Okay I'm not dong this in order...the baking zone: unless you're tall, can you make the counter a few inches shorter (traditional for rolling pastries and kneading, plus it allows room for the mill)?

If you really like 36" aisles, and can make the appliances work, maybe you should. Have deep cabinets and counters on the stove wall.

I think the layout looks really functional. Having a nice size pantry like you do lets you get away with losing the uppers.

Are you using stock cabinet sizes? Anyway, I'd put a 36 in the corner under the baking zone with a 24 by the range, just because I like to store MY baking stuff in fat drawers. But YOU have that luxurious (to me!) pantry. Some people measure all their stuff and think about what size drawer they want and go from there. I measured a few things but in general go by the "switch it around until it's right" method.

"...with a 42" aisle. (Though I really prefer a 36" aisle..."

I'm assuming the 42" aisle is measured counter-to-counter and not cabinet-to-cabinet...is that assumption correct?

If not, then your aisle is really 39", not 42". Which may be an issue in front of the range and, especially, refrigerator. Read on.

If so, then remember that the 42" aisle is down to 38" or 39" in front of the range and down to 36" in front of the refrigerator (you can only recess a refrigerator so far...the doors must extend out past the surrounding walls, cabinets, and counters...so you'll still have approx 6" sticking out into the aisle). Speaking from experience, I have a 32" or so aisle in front of my refrigerator and it is much too narrow. Yes, we've learned to live with it, but I wish we had more space...36" would be good.

Believe me, a narrower aisle will seem less "cozy" when you have tweens and teenagers running around the house! (Mainly b/c this is the only aisle in the kitchen, so everyone will be in it! With an "L", you would have two aisles and you might be able to get away with one of them narrower, but not with an open galley.)

As to "optimal" cabinets (both base & upper), check out the "Planning for Storage" topic in the "Read Me" thread...it will explain how to plan what cabinets to get for your kitchen based on what you need to store in your kitchen, what you will be doing in the kitchen, and how your kitchen is set up. One thing to keep in mind, the more cabinets you have, the more storage space you lose in cabinet walls & frames (if you are getting framed cabinets). Also, a lot of smaller cabinets will cost more than a few wider cabinets with the same overall "width".

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

Base cab widths - I'd change the one next to the fridge to 18" wide drawers (storage containers, foil), the next one to 36" wide drawer bank (pots and pans). Same space, but 27" wide is too narrow (inside of drawers) for pots and pans).

Baking area - you NEED those drawer cabs underneath, so a marble slab counter is better than a table.

You can also mount floating shelves along the end wall even though there is no counter below it.

Definitely put 24" deep uppers above the fridge - looks much better and much more functional than 12" deep.

I'd go with 15" deep uppers if you can - a lot more storage than 12". I'd mount them at the ceiling.

Uppers:
24"deep x 36" wide x 18 or 21"high (depends on fridge height).
27" wide x 42" high
27" wide x 42" high
36" wide x 24" high above range (hood below)
27" wide x 42" high
then open shelves running to corner

Open up the dishwasher and note how it will close up the walkpath. Same with door of refrig during leftover storage time and other times when you're pulling out ingredients. Any chance dishwasher can go on the end of the island? I assume there is an oven under your cooktop? If so, consider this also when thinking through your width of aisle.

We had 48 inches from cab to cab across the kitchen with a range smack in the center and DW just barely down from it on opposite side. Had to but hated it. I kept dirty dishes in stacks until I could attack the stack from the proper side of DW and when at range I would say to people "just set that plate over there for now" so the DW wouldn't get opened. You have to train your family and guests--not impossible but needs to be in your plan from the start. Same with oven--you learn to ignore the buzzer until you've got the area clear for the oven door to be opened.

You are wise in putting dish storage near the DW--once you get your ideas set, do a mockup using lots of cardboard boxes and be sure that you can move, turn, etc. freely.

As usual, I recommend a pull-out cutting board or two for additional work space, but don't put it opposite anything that has wide doors!

"... small, cozy home. I do a lot of cooking and baking....
... 42" aisle. (Though I really prefer a 36" aisle, it just feels good to me.) .... "

Seeing that there is so much open space, i think that anyone who wants to be there with you, keeping you company, can be anywhere on the side of the island, or on the LR side. You and they are not forced into being in the same aisle all the time. In walled-in galley kitchens, it is the exact opposite: 2 or 3 people are forced to be in the same aisle all the time.

