Move the refrig where you have noted MW and put a range where the refrig is and maybe the warming drawer and MW in your island? Have you looked at the Maytag Gemini 30" range? I have it and love it! It has two ovens. I have electric, but I'm not sure if they make it dual fuel. Just a thought. I'm sure the layout gurus will chime in! good luck, you have a great space to work with.

Barb

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This is what you see when you walk in the door from the front hallway. There is a door to the backyard to the left of the long row of cabinets. The light switch for the exterior light is just below the upper cabinets on the left. I don't think we can move this.

The long upper cabinets contain glasses (left), dishes (right). The lower cabinets contain place mats (left drawer), bread and cereal (left cupboard), silverware (right drawer), and mishmash of items (right cupboard).

The skinny drawer next to the sink holds matches and birthday candles. Skinny cupboard holds baking pans and cookie trays.

Sink cupboard has tip-out drawers. Cupboard holds trash, dish suds, dishwasher detergent, garbage bags and similar items.

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Lower cabinets, left, drawers top to bottom: cutting board; utensils; towels & dish clothes; mishmash - could be used better.
Lower cabinets, right, drawer: knives. Cupboard below (can't see) holds 2 pull-outs with casseroles and baking dishes.

Upper cabinets holds oils, vinegars, salt, pepper, flour, sugar, corn starch, baking powder (etc) & measuring cups. The very top shelf holds my copper roll warmer (was my mother's) and a few other seldom used items.

Cupboard above refrigerator (currently on its side in the DR because our new fridge is 2" taller than cut-out) hold roasting pans, canning jars, and similar items.

I want cabinets in the existing bar area. We've never put stools here and never will. There isn't enough counter, knee room and not enough distance from the table without blocking the aisle.

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Pocket door leads to the DR, regular door leads to the pantry (love my pantry).

Oven column: the drawer below the oven (can't see) holds Tupperware. The doors just above the oven hide the microwave. The tall cupboard holds small appliances - blender, griddle, waffle pans, etc.

Right side, cabinets: drawer holds plastic wrap, baggies, foil, etc. Cupboard has 2 pull-outs holding Mixmaster, small hand blenders, punchbowl (never use but it was my mom's), slow-cookers.

This counter here is a catch-all and always a mess (drives me nuts). I don't count it as usable counter space in my kitchen

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The two drawers under the cooktop are fake. The cupboard below hold pots and pans and the downdraft guts.

To left: drawer holds potholders. Cupboard holds baking pans that don't fit in the skinny cupboard next to the dishwasher, food scale, cheese grater, trivets - could be used better.

To right, top to bottom: cooktop utensils (spatula, ladles, big spoons, meat thermometer, etc); mishmash including citrus juicer (low tech, not electronic) and funnel - could be used better; pot lids - could definitely be used better. It started out with dividers to hold the lids but it didn't work so they were removed.

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The original plan called for a desk here, so glad we nixed that idea. Counter is always a mess (also drives me crazy but, as my husband says, it's a short trip).

Upper cupboards hold plastic dishes, travel mugs, coffee thermoses, ice bucket, cookbooks (visible), bills and to-be-filed pile (visible).

Lower cupboards, drawers left to right: sunglasses, coupons, misc.: my boys' stuff - I was tired of it always being on my counters so now I just throw it in the drawer. When they ask "where is...?" I say, "Look in the drawer.":
Pens, pencils, stamps, address labels, tape, etc.
Cupboard, left to right: paper recycling - could be used better; phone books (who uses these anymore?), envelopes, recipe file - everything I've clipped out but haven't tried yet - and an almost empty shelf.

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Here's the other half of the kitchen great room area. Hubby and dad built the bookshelves and mantle. The mantle is quarter-sawn red oak, the bookshelves are regular red oak since we couldn't find quarter-sawn red oak plywood anywhere. They were very choosy about the oak, though, so the grain is not nearly as busy as in my kitchen cupboards. These are stained lighter than my kitchen cupboards, which have really gone orange. There are 2 doors made and ready to go on the left unit just as soon as hubby replaces his 30+ yr old receiver with something slimmer (couldn't get it out with the doors on).

Can you tell what our favorite colors are? ;-)

Woo hoo, I did it!

Thanks for your feedback, Barb. I'll look at the Maytag.

I should add that function is key but looks are important, not just for us but with an eye towards resale. That will be some years down the road but we need to plan the space as best we can for future buyers (it's why our wall unit has space for a wide screen TV even though it was built 10 years ago and we still don't own a wide screen TV, much to my hubby's dismay).

Our designer suggested a pro-style double range but I don't think we can swing it. I'm going to check with a local Realtor (also a neighbor) to find out what buyers expect to see in our neighborhood. Currently, they expect wood floors and granite or quartz counters (both going in, we want to enjoy them, too).

