As promised, this is the older peninsula drawing without the opening to the DR and with the w/d in the closet. It's a lot tighter and certainly doesn't afford me the storage I am hoping to gain. Moving the w/d out will give me the additional storage however, so that might be ok. It would probably be less expensive of course to go with the peninsula and NOT open the DR wall.
Thanks again!

I like the second plan better. I like the idea of having the second space for a table or sitting area. Also, I like that the peninsula gives you a nice amount of prep space with easy access to the sink and appliances.

Welcome and congratulations on beginning the remodel process, Athenab!

Have you had a chance to read the "Layout Help" topic in the "Read Me" thread? It describes the information we need to help you find a plan that is right for you and your family.

I have a few questions:

First, though, the turquoise is very difficult read - could you re-post with the turquoise info in black?

1. How far off the floor is the bay window?

2. Are you open to changing any windows (over the sink and/or bay window) or adding/removing any?

3. If you remove the W/D Closet, where will your washer & dryer go? BTW...where is the W/D Closet on the peninsula plan? I don't see it.

BTW...there is also a "Posting Pictures" topic in the "Read Me" thread that describes how to post multiple pictures in a Message.

Here is a link that might be useful: New To Kitchens? Posting Pics? Read Me!

Disjointed thoughts:

I'm assuming that the family room is below the kitchen table. Where does the upper doorway go? I don't think that opening up a ponywall into the DR is of any benefit.

I like the idea of the bottom plan and putting a pantry where the current washer/dryer is - but then where would they go?

If you only use your DR for a few occasions, do you still want it or can that space be included into the kitchen reno as well?

In the bottom plan - what about putting your sink in the corner of the peninsula which will give you a bigger prep area between the sink and range. More time is spent prepping these days than doing dishes. You would then be prepping in front of the window but your clean-up area still has lots of light with the bay window there.

W/D Closet - I see it, it's not labeled...it's to the right.

Will you be able to find room for the W/D near the bedrooms (ideal) or in your basement (we did this to gain kitchen room as well)?

Is Blfenton correct that the DR is at the "top" and the FR the "bottom" of the layouts?

[OT - the new option for receiving followup posts really does work! I just tested it...]

Found it! The Dining Room is to the right, not the top!

Yeah, I can't read that turquoise but without reading anything I kinda like the U shaped one instead of the island one.

FWIW, my current kitchen (soon to be renovated) is very similar to your peninsula plan, right down to the laundry closet. After much deliberation and input from others here, I am keeping the layout more or less the same. With more functional cabinets, the storage will be better, but I don't think I can improve on the countertop work space and the traffic flow/protection for the cook that I have with the peninsula/U-shape. I can't read your numbers for aisle measurements, but it looks like on the island plan, the space between the island and the cabinets on the sink wall would be quite tight. Narrow aisles drive me nuts, so that would be out of the question for me.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your responses. Sorry it took me so long to respond. Out for July 4th.
I will try to find a way to change the ink to black...not sure how?
The DR is to the right kitchen, right in front of the peninsula. The washer/dryer is in the unlabeled closet toward the bottom of the picture. It is in the location where we want to put the pantry, which you can see in the island plan. The washer/dryer will go to the basement for now. I say 'for now' because I'm not really happy about it, but with an older home, it's hard to find places for it. The door at the top leads to the hallway, which connects to the formal dining room, powder room and stairs to bedrooms. The family room is below the kitchen table, and it is a step-down also.
buehl: The bay window is only about 2.5-3 ft. off the floor. I don't want to change or remove windows as the windows are fairly new. They had to be replaced a couple of years ago due to water damage and I just duplicated what I had.
blfenton: I have thought about putting the sink in the peninsula, but worry about water dripping over the back and splashing onto anyone sitting at the table. Also, getting rid of the DR is something we thought about, but a relative that's a real estate agent didn't think it was a good idea for us. Since our home is a traditional center hall colonial, she felt that her clients look for that formal dining room when they are buying.
dee850: The numbers from the island to sink are 36", so the bare minimum. The aisle between the pantry wall and the island would be 42"...not sure if that's good enough for seating.

It's really interesting how you're all leaning toward the peninsula...that's where my head is at too because of the kitchen size, but I shared the plans at our family gathering today, and everyone thought the island was terrific.

I hope I answered all your questions? Please send me your comments. I really appreciate them!

Why we think the peninsula is better and your family likes the idea of the island - we look at functionality first while they are looking at the prettiness (or romance) of an island in a kitchen.

What made me suggest a sink in the peninsula (I was thinking of the corner where your lazy is but it may fit in the peninsula proper) is because you already have your DR there and it looks like your peninsula is deeper than the standard 24" counter depth so I think you have room. However, just a suggestion.

blfenton, that's exactly what my family is looking at. Islands with seating are lovely in magazines, etc. But if I am going to spend all that money, it better be a good working kitchen, and I worry about that.
Reading about all the different prep zones that a kitchen has, I realized that I basically only work in the area between the sink and the range. I do it all there...prepping, cooking, cleaning, baking. I use the peninsula for placing stuff on it, putting cook books there, etc. So, I stick myself into a pretty small corner. It could be because I currently have cabinets that hang over the peninsula so that interferes with the space somehow.
I will look into moving the sink and how others like it and the whole splashing issue. Thank you for the suggestion.