Therefore, I submit my opinion that you can extend all overhangs (both counters, all directions) a couple inches more in all directions. or whatever size overhang you want. You gain more counter space. Your legs (knees) have the same room to move around in. Any 2 or 3 people who want to be more or less in the same space keeping each other company can be anywhere nearby without blocking the aisle. Two simultaneous cooks can indeed operate in an aisle that is __ inches wide (insert any number that you think is appropriate).

When you have to move stuff from one counter to another, it makes a big difference if the gap is e.g. 38" or e.g. 42". You can get used to anything, but you may as well know long in advance that in some people's thinking a slightly narrower aisle is good, in certain layouts. This layout meets the criteria.

1/ Nothing is lost in terms of storage capacity, if you are willing to put some generally smaller things into narrower drawers and most of the generally larger things into your bigger drawers. Doing the opposite will cause some loss of storage space.

2/... if the base cabinets were 24" and 30" instead of 27" and 27" you would have standard sizes for spares. Nobody will see the size difference from any angle except those who go looking for it when they approach from one of the two sides. Nobody will complain.

3/ About central-ness and decentralizing the major things.
Everyone has always said that a long expanse of unhindered countertop was a big thing. Basically, a must have that they realized was a must have after they were done.
It was repeated many times in a recent thread this winter asking what people enjoyed the most after it was all done.

..... so, your sink in the middle is too compromisey to be a good spot for it.
and your cooktop in the middle is too compromisey to be a good spot for it.

In a small kitchen, go for big counters.

Without reading your previous threads (and without having read this one thoroughly), I'll suggest now to have the range somewhere not in the center, and to light up the big counter space it frees up. It becomes a big Prep zone (which could include baking) in my mind.

I might put the DW on the other side, farther from the fridge. Wherever you put the sink it will still be close enough to have the same advantage as the "centrally located" sink you have shown. It will be handy from everywhere and you can avoid putting in a second sink.

Whatever I've written, don't bother if it is not going to work with your special workflow ("... large grain mill (2.5' tall) ... stand mixer .... food processor).

If you had 57 on both sides instead of 60 on one and 54 on the other it would balance the range elevation and also shift it further from the sink. (only 3")

If the DW is open it does block one path, but not the only one out of the space. If you are cleaning up yourself I would imagine you would carry in and then start loading. If two are, one could man the sink and the other could pass over or set down on the counter over the DW. Something will tend to be blocked in a small kitchen at some time or other.

If the opening at the island to the right is not the primary entrance it could easily be shrunk down a little (say to 32") and still be feasible, because nothing opens into it. Many older powder rooms are 30" wide, with 24" doors: This is essentially a "doorway" into the kitchen of sorts. This would shift the island a bit away from the doorswing of the fridge as well (again just a few inches). The sink placement would have to be adjusted back to the left. These are all matters of inches, but inches count in a small space.

I would tend toward a wider aisle between (even 45"between cabinets/42" between counters), but I am not a "pivoter" in the kitchen, I don't mind a step or too. If then, there are others working you have a bit more room.

I would stick with the 42" aisle, since w/ the DW and the fridge, you'll often have one or the open. Also, make sure you'll have enough space to pull out your fridge and move it out to the side to be repaired/replaced. With 42", it looks like you'll be able to, but if you're subtracting for overhang, and the fridge handles don't count in its depth measurement, just be careful.

Re: the table in the corner for baking - given how much stuff flies around while baking (and I would imagine, milling), I wouldn't recommend the table -- would just cause more of a cleanup hassle. But then -- perhaps I'm not understanding exactly where that table would go.

Rosie,

I think you have graduated from KD 101; now it's time to take it to the next level by being willing to abandon the strictly balanced symmetry of your layout in order to max the out the functional benefits of your space.

(Don't worry about the visual "cost" of losing the balance, getting that right in the end is the final step and it can be done in other ways than a book-matched design.)

Anyhoo, the idea of having different-sized counter runs (and cabs) on either side of the sink and range is the next stage. Off the top of my head I usually would say give more space between the fridge and range (for the main Prep Zone in a plan like yours)than between the range and wall, except that if you do a lot of grain milling then you may need to give more space to the baking side to accomodate the grain mill and other major baking appliances.

However, you did say you grow vegetables so perhaps you also can. That would mean that the "prep" side would get an enormous work out assembling and filling the jars before moving them on to the canner. (Cold pack stuff would come from the sink/island prep zone; hot pack stuff would come from range to can-filling area and then back to the range for processing.) Then you need to think of where to put the hot jars after processing and that cannot be on a stone counter, only wood or formica works there because of the risk of thermal shock. I don't know about you but I rarely do just one processing at a time so I accumulate a lot of filled and cooling jars before I'm done canning for the day. And I want to have them wind up in place where they can sit and cool down without being in my way during the clean up and rest of the day's kitchen work.

