Not sure how to post a group of photos?

L-shape island.

This post was edited by kdjess on Sat, Mar 23, 13 at 22:22

Wall in Kitchen that backs up to pantry and laundry room.

Love this kitchen: colors, style, not the lights. Love the ceiling, granite, cabinets.

I am just giving you a bump here so that one of the experts will chime in.

You might want to sketch out what is going on in the adjacent laundry, "rec", pantry, and "small dining" room. There may be some that can be done to reconfigure the space that would dramatically improve the flow. Taking down walls or relocating doors does not have to be expensive, especially when you are already redoing flooring and taking out drywall (I am assuming there was water damage).

The lovely bay window seems like it is a wasted opportunity to not have it better incorporated into the room.

Please read the "new to kitchens..." thread posted by buehl
that is usually on page 1 or 2. It will give you tons of info
on planning a kitchen. It will also tell you what you need to
post to get help for your layout. For example, who will be
using your kitchen? how many cooks? etc.

It also will tell you how to post multiple photos in one post.

Thanks Gooster, I thought maybe I put too much information on this page that no one wanted to read? I am posting images of kitchen and adjoining areas. If you look at bottom right image of sm. dining area 12.5 x 12.5 we have antique pocket doors that go to rec. room I would like the doors to remain? We have a small table that goes in the small dining area, we push the chairs to the 4 corners-I am open to doing something different in small dining area. Both Dining rooms face front of home. The long dining room has a huge expensive table has to stay. Our Laundry does have louvered bifold doors-not crazy about but functional. Thanks for reading!!

Have you considered incorporating the bay window in the kitchen proper? My brother had a somewhat similarly located window in his kitchen and he raised the window enough to put his sink and dishwasher there. It would offer a great view from a cleanup sink and would free up the rest of the kitchen to focus on food preparation.

Thanks guys for the ideas.BTW only 3 cooks in our home. The only way we would be able to use the bay window would be to put sink in the bay window then we'd need to bump further into our yard but can't. We have hit the maximum of what my city's codes will allow as far as the footprint of our house, I like that idea though.

This post was edited by kdjess on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 14:55

I think it would be helpful to others to put up a small sketch of the entire area of the small dining room, rec room, pantry, laundry and kitchen. (Does the laundry hall lead to the garage or some other space? Where do groceries come in?) Use graph paper and take a picture, if you don't have a scanner.

I agree with pricklypearcactus, the bay windows seemed to be underutilized. By adjusting the access to the laundry/pantry, you might be able to better use this area. It seems your small dining area next to the formal dining area could be better utilized as well.

But it is also important to read the New to Kitchens thread and post the information about traffic flow and how you want to use the spaces.

I will try to make this sketch soon, that is a great idea. The pantry is next to laundry and the hallway in front of them leads out to a mud room where you can exit out to a covered garage. The mud room also gives access to the rec. room. The rec again joins my dining area through the antique doors.

This post was edited by kdjess on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 0:07

Ok I have tried to do a rough of more of my home. Right now my hubby wants to put a gas stove in the L-shaped island so I kinda re-arranged KD design. I don't think that once a 36 inch stove top gets centered in that island that I am going to like it. As it doesn't give me much room to put a broiler pan on the granite top of l-shape island coming from oven side, or much counter top next to stove. I think I figured from the inside of the L there is 4'5", and if we center stovetop in that part of island it will leave me with about 7 inch width on both sides. What do you think? I do have a sink that might fit a little better in the island its 2'8" but we'd have to put the DW next to it. I am open to a new layout. Also I am game to move oven away from Frig as the energy will get sucked out of the frig from the heat of the oven next to it. Thanks for your patience.

You may want to redraw this to scale. If 1 square equals 8" the marked dimensions are not cosistently accurate. It may take more than one sheet or a larger sheet of graph paper.

Dan you are right I was going to run out of paper so I just fit the other rooms in as best as possible. Here is the deal, I can't go into other rooms and grab space as we are maxing out in debt to do this project as is. We already have remodeled the home in the past A LOT. I just need to re-arrange the kitchen space for the best flow possible. SO I am editing the image above to only show the kitchen's actual area. We are thinking now of rotating the L and putting the longer side where it faces towards the oven and Frig. that way I will get more counter space for when things come out of oven. What do you think? Here are example configurations without all the cabinets and drawers. These are adaptions are to KD drawings. Hubby thinks the island should not have cords hanging over edge to electrical that is proposed as going under counter. Plus he thinks the island needs something on it besides granite either a sink or stove top.

Thanks for clarifying some important issues, like budget. I was thrown a bit before because you were talking about Wolf appliances. What is on your must have list? Is it flow? Is it that cooktop? Since the walls have already been fixed up, where are the existing power, gas, ventilation and sink drops? Are you on a slab or raised foundation? That Wolf cooktop is going to require ventilation, for example, and moving ventilation can get tricky.

To me, the options open up (and flow improves) once that wall between the kitchen and small dining area is opened up. You could extend the island and also move some of the storage and appliances over a bit, while still retaining those lovely pocket doors. But the costs definitely would begin to rise, due to the existing layout.

With the existing plans, don't rotate the island, you are creating a barrier to the fridge, cooktop and sink. LIkewise, putting the sink opposite the cooktop is not ideal, without a greater space in the aisle. You need a two-bottom kitchen, it seems. Thus, 48 inches from that Wolf cooktop (that sticks out three inches) to the opposite counter edge is needed.

Hopefully some of the pros will chime in.

Thanks Gooster these are all great suggestions, I should have included the sources of power, water. Not sure hubby would approve the extending Kit. into the small dining area-he just told me we are going above budget with the items we must have. My home is on a slab, we'd have to cut the path in the floor in order to run gas to the stove in Island. We may just put the sink in the island instead. I am including a proposed sketch showing some of the lines, SINK now in island. Notice that now that I am not using the L that the oven looks like its out in the den without rest of kitchen-which is not good. We are getting Wolf floor models (cooktop) that is how we can afford, Model Options MSRP CT36G/S - SS $2,070* plus discount. Flush to ceiling ventilation "Best Cirrus" (probably no discount). What is a 2 bottom kitchen? Must haves: good flow, maximized space for storage, oven in wall, Gas Cooktop,dishwasher, double sink, taller frig., Nice cabinets. Thanks Yall!

This post was edited by kdjess on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 15:56

By "two bottom", I meant the "two butt" kitchen. Since there may be more than one person cooking at the same time, it is good to have 48 inches down that main pathway so two people can stand back to back. Also, the pros generally don't recommend a back to back configuration.

I am probably too late, and if you are having the sink on the island it can't be applied, but if you have bending problems think of a raised DW.

I love mine.