So, I guess the functionality of the kitchen would be affected by an island because the kitchen is too narrow correct?

blfenton- I checked out people's opinions about moving the sink into a corner, and most people that have that, seem to hate it. The reasons are varied, but most feel they are locked in when they open the DW, or it's only good for 1 cook or 1 person at the sink, and it's hard to clean behind the sink.
I will talk to the KD about the sink in the peninsula proper though, and see is I have enough depth to avoid the splashing and dripping worries that I have. I can't seem to find any opinions from people that have them and how they work for them.

From what I've read so far, both plans strike me as...starters. I also definitely like the U better, but that's not saying much yet.

I'm making some assumptions here that may not be at all valid in your case. But, you're having trouble designing a kitchen you really like into that space. You have a lovely room for dining that you almost never use. Is the front living room what you think of when you look forward to getting home or also gathering dust?

Yes, center-hall colonials are tricky, but is the way your first floor serving you all you could want? If you could somehow sell seldom-used square footage for $50,000 and the promise of at least hundreds saved each year in expenses, would you? And be happy to live in the downstairs space still left?

With this sort of scenario in mind, to me the first plan makes expensive changes with absolutely no promise of genuinely expanding living into the space available. Enlargement of the kitchen should shift at least one daily meal into the space currently occupied by the dining table, but would it? Or would it just perch you guys on stools and damage the DRM's elegant ambiance? I know the bay is new, but it also looks like a former kitchen and breakfast room that underwent an unfinished transformation--that outside wall an obvious remnant of its previous life. (If you did this, how about doors to a nice brick or stone patio outside instead?)

The second plan is a simple spiffing up of the parts of your house that get heavy living, so I agree it's a good choice if you like the way you live in the rest your house just fine as is. Small kitchens are greatly underrated and can be truly excellent, so once you work out the details to get what you want--excellent. I'm also guessing the coziness of your kitchen dining area is one of its big assets, so that part doesn't need to be larger.

If this were my remodel, though, and if the front rooms were mostly unused, I'd be not be happy with the allocation of my space. People do find ways to make good use of center-halls without ruining their character. Those that do tend to sell very well in most markets. After all, a lot of people who like their look won't buy them because of their space-use issues.

For my own list of wants, I like halls for themselves and would definitely want the center hall as a major feature--with nice views in both directions. I would not want a large kitchen, but I'd want a bit larger one laid out just the way I like it. I'd like two places to dine with different moods, but only if they were both used a lot. One would be decorated nicely enough for seating guests to dinner, but so formally that it repelled us most of the time. (We have this, BTW.) I'd want a living area that multifunctioned for daily living and allowed guests to separate--in actual chairs!--into different conversation groups. If it had to be in 2 different rooms, I'd want good circulation and communication between them. I'd want an inviting, comfy area I could go read while my retired DH watches drag races, and vice versa--he splits while I watch Design Star, (one of those embarrassing things I wouldn't normally admit to). I'd like one living space to be sunny, with doors to the garden, and I'd like another to be just right for snuggling up inside when it was horrible out.

All this in a center-hall with those great corner rooms and a kitchen remodel opening up possibilities, and I'd start by erasing their labels.

Rosie- Wow! You've really given me a lot to think about here. Where do I start? Your comments are fantastic and really have me thinking.
The formal livingroom is actually one of my favorite rooms in the house. It is that room that is sunny and I go to for reading, getting away from the TV, having a cup of coffee. It is a happy room. It runs the width of the house and has huge picture windows on both ends. It is a room that invites conversation because it is cheery and tranquil, away from the TV but also away from the noise of the kitchen. We love it, and use it fairly frequently.
The DR...that is another story. I'm not thrilled with it. Mostly because it's kind of small also. There is a sense for me of everyone being tied to their chairs. Although the entrance to the room from the hallway is an open double-door entry, and there is a door from the kitchen, it feels claustrophobic. It gets hot with guests and lights on. We really don't use it much and sometimes that table ends up being a landing spot for 'stuff'. I hear what you're saying about the usage though.
You hit the nail on the head with your comment about the 1st plan. I really don't gain anything from the DR and it will make it more expensive to put an island in for not gaining anything and losing my table.
The bay window....I had an argument with DH over that window. When we replaced it, I told him let's just put in a flat front, decent window because we may want to open to the patio when we are ready to renovate the kitchen. We have to go through the sunroom and around it to get to the patio now. DH didn't want to hear it. He felt the bay window made the kitchen look bigger. That's how we got here. Maybe I should just bite the bullet, lose the (gulp) $3500 for the window and put the door in.
Basically, my kitchen functions fairly well but it feels tight and is short on storage and counter space. I don't want to lose my kitchen table. I wouldn't mind as much I suppose if the DR really was more inviting and convenient. Eating at an island and dreading to eat in the DR is definitely a problem.
Thinking about the things you wrote, maybe what I need is an architect instead of just my KD! Now I just want to open everything up to everything else and breathe! But alas...I am constrained by a budget too.

