...Continuing... Layout #2 The island holds the only sink in the kitchen. As such, it has to be big enough to accommodate both dirty dishes and prepping at the same time. (Unfortunately, I think there will still be competition b/w prep space and dirty dish space, but at least there's room to help with it.) The sink has two bowls. This will help by allowing you to dedicate one to prepping and the other to dirty dishes and cleaning up. However, you will still only have one faucet - so you'll have to share it! The sink acts as the separator b/w the Cleanup Zone and the Prep Zone. But, that means you will both want the sink when cleaning up (rinsing, DW loading, etc.) is going on at the same time as prepping & cooking. "...Usually only one person is cooking at a time, but someone else tends to be loading or unloading the dishwasher..." I understand about prepping/cooking and cleaning up at the same time - that's how it is our home! In our old kitchen, we always competed for the sink - even with its two bowls. One of the goals when we remodeled was to eliminate that competition. Note the location of the DW, this location keeps it out of the Cooking Zone...in particular, it's far from the cooktop so you don't have the danger of someone taking a step back from the cooktop with a pot of boiling water and stumbling over an open DW door. I was able to keep the Prep & Cooking Zones on the same side of the kitchen as the refrigerator to help reduce zone-crossing not only to/from the refrigerator but also to/from the two zones themselves. Like the first layout, there's a 36" Dish Hutch. It's still close to the DW for unloading. In this layout, the Dish Hutch is much closer to the BN for setting the table - but it is farther from the DR and this time people will probably cross into the kitchen if they're setting the DR table b/c it's closer than going around the island. The refrigerator is still on the periphery. While it's closer to the DR, it's farther from the BN - but it's still outside the Prep & Cooking Zones and should be easy to get to without crossing into the kitchen. The island is a slight barrier b/w the refrigerator and Prep Zone, but it's not too bad. I think it's doable. The ovens are in the corner - recessed to the back wall. Check out Alku05's kitchen and others in the thread I linked to below for pictures of corner ovens. Like Layout #1, the counter in the cooktop perimeter run is 28.5" deep - 3" deeper than standard. While the workspaces in the Prep Zone and around the cooktop aren't as generous as in Layout #1, they is still plenty of space in both cases. The pantry is a bit smaller, but it's still 5' wide. The island is deep enough that someone sitting at the island will not be splashed when the sink is in use (something that is usually more of an issue when cleaning up than it is during prepping.) One comment I would like to make about the Cleanup Zone...

Angie, I just mean that I wouldn't need symmetry on the range wall and that I could have a smaller base cabinet to the right of the range so that I could have a vent that clears the window (it could be easily removed, which is why I didn't draw it in and it's got odd dimensions). And, yes, we *could* vent out onto the deck. Chances are, if my husband was out grilling (his Big Green Eggs are there) I wouldn't be using the range. And that's probably the path of least resistance since in the 1990's they removed the brick veneer back there and replaced it with corrugated tin panels ::scratches head:: Marcolo, the area to the left of the Subzero is 48" wide. I think it works better as cabinets/storage - or maybe as the microwave zone. I can live without an EIK. And a peninsula...might end up being a "barrier peninsula".

I have a Simple Human under cabinet paper towel holder in the laundry room. If I didn't have under cabinet lights in the kitchen I probably would have used one there too. It fits both of your criteria ... well-designed and easy to use. Here is a link that might be useful: Simple Human paper towel holder

When you had a table in that room before, how big and what shape was that table? The area looks plenty large enough for a table for two, which would certainly be much cheaper than an island. Plus table-height seating is generally considered more comfortable than counter-height seating. A rectangular table or oval table roughly 3 x 5 or 3 x 4 should fit just fine and sit two more than comfortably. Like these: I agree with everyone else that you have a great natural nook for shallow (12" deep or so) floor-to-ceiling cabinets: Cabinets like that are the best kind of storage because you don't need pull-outs or anything -- nothing ever gets lost in the back, and you can see everything you have at a glance. More importantly, it'd be SO much more storage than you have now. You could lose all your uppers and then some and still end up with more storage than you have now. It seems as if those two changes -- floor-to-ceiling-cabinets and a better-sized table -- would give you everything you said you wanted (more exposed brick, seating, and enough storage). Was there anything else? I think we'd all be happy to improve your kitchen for what a serious cook or someone with a lot of kitchen traffic might prefer, but it's not worth it for you to spend lots of money to change everything if you are really quite happy except for those things and aesthetics. If there's nothing else functional that you really want, it seems as if you could just make those few changes layout-wise and go for broke with nice appliances and fun finishes. Get a 24" fridge. You could go apartment-sized with the other appliances, but I'd keep the standard-sized dishwasher unless you routinely never fill yours. As a lone cook, I often fill our standard dishwasher by myself and then some. I'd also keep the standard-sized range. I've found the burners on 24" ranges to be too close together for a lot of my pots to sit neatly side by side on the burners.