I'd rather have counter where it can achieve some critical mass so I would priviledge it on the "L" and put the pantry by the fridge (means no drop space by fridge but adjacent counter isn't far). I would probably do the pantry so it opens into the doorway rather than the front as a shallow pantry will be of more use than a deep one in my opinion. I would want more drawers - so maybe a bank on the side of the stove where the pantry is now (yes they open into the doorway but at least it would be a good size set perfect for pots and pans). Don't love the stove so close to the doorway but I am not seeing where else to put it. Not a design guru so hopefully a heavier hitter will weigh in.

What kind of fridge are you getting? If a sxs as shown in the image, or a french door, it really isn't convenient to have drop zone right next to the fridge anyway. So I agree with cary, the counter space will be much more valuable next to the range.

I have an extremely similar set up BUT my fridge is where your pantry is, stove is where the fridge is, and sink is where the stove is. The other side is all counter (and dw) that is a peninsula, the dr is on the other side. I find this layout really functional and I love having the long counter space, so I totally agree with caryscott if you can make that happen. I also agree about more drawers, get the 33 inch ones if you can. I have one lower that's a door (only because I needed it to store some taller items like stockpots etc) but I could not live without my 33" drawers.

We just installed the IKEA 24" farmhouse sink this weekend, is that the one you are getting? I adore it!!!

I also have an extremely similar layout---where you have a high pantry, we have a doorway, and our high pantry is next to the dishwasher where you have the cabinet, but otherwise, same footprint.

A few thoughts:

- I use the counter between the stove and sink more than any other space, and am *so* glad we gave that some extra inches. Ours is 24" blind corner in the L, then a 27" cabinet, then a 36" stove, then an 18" cabinet. This seems to be a really good arrangement thus far. I worried it would look unbalanced, but it's fine.

- We have a 48" landing zone where yours is with a single-door fridge opening towards the counter. So far I like this (it's actually our old fridge and we're still debating between a french door and single door for the new one, but I'm leaning towards single door right now). The landing zone gets a huge amount of use, though ironically not as the "baking center" I'd envisioned for that space. (Instead, I find I do all the baking tasks in the section between stove and sink---more convenient.) Absolutely would want landing space there.

- We have a full-height pantry where the cabinet to the left of the dishwasher is in your plan; ours is built into the framing of our house so it wasn't going anywhere, but I actually like having it there. Ours is a cooler so I keep flours/nuts/oils and fruit/veggies in there; handy to have them a little closer to the cooking space than the fridge. We keep bread/cereal/snacks/etc. in the cabinets by the fridge, though, which is super useful since that counter gets used for making lunches or getting a snack or drink---things that typically don't need to be washed or cooked.

Generally, we're pretty happy with the space we have---the only thing it seems to be missing is some storage for dishes that I'm currently trying to figure out, but since we don't have uppers on the sink/range walls (just on the fridge wall) I think you're all set on that front. HTH!

ok so the plan is getting changed around a little.

Controlfreakecs, I do have a side by side fridge and I completely hadn't thought about the landing next to it being less useful because of that fact.

artemis, I thought about putting the pantry next to the dishwasher but the space there is only 18 inches wide and it's just not big enough for me to store everything I'd like to put in it.

This is setup number 2 which I'm thinking will work a bit better. Drawers on either side of the stove, One for the pots / pans, and the other set of drawers for utensils.

I haven't shopped yet for the sink, cabinets, backsplash, ect yet. My DH is doing all the work himself so we're getting a rough idea of the layout first. He's in the middle of building the new wall.

If you click the picture it should take you to my photobucket account of how the house looked from when I purchased it a couple months ago. I'll slowly be adding progress pictures to it.
Thanks for all the input so far, this is my first house so I'm not extremely experienced with having to make so many decisions!
I'm lucky to have these forums to turn to with questions and to see so many wonderful inspirations!

(microwave above the stove, sink under the window, and the appliances / finishes are all incorrect :) )

I didn't follow your link. Now having done that I realize that the new doorway is probably not going to be the major point of access to the kitchen. Given that I would keep the stove on the back wall. I would put the pantry in as I described in my first post but facing into the dining room.

Like this:

This is someone from GW's kitchen so my thanks to them.
Advantage fridge is still on the perimeter away from cooking area (fridge and pantry are logical consumables storage zone). If you keep dishes and silverware by the dishwasher and sink this is the clean up zone (dish\silverware storage close to the dining area makes sense). You have decent sized counter runs on either side of the stove and you can put a decent set of drawers on the right of the stove. I also tend to think that not doing floor to ceiling elements on your L will make the room feel more open.

I actually like this plan less. When the range is such a wide aisle across from the only sink, that means draining pasta, carrying heavy pots just filled with water, etc. It is not only annoying to have to do that, it can be dangerous. I think that having the pantry next to the fridge and the range back where it was would be much more functional. You'd still have plenty of space for counter and drawers next to the range. And people won't have to walk through your workspace to access fridge.

My kitchen layout is quite similar, with some differences, to your first plan. I was told by a KD to steer far away from the range where you have put it in your later plan, because it truly is too far from the sink and prep space. You have to carry dripping meat, chopped vegetables, boiling pasta water, etc. across the entire kitchen floor.