But maybe you freeze instead, which would move the packing more to the island after prepping in the Prep Zone/blanching/shocking/spinning dry to the packaging steps, which might happen on the island? Do you use a FoodSaver - where would it live? Just think through how you do this.....

The excellent suggestions of other posters should lead you to play around with the layout along the counters to find the most useful spacing for your personal counter top usage. Right now you have 54" on the left of the range and 60" on the right. Is that the best config? I'd try a lot of variations for regular meal prep, dedicated baking and food preservation pprojects. Don't worry, for now, about the cab sizes, just think about the work surface patterns.

Since you do more home food preservation than many typical kitchen users, you have to think those additional processes through with the space needed kept in mind. For instance, I sometimes use a DW as a holding area for clean and hot jars if I am doing a hot pack, so I would want to think about its placement not only for day to day convenience, but also for how efficient it woud be for snagging jars amidst the hustle of getting a whole batch of jars filled and into the canner. This is just an example of the extra considerations needed in a preservation kitch.

One suggestion I would make is to consider having an extra-deep counter, 30" would be great, but even 27" is an improvement over the standard one. This would allow your fridge to assume an even more "built-in" appearance, but most importantly, those extra inches allow appliances to stay on counters and not compromise the functionality as much.

If you any extra inches to spare in your design I'd "spend" them on a deeper range wall countertop rather than in extra aisle width or island space.

I hope you won't feel bummed, or discouraged, by our additional suggestions. Extra time spent now working out the variations will pay off in the long run. I made drawing after drawing and then drew lines to track how I move through my most common meal preps and preservation projects. I took pics and even made drawings of my counters during canning, freezing, dehydrating and baking projects so I could see what I actually had out, and how I had it arranged, while actually doing the tasks. This was enormously helpful to me.

You have obviously put considerable thought into your current plan and drawing. And you're more than ready to take on the next level of analysis. Welcome to grad school!

HTH,

L

I just wanted to say I really like your layout and am completely jealous of your spacious countertop space on either side of the range.

I have a sort of galley-ish kitchen (but not as lovely and open as yours with the island), but it's much smaller than your lovely space. I find that while I probably can't have the oven and dishwasher open at the same time, I have never needed to. I do, however, find that my really narrow (maybe 36") passage in front of the fridge is frustrating, but not nearly so much now that I replaced my standard fridge with a side by side. Previously having the door opened would completely block the work space next to it and/or completely block the walking space. You may want to take that into consideration with your fridge choice, your isle width, and/or your island length.

I personally might consider moving the range down one way or another and adding a small corner prep sink in the larger space. But that's because my sink is often filled with dirty dishes. If I had the space on the range side, I'd love to have a nice long countertop and a prep sink. However, if turning around to the single sink works for you, then having those long counter runs will be really wonderful. I look forward to seeing more of what you do with your kitchen.

I like how people bringing plates etc from the dining area will plunk them down on the end of the island, right in your cleanup zone.

I'm definitely not a design maven like those who've already posted suggestions to you, but I have a galley kitchen so perhaps I get some cred there :) . If you keep the dishwasher on the right side of the sink, would you consider dish drawers instead of the single-door dishwasher? They would not stick out as much and may allow more flexibility for the canning cleaning that liriodendron mentioned. I don't have dish drawers so I can't speak from personal experience and they may not work for you at all --here's a thread from mtnrdredux and I imagine there is *alot* of info in the appliances forum.

If you were to put the trash pullout (the magnet hands-free design sounds very James Bond!) on right side under the sink, maybe it would be easier to scrape the plates into the trash and put them in the dishwasher? You'd have to swap the sink drain to the left though if that's a deal breaker.

HTH, cheers

Here is a link that might be useful: mtnrdredux's FP dish drawer review

Rosieo (the OP) grinds her own grain and does a lot of baking, PLUS she does a lot of canning, PLUS makes her own cheese AND processes her own meat!

Therefore she NEEDS two large separate prep zones on either side of the range! Baking (dry) from range to corner, and cheese, canning, meat (wet) on the other side. A separate sink would be ideal, but she doesn't want that. Personally, all those wet procesess would drive me crazy having the sink across the aisle from the range.

wouldn't she do these things at different times? different days?