You could put a CD fridge where the small counter is next to the wall oven / microwave and then a nice range where the current fridge is.

Assuming you're trying to keep the cabinets as is and just do countertops, that has to be the easiest solution.

Your plan reminds me a lot of my sister's newly remodeled kitchen. (She would love to have your pantry, though, as she has none) Anyway, she place her trash, then dw to the right side of the sink. Dish storage is now on that right side, also,(Glasses above the dishwasher and dishes in drawers in the island) even though it's not quite as convenient to the table. This allowed her to put her rangetop on the wall where you now have dish storage...with decent prep room on each side, and have her hood vent out that exterior wall.

Since you must not really utilize that counter beside the oven, maybe do a full height unit that incorporate storage for the stuff that tends to land there.

Thanks, rob_p and rhome410!

rob_p, we already own a CD fridge (love it!) and even so, we'd still need to recess it if we moved it to the wall oven/microwave space. We'd end up with about 20" or so of cupboard next to it, good for storage but not microwave or anything else.

rhome410, I did actually think about swapping DS to the other side, moving the fridge and putting the range on the outside wall, sort of a follow the leader with the appliances moving one place over in the room. That's moving a whole lot more stuff, lines, cupboards and it would certainly make venting easiest of all but the extra cost to do all that moving might put it out of reach for us. Is that what you mean? Oh wait, I just re-read your post and realized you're suggesting we just move the DW over near the refrigerator and nothing else! That's simpler. I'll have to check space to make sure it would work. And then I could get my second oven (if I do this, I'm skipping the warming drawer).

But this all might be a moot exercise after all. Hubby restated firmly that he *likes* the cooktop on the island and doesn't want to move it. He does cook, too, and since he gives me carte blanche on most other things - in fact, he's going along with all other choices - I tend to listen and accommodate his requests when possible. This might be one of those times (but that doesn't mean I won't consider this and see if I can sway him!).

We met with our designer today to pick the palette. I still have time to figure layout changes and pick appliances but in the meantime, I'm dreaming of the new look:

Oh, one other thing we're going to investigate - moving the island 2-3" closer to the fridge wall (it's very generous and we could do with slightly less) and add 1-2 inches on the back side of it, giving us a more generous island. I wish we could stretch it the other way but there isn't enough room.

rhome410, your sister must have more space than me. Moving the dw as you suggested won't work. I'd end up with less than 12" cabinet/drawers on either side - not the most useful type of storage, too far from cooktop for oil, spice storage - and I'd have to redo 2 sets of lower cabinets, 1 set of upper cabinets and the island to house dish drawers. We just can't swing that extra cost. Dang! Good idea but execution hiccups kills it.

I forgot to say that we're probably going with a wood hood over the island. Our designer drew up one based on a picture I saw that is a lot less heavy looking than many I've seen (it has curves!). That will give me more storage under the island cabinet, plus 2 more inches of counter, add in the 4ish inches I'll gain by shifting the island closer to the fridge and adding on to the backside, and I'll have gained 6 inches of counter plus cabinet space below. I'll finally have somewhere to put my formal dinnerware (my grandma's hutch is full, full, full).

I'm also leaning towards putting in the second oven next to my current one (replacing that one at the same time). I'm short (5'3ish") so I am concerned about burnt forearms with a double oven stack. One would feel low, the other might be too high, putting them side by side (I have the space and that counter is useless) puts them both where I need them. The microwave will stay behind the doors, which lets us keep our almost 20 year old model (still going strong), which isn't a big savings but it's still saving something.

If we do that, I'm not sure what to do above the new oven space. Should we bring the cabinets out to be flush like the one next to it, or step them back a bit with drawers or cupboards down to the top of the counter over the oven?

Now the last thing to figure out is how to hide the coffee makers. The new espresso machine is fine but the old white, coffee-stained one is butt ugly and I hate having it out. It still works so we're not going to replace it but I would like to conceal it. My original thought was to make an appliance garage for it by the oven (when I was thinking double ovens) but hubby voted no, it was too far from the water, my food scrap bucket, the mugs. Since he and the boys are the ones who drink coffee (I can't drink caffeine anymore - and yeah, I miss my cuppa Joe) they get to decide this.

I measured this morning and an appliance garage in their current spot with a door width matching the cupboard above is tight but perhaps possible. Does this sound doable?

The knives in the knife block will go in the drawer just as soon as I get a better drawer organizer. Ditto for the wooden spoons. That just leaves the fruit. We leave it out as a reminder for the kids to eat fruit (works for one, not the other). I'll have to find a pretty bowl or something.