how far the legs would be from the wall. I went out and measured a bunch of dining chairs to get a feel for the amount of area that was needed. We ended up with Madeleine Side Chair from RH - it's a pretty small chair. It's about 18" wide. Ikea has some small ones too. I used the average of maybe 12 small chairs to set my widths so that I could change my mind or buy new ones without a lot of concern over whether they would fit. A person needs about 30" of table edge before invading another person's space or hitting an obstacle. That's all on top. Underneath, allow for the greater of the chair width or 24". In your case, the island will function as a wall. People and chairs need a little extra distance from the base (not be crowded by moldings or supports). I didn't want a lot of shoe prints on the wall. The higher section can cause a lot of elbow knocks. People who are left or right handed (we have one of each) need a little extra distance between the higher thing and the favored arm. So think about how this gets supported and how big the top needs to be. Things like legs are always partly decoration driven and that's ok. Truly feel free to make something that works as a baking area but can be pressed into service as a seating area occasionally if you want - or break any other ergonomic rule. As long as you know the pitfalls, I'm happy. I'm not dissing the purple photo above, but as you look at that, notice some things. The stools can't be tucked in. An adult couldn't sit there comfortably without putting their feet on the lower shelf - possibly not even then because its high to use as a foot rest and an adult leg might not fit. Rule 2 - pick your chairs/stools first. Tables are 29-30" tall, counters are 36" or 42" for the most part. Chairs and stools are widely available for those heights. Back to the purple picture, they used some other height cause it looks like about 33" tall to me. Odd heights = custom made chairs/stools or adjustable height stools. If you don't, everyone will be uncomfortable every time the chairs are used. So, if you are tall people and want to raise your counters, budget for those custom stools to match your custom chairs before doing the same on the island. Rule three - the shorter the height, the deeper the area should be. These allowances are for knees for average height people. Taller people may need extra depth allowance. Tables and 36" high counters both need about 15" of depth. 42" high counters need about 12" of depth. Rule 4 - Chairs and a lot of stool designs will stick out from the table/counter. As a planning allowance, upholstered or large chairs will stick out about 15" from the table or counter edge when empty. Chairs with upholstered seats only and stools with splayed legs or splayed backs will stick out about 12" - even when tucked all the way in. Backless chairs or stools may run into each other under the table and end up sticking out some unknown amount. Chairs and stools with arms may stick out further depending on where the arm height intersects with the top. Last observation, people here have all kinds of opinions about aisle width and they are all strongly felt. These are mine: If you move cleanup to the sidewall - because of the refrigerator and the ovens, I would figure out how narrow I could make it and still be comfortable doing everything. For me, it depends on how far the front of the ref doors stick out cause that can vary quite a bit. It could be 24" to 36" depending on the make and model. I would set the aisle at no less than 42" from the front of the ref with closed doors. If you are a family of refrigerator cruisers, I might increase that distance to 48". I might increase the aisle between the sidewall cleanup and the island to 5 feet to make SURE everyone could easily get by the dishwasher and open opposing drawers. Leaving cleanup in the island, I'd allow for 5 feet between the island and the run containing the ref and ovens. I had that in the prior kitchen between a range and cleanup - it worked well. Even when we both were in the same aisle doing two different tasks, we never worried about getting through or whether we could open a drawer. Good luck with your build.