A couple of thoughts...would you consider removing the entire wall b/w the kitchen & DR and expanding the DR into the kitchen?

I was thinking that if you were willing to change the bay window to a window that's 36" off the floor (if it isn't already), you could move the kitchen proper to where your kitchen table is now.

Then, if you took the wall down b/w the DR and kitchen, you could expand your DR into the kitchen somewhat.

Does the patio go as far as the smaller kitchen window? If so, you could open that up and add a door to the patio there.

Having two eating areas - kitchen table + formal DR is fine if you have the space for both and for them both to be comfortable, but if not, then consider just a DR. Make it a little less formal DR/a little more formal daily eating space. You end up using all the rooms in the home. We did just that. Our kitchen table space was small and when our children reached their pre-teen years we outgrew it. So, when we remodeled, we claimed the table space for the kitchen by replacing our bay window that was 22" off the floor with one that's 36" off the floor and putting counters there. We then took down the wall b/w the kitchen and DR, put a peninsula b/w them and now use our DR for all our meals rather than having the DR rarely used (major holidays only) and ending up a dumping ground for mail, etc.

Where is the sunroom?

Budget...talk to someone about how much it would cost to do some of your ideas. Until you know how much something will cost, don't assume it's too expensive. It might be, but look into it first. In addition, there are other things you can do to save money. For example, you can save quite a bit on cabinets if you get IKEA cabinets (is there an IKEA near you?) If you don't like the doors, you could either order doors from a place like Scherrs or, if it isn't in the budget after the other changes, go with their doors for now and order replacement doors later.

...

Here are two ideas...
(Note: Measurements are approximate since I could not read the turquoise text.)

Layout #1 with an island:

Layout #1 zone map:

...

Layout #2 with a peninsula and opening up the DR completely (cooler and an airier feel):

Layout #2 zone map:

Here is a link that might be useful: Rev-A-Shelf Base Filler Pullouts

Athen
I am going against the majority but have a couple questions I really wanted a peninsula in our kitchen remodel ang called it my "island" since kitchen was just a bit narrow for an island. I think it boxes in your kitchen and the window room just is another room.

My DM is in surgery so might not be back on right away.

What is at the lower end of the kitchen?

My thoughts are to use a smaller island without seating. Move one functionality to the island. (cooking or cleanup) to get a longer counter run.

Then put bench seating in the bay window room - our GC put our bench under the window and the back will have a piano hinge on it so we can fold it down over the bottom cushion to have full window view.

This is our incomplete bench before back and cushions. The pillows are leftover cushions.

Other ideas to follow when back home.

I wish I had found GW before I started the project but had a good KD that wasn't afraid to express her opinion.

She did a plan with a peninsula at my request and then asked if she could show me her ideas. We tweaked together and she didn't even go ballistic with mid reno ideas including a full height pull out pantry(GW love or hate but perfect for our sports foods and snacks) and adding a pocket door to our real pantry.

Search for a2gemini for many pictures.

If you think any potential I can play with hand drawn ideas.

Lots of fun and decisions downstream. Just when you think you made every possible decision GC will want another choice.

:-)

Normal iPad cryptic and completion matching errors

buehl - thank you for the layouts. After reading people's comments and listening to my own voice in my head, I really do want to investigate opening up the entire kitchen to the DR. If I do that, I won't feel as badly about getting rid of the bay window, because the DR has a HUGE one. I could replace the smaller bay window with a door. Not sure if I can put the door over by the other window because I believe the walk-out basement door is right beneath it. Our 1st level is slightly elevated. We enter the house after 5 steps or so. But the patio extends the entire width of the main house. Right below the kitchen is the family room and off to the left is the entrance to the sunroom. It is almost an extension of the family room.
a2gemini - I have been thinking about the whole bench idea also. The current bay window however, doesn't really afford for more than 1 maybe 2 people, so it might need some building out, but I have thought about it.

I am going to be meeting with my KD next Friday. I send him all the wonderul information that I like from GW and I will send him all your wonderful opinions. I think we have to go back to the drawing board. I have reached out to an architect friend to see his opinion also. But I am worried about budget. I hired the KD and already gave him my hiring deposit, so IKEA or anything else is out of the question at this point.

I just want to say how amazing it is that all of you have taken the time to help me with this. I wrote my inquiry on a whim and wow! Thank you so much. I don't know what I will do, but you've all given me so much to think about and investigate. Keep them coming!!

a2gemini- I hope all goes well today with the surgery!

Athenab, budget is hard, but it does really sound as if you're heading in the right direction. After your description of how your DRM makes you feel ("There is a sense for me of everyone being tied to their chairs." I've had that feeling before--it meant I wanted to leave.), it seems as if any remodel that did not include fixing that space in at least the planning stage would be a mistake. I love your description of your living room as a "happy room," which is as good a standard as anyone's ever articulated here to shoot for.

rosie - I'm reading your post from my 'happy room' right now as I sip my afternoon coffee :)