I think it looks pretty good except for the separated dishwashers. I have heard it doesn't work as well in practice as in theory. If you scooted the sink over to fit the second DW on the left, that would work better and maintain your zone separation. If you are short on dish storage at that point, scoot the warming drawers down a little and have a dish storage drawer facing the DWs on the end of the island.

I don't see a MW and not sure if you will have one, but a good place for one would be next to the fridge, above the wine fridge.

Your island overhang should be at least 15" deep and 30" width allocated for each seat. It LOOKS like 18" deep and 28.5" width, which I think will work fine.

Is your 48" "cooktop" really a range? If not, where are your ovens?

While on the Appliances Forum I saw that a number of people didn't really like or use their grill. I believe the reasons were that grills are hard to clean and just don't perform as well as the outside grill. I have am doing a 48" with grill myself but that's only because I got it for a major steal. I wish it was a 36"/6 burner. You might want to search around yourself and decide if you want to keep the 48". Of course if it is really a range, you may want to simply for the sake of keeping the double ovens.

You have such a great space, I really like it!

the only thing I odn't like is the 54" between perimeter and island, seems like overkill to me. Most large kitchens don't have more thatn 48". personally I made my space 43"

Thanks a lot for your time & input!

Our 48" really is a range w/ double oven - we are going for the 6 burners and 1 griddle.

We hadn't decided where to put the microwave. I'm starting to be concerned that I do not have enough cabinet space. Do you think that I do?

Is that really too much space between the perimeter and island? I will definitely mention that to our builder.

Thanks a bunch. I would have included the pic on my posting, but I wasn't sure I was able...

Any more thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Can you post a layout of the first floor? Do you have a pantry somewhere?

Here is a link. Again, not sure how to just include the whole image in this forum. If it is too small, I can try to enlarge.
Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: MAINLEVEL - not inc. master

I'm not sure you are able to include images inline here from flickr. Photobucket can do it though.

Your pantry seems kind of far away from the kitchen to me. If you could get the pantry entry within the kitchen, I think you would be just fine. If not, I feel like you get sick of the walk, try to squeeze pantry items into your kitchen, and then feel really cramped. I tried to zoom in and see if you could switch things around but it was too blurry. If you COULD post an enlarged version I bet this forum could help you.

Here are your pics.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I liked looking at the total picture, though some of it was hard to read. I agree that if you can post it bigger, you will get more responses. I still think 54" is too big between perimeter and island and then on the other side which is a major walkway, you only have 42". Also within that major walkway is a major appliance which will make things busy there to begin with. I assume your small children will use the backdoor that leads to the mudroom and then into the kitchen. The other thing that bothers me is that it looks like a long walk to get to the outdoor dining from the kitchen. I see you have double hung windows for a pass through but a slider could be easier.

Personally, I don't like the prep sink bisecting that island, I'd want it a little closer to one end. You want that big island space for homework, school projects, cookie making, etc

Since you are building a custom home, you want to customize it for you. Think about how you live. Do you live in Maine and the outdoor dining will only be used a couple months of the year so access is not that big a deal or do you live in California where you might use it everyday and direct access from the kitchen would be important? Where will the kids be playing, will you be able to see them if in you're inside? Think about your daily routine and how you will move through that house as well as your kitchen.

Does it make sense to put a backdoor where the pass through is? Does it make sense to switch the office area with the pantry? Only you can answer those questions.

I wouldn't be afraid to beef up that island -- make it deeper, it looks like the space can take it and it might seem more appropriate too

just food for thought

Thank you Pence & Tracie.Erin for your comments.

They are GREAT suggestions. We will DEFINITELY move the island sink like you suggested as well as make sure our walkway between the fridge and the island is bigger than the 3'6" space that is there now. What about a trash compactor? I have had people tell me these are indispensible, but we don't have one on there now. Also, trying to figure out the fridge wall. We were looking at a 48" built-in. Thoughts? All other suggestions and comments are appreciated. We are looking at each suggestion and walking it through on our plans.

I have just uploaded a larger file of the main level so you should be able to see it better.

Happy Friday and THANK YOU!
April

ps - we are in Oregon - the outdoor patio will be covered, so we hope to be able to eat outside on a somewhat regular basis at least 4-5 months of the year!

Here is a link that might be useful: Larger File Main Level Plan