just my 2 cents.. i currently have the set up of your first drawing. where you have the pantry i have a wall to the living room, i put a 6 inch deep 5 foot high free standing shelf along the wall (easy to make) and i keep anything in glass jars on that, i have a reach in pantry.(where your deck is i have a bed room with a bathroom next to it, door facing the kitchen, and the pantry is between the bedroom and bath), the shelf i have is narrow enough not to impede the entry next to the peninsula, and it keeps me from worrying about having a glass jar break in the pantry, everyone who sees it thinks its a great idea (i keep remains of boxes of pasta in canning jars etc). my kitchen is open to the dining room, which no one who i see with this design uses as a dining room because the walk way to the sliding glass doors eventually takes precedence (Florida = Lani), or if they do, the table is pushed up against the wall which leaves seating for 4. i also have a slim cabinet and a semi-corner upper cabinet(s) on the wall to the right of the sink,my dish washer is in the spot of your original drawing, i have a lazy susan corner on the bottom in the corner. The over hang of the upper cabinets makes a spot to park the appliances with a clean up area right next to the sink which keeps things from sprawling, i have a set of drawers instead of a cabinet on the outside of the dishwasher, very handy.. . It seems to me that some people are sit-down-at-the-table types and some are more casual island eaters.. when my daughter was younger we used the large area of the peninsula to make bread and such from the dining room side, that way she could sit up and reach and it was a nice area to use for lots of things. the actual work flow on this for me is parking the grocery's on the peninsula and on flat stove top to load fridge, the biggest problem i have is with the microwave. first had it on the Pinn but if two people were in the kitchen there would be an issue with doing anything with the sink, i moved it to the other side of the sink, between it and the stove, its a better location but it uses up a lot of room and its awkward to get things in and out, for that reason alone i liked the idea of a microwave area. it looks like you currently have a microwave installed in the wall next to the fridge? My neighbor put his on the counter and then made a huge space above for an appliance garage, (think just one big shelf), you'd only have to close off the underside of the stairs really; the cool thing is he used a painting hinged on the corner side as a door. i would say live with it for a minuet first, and then if you were going to do anything i'd put a pantry at the end of the room like in the 3-D model Anna has, also the peninsula, if you are not going to use that room then you might want to shorten it, mine is a bit tight and the other issue is where to put the trash.. if you are an under the sink person then fine, but otherwise i ended up putting it at the end of the peninsula, now its tucked under on the outer side with a stool in front. what is really amazing is that so many people spent so much of their time to help you with this, and that i actually sat here and read each post.. it had a coffee table conversation feel to it, very well done everybody :) best of luck with the new home, the only other thing i would say is, you have to decide if you and SO need a break from the stress of actually buying the house before you start tearing it up (warning: only do ONE ROOM at a time) or if you are the kind of folk who like to get it all out of the way so you can be done with it.. may your home always be filled with love (and big ideas).. Lin

Pot lights in a perimeter pattern (about 12 inches from cabinets) the ceiling, a soffit with crown moulding over the cabinets, modern long SS cabinet handles, a pretty modern chandelier/ceiling light with personality to replace the fluorescent light, SS microwave, stove, and dishwasher to match the fridge..... SS appliances, pot lights, crown molding over a short soffit so cabinets appear to go to the ceiling, cool light fixture. Long handles on the cabinetry, again soffit to ceiling pot lights Interesting light over proposed/suggested island. The kitchen needs to be finished before you will feel comfortable in it; items are not relating to each other because you do not have enough items in the kitchen.......when you do have all the elements it will look 'finished' because it will be.

I feel bad that you spent all this money and hate your kitchen. Let me try some last advice. One of the best comments, besides mine of course, was someone that said (I am paraphrasing) it is not reasonable to compare your in the middle renovation with a completed renovation that has high end SS appliances. You already have spent money on the granite and backsplash, instead of undoing those expensive options, why not use that money to move forward with updates that work for either kitchen and then make a decision. First IMHO you absolutely need to hire a designer to work with. You stated you painted your kitchen cabinets, but not sure if you did that yourself or hired someone. If you can do it yourself, then the cost is negligible. Try and choice a color that will compliment your new granite. Again if you did it yourself you can always paint it another color if you rip out the granite. Then work on updates that will work with either kitchen. Obvious high end appliances would make a big difference, but there are other things I think would make a big difference. I dont even see your lights. The light fixtures will make a big difference and maybe even under the cabinet ligths to boot. And flooring. New flooring that goes with both countertops would make a big difference. I could go on and on, but you get my point and that is before tearing out what was done, instead move forward with updates that work for either kitchen and then evaluate. Because again you just can not compare your in the middle of renovation kitchen to pictures of completely renovated kitchens done by the top designers in the country where money was not an object.

Sorry, but THREE kitchens in three years is such a colossal environmental waste ... I know we all consume things that we don't need to consume, but this level of waste is bordering on a level of unethical. Gotta agree. You can donate /re-sell things, but we should all be more aware of our waste. Two things have opened my eyes to this in the last few years: - We ripped out our leaky shower and (to save money) took the old stuff to the dump ourselves. Wow, it was an eye opener. So much garbage that will still exist 100, 200, 300 years from now. Some of it just because people wanted "updated colors". - I attended a teacher workshop at the recycling center, and I learned SO MUCH. I've always come down strongly on the side of keeping your life "moderate in size" and buying things used. I thought I was a pretty decent recycler -- I wasn't. I understand the process so much better now, and I have made some changes in how I do things at home. I'm particularly trying to avoid plastics in all forms -- that's the biggest problem we face today in recycling. I don’t know what the square footage is for your kitchen, but it seems like you want to include all of the amenities of a much larger kitchen in a space that’s simply not big enough. Please note that I’m not saying your kitchen is small - I’m simply saying that an island big enough for a 42” cooktop + seating requires a kitchen with a larger footprint. Good points. This is kinda the elephant in the room.