I'm not sure your pantry has much room to 'walk in?' Is this something you already have in place and have used? I think it's usable, but don't want you to have a vision that isn't realistic.

I wish I had some great answer for the pantry wall, but at this point, I'm not coming up with any. I hope someone who thinks more 'out of the box' will help.

I do notice that your dw door and range area will conflict. If the dishwasher door is open while someone is trying to cook, it will be an aggravation and a hazard. Also, a raised bar behind a hot stove can be dangerous if something gets pushed off or hangs off the bar into the stove area.

Best wishes.

I don't think the pantry works--There will only be a little storage off to the right of the window, and the rest of the space will be used to access that storage. I would annex that whole area into the kitchen, if you could. Right now you have a stair step appearance to the plan on that wall that doesnt balance well with the rest of the kitchen. What if you had the microwave area in the corner, the desk under the window, and a pantry area to the left of that?

Then you could still have a pantry closet rather than cabinet pantry if you wanted, but the doors could be all across the front.

Thanks for the thoughts already!

rhome410 - thanks for pointing out the conflicting doors! I thought we had that fixed, but obviously not. I may switch the dw to the other side of the sink...also, we really want the raised bar, just cause of our kids and the hot stove...and we like that look! Thanks!

Palimpsest - I agree with the stair step thing and I hate it! I'm thinking the desk area under the window would be nice, but the window ledge is up pretty high (not changing window openings now) so I don't know if that would look goofy.

Any other layout options out there?!?? we need help!!

On the plan view, what is south, east and west of the kitchen?

Can the little pantry be torn out? It's function can be replaced with other stuff.

For the range, I have just about that exact configuration - yours is a foot longer. I have the raised bar. I have three issues with it.

It's very dangerous. People forget the range is there, dh ignited a newspaper cause he was reading and the paper overhung an open flame.

It's a junque catcher. Both of us put stuff on it - it's a convenient height.

There are times I want to spread out a bit more than the room I have. I RESENT the raised bar because I can't use that space when I need it.

{{!gwi}}

While I don't like the stair-step nature of the pantry wall, the biggest problem I have with your pantry is the window. A pantry, at least in my mind is meant to be a cool dark place. Little rooms with windows are usually anything but cool and dark...

If you are committed to having a walk-in pantry, I would turn it 90 degrees so that it's back is against the right-hand wall.

I would also consider turning the island 90 degrees, and extending the raised dine-in portion of it to the left.

Let me know if you need a sketch...

If you are leaning towards keeping things essentially the same, I think your best bet is, as palimpsest suggests, to simply move the mw next to the pantry and slide the desk over under the window. I would make the desk the same height and depth as the mw counter to allow the two elements to flow together.

If you have flexibility to make more changes, I would consider flipping your whole plan 180 degrees so that the fridge and sink wall is where you currently have the pantry. Right now your island is directly in the middle of that opening to the right, encouraging traffic through both your main work area and past the pantry. If you flip the plan your main sink/stove/fridge area is protected from traffic by the longer section of wall, and there is a clear path behind the island for traffic to flow. The only thing I would leave is the desk under the window on the lower wall and have it flow into the sink run. The upper wall would be pantry and mw, and possibly one more set of cabs that you could have match the mw set-up in height and depth to make that run a little smoother. I think part of the reason your current layout is making you unhappy, aside from the stair steps, is that all the cabinets on the pantry wall seem to be different heights, leading things to feel a little jumbled.

I think you are going to have a really nice space in the end. Good luck!

Again, thanks for the input!

bmorepanic - I hear what you are saying with the raised island - do you have a hood with yours? I guess we could use a telescoping vent with a flat island. To the right of the island is our dining table (seats 8, rectangular), so I don't need too much seating space, but I see what you mean. We had the fridge where you show it at first, but since that is a door out to the screen porch, we figured we'd want a counter as a "landing space" for dishes when we eat outside. Can I ask, what is the distance between your sink & island? We have been going back & forth on this. Right now I think it's 39" and I think it needs to be wider! What do you think? I like how you switched things up on the other wall...there is a large window just the left of the desk, so we can't go beyond that...

rob p - I'd love a sketch (I'm way too visual a person!). Our island location is set for now - any other option just wasn't working - but would like to see what you mean with turning the pantry.

cawila - I'm gonna try to play around with the pantry wall some more - the sink wall has to stay where it's at. With the grading/views at our house it just makes sense there. You are right - the pantry wall cab heights are all jumbled and just don't fit!

THANKS everyone! I will let you know what we come up with!! If you have any other ideas, let me know!

This is where you find out that telescopic vents aren't to be used with a range and it voids the warranty? The only one that I know of permitting that type of installation is Dacor and only when its combined with a Dacor range. Jenn air is another choice - with the downdraft built in.

I am the odd person out in aisles. We have a 60 inch aisle between the sink and range and I like it a lot.

I threw a quick sketch plan up on my .mac gallery.

I hope you can see it ok.

Here is a link that might be useful: ktrud's kitchen

I think we've got it...I think we are going to just move the pantry between the two windows on the south wall. Then have a desk area from the corner to the pantry.

bmorepanic - how do you put a layout in your message so easily?!? I've read lots of threads on inserting links but don't know how everyone does it!

rob_p - thanks for making me see our pantry was really not situated right!

Thanks for the input! I'd post a quick sketch, but really don't know how:)

Okay, so here is a link to the latest layouts...moved the microwave back to the kitchen wall, and other wall just has pantry & desk. We are sticking with a closet pantry versus cupboards cause the cabinets are too expensive!!

Thoughts on option #1 versus #2? Anything else glaringly standing out??

Please disregard the last 4 photos in the file - they are older layouts...

THANKS!

Here is a link that might be useful: Most Current Kitchen Layout

Cooking stations in islands are hugely problematic. They are big safety hazards unless you have a lot of clearance around them. They're difficult and EXPENSIVE to vent. It's a LOT more expensive than locating it elsewhere. You're planning on saving money by creating a drywall pantry, but you're actually spending that savings (and more) by locating the range in the island. As was mentioned, telescopic vents aren't warrantied with ranges. And, more to the point in space planning, they won't work with a range because they take up room in the cabinet below a cooktop, and ranges don't have cabinets below them to hide the infrastructure of the popup. It would take all kinds of jury rigging to be able to locate a popup elsewhere and still have it pop up behind a range, and any tampering with one also voids the warranty. So, even if you could put a full sized cabinet behind the range to house the mechanisms of the popup, it'd be pointed the wrong way, and modifying it to point the right way voids the warranty. The best option for venting an island cooking station remains an overhead vent, especially since it works with the laws of physics to capture steam, grease, and smoke that naturally rise.

My suggestion would be to locate the sink on the island instead of the range, and place the range on the (almost) exterior wall where you have the sink. It would fit perfectly centered on the 58" section, and you could have a prep sink adjacent to it under the window if you wanted.

I like the option with the pantry in the corner and the desk under the window. That gives much better flow.

Is there a reason you're not using the 36" of wall space on the other side of the glass door? That would be a perfect place for organizer cubbies or a "china hutch" type cabinet, whichever one would work better functionally for your family.

I realize the potential downfalls of a range on our island...but we've got a venting plan that will work there. I really wanted to look out the window over the sink to our screen porch & side yard too. We rarely use our fan in our current home (Over the range "vent"), so I don't anticipate using it a ton.

I agree the pantry should be in the corner with desk to the side. Thanks for the input!