Hey gozalyn, welcome to the forum. I really think you should reconsider a smaller sink base. I have an 11 x 16 ft kithcen and can't put in a 36" base. Currently, I have a 24" base with a single bowl stainless sink (interior dimensions 21 x 17) and it's really big enough. I'm not saying that bigger wouldn't be better, but I think you'd get a heck of a lot more function from a super susan than a big sink. I can't tell how wide the door to your family room is but if it's 30", you could put in french doors instead of a bifold (which I find are too "delicate" for my household). We had a similar space problem in our master bath. We replaced the 30" door with glass french doors and it works great! I think the carpenter had to modify what was available off the shelf (I can't remember if he ripped bigger doors or added to smaller ones). I can show you a picture if you're interested.

On the second option for your pantry/ref wall: if your refrigerator is all the way in the corner next to a wall, it will be hard (or impossible) to open the right hand door all the way. This will make it hard to pull out drawers etc. for cleaning. So my vote would be to have the 18" broom closet between the ref and the corner wall. However, I'm a bit concerned about the glass doors next to the refrigerator. If there is a way to make sure that the fridge door won't slip and hit the glass door, or vice versa, that would be great. I guess it depends on the depth and location of handles. Since you have 2 stacks of drawers in the china cabinet, I'd go for 2 stacked cabinets rather than three for the uppers. (Unless you have an inspiration picture that you love, that shows it like you have your drawing.) Would you consider removing the door between the kitchen and dining room? It will interfere with refrigerator access where it is now.

Welcome MamaCat21! You have a good eye for knowing what's not right in kitchen design - the architect was probably going for looks, not function - and you want function (as well as looks, I'm sure). You'll fit right in here - most of us are the same way! (The architect's kitchen would be very frustrating to work in!) Your family sounds a lot like ours and how we use our kitchen - prepping/cooking & cleaning up going on at the same time and kids wanting to be with you when you're in the kitchen. I don't know how old your children are, but they will also be learning to cook & clean up soon and adding to the mix of people working in the kitchen at the same time! Some comments: If there are more than two or three seats at an island (or peninsula), some should be "around the corner". Straight seating like the island has now is often compared to "ducks sitting in a row". It's not conducive to conversation & bonding; it's more like diner counter seating with strangers. So, I recommend at least one, if not two, seats on at least one short side. I would turn the island 90 degrees so the long side is along the range wall. How do you feel about prepping in the island? It would mean turning to get to the range, but many people are OK with it and even prefer it b/c then they can prep facing people or other rooms. Right now, with no water in the island and with it's current orientation, it's doubtful it would be of much use as a primary Prep Zone. You have your prep sink along the perimeter so you're prepping next to the range - so you may prefer prepping that way. If so, that's fine. However, you don't have enough counterspace b/w the range and prep sink. The bare minimum recommended is 36", but 42" to 48" is much better. Note that much more than 48" and it can be too much b/c of the distance b/w the sink and range. Right now, it looks like you have 24" - and I can tell you from personal experience that 24" is nowhere near enough! Do you have a draft layout of the floor the kitchen is on? It helps us see the flow of the house and the potential traffic through the kitchen. Where is the family entrance - usually a garage entrance?

We are a family of 4 (well, 3 now that one is in an apartment). Both parents work from home. One dishwasher. Typically run it in the evening, but occasionally also in the afternoon. My storage is close to the dishwasher so it takes under a minute to unload. The one dishwasher is fine unless DH cooks dinner (which he does more frequently now that he works from home), and he is very good at using every pot. I will actually decide which tools I'm going to use based on how much space is left in the dishwasher, or will wash or rinse a used tool. ISometimes I wish I had an additional dishwasher drawer for the overflow. So it all depends! I'd kind of like a "cooking" dishwasher and a "dishware" dishwasher lol.