When we rebuilt our deck we took out the built-in benches, because they weren't comfortable and nobody used them except an occasional visiting child. It also gives us more flexibility to rearrange the furniture. However, the VERY talented craftsman who did our rebuild showed us a built-in deck bench he had made at his own home. He took a chair that both he and his wife found to be comfortable and followed its dimensions. I believe he made a template of the back of the chair so the height and angle would be the same, and then re-created it on his built-in. They were very happy with it.

Anna_chosak - "He is responsible for the unfitted kitchen look since he designed the first one for Smallbone of Devizes years ago." I'm not surprised, I love the look of unfitted kitchens (dh wouldn't let me have one, sigh) and I also really like Smallbone of Devizes, they showcase on their website a round walnut island I am considering emulating in my kitchen. However, I'm leaning back towards a rounded triangular island now that I've seen a few of Johnny Grey's. "I love ... the fact that his kitchens look so different from anything else that's out there." "eminently welcoming" EXACTLY. That is exactly what I like most about the kitchens, they are so different and so welcoming - they are not the kitchens I'm seeing in the kitchen and home magazines I'm buying, and that is refreshing and exciting. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the beauties showcased in these magazines, but the individuality and uniqueness interests me more perhaps? I could easily stand daily life in that colourful Bath kitchen with the triangular island. But I agree, some of the kitchens I would not be comfortable in and there were elements in a few I don't actually like, but as Anna said, I think they were clearly designed for a particular lifestyle/person and no doubt suit that lifestyle well. breezygirl - you're right, a few of the pictures don't appear to be the most functional layout. But there may have been circumstances or client demands/needs that we can't be aware of. Could some of them be 'sets' I wonder, designed for looks and not function? And it looks like the US kitchens generally have more expansive spans of counter, a North American cultural preference perhaps? I guess I really am officially TKO now, I'm going to try to find his books tomorrow, I'm intrigued enough to want to read and learn more from this man! Thanks everyone for the thoughtful comments and observations. This is such fun.

sayde, that's an interesting thought about deepening and extending a few of the shelves on the back wall. I had also considered a small wall hung cabinet similar to my spice cabinet beside my stove. rhome, no the shelves wouldn't protrude into the doorway. It's hard to tell from the photos I posted, but 5 inch shelves would just be flush with the left side of the door opening. I might think about some kind of upward lip on the shallow shelves to ensure things don't fall off. And yes, the shallow shelves would make the back shelves 29" (the 5" would still be there, it would just be blind). The doorway into the pantry is 30" wide, and the buffet on the right is shallower than the doorway by 10", so with my 5" shelves on the left, I'd still have 40" of width in which to navigate. That sounds like plenty to me, but I guess I don't know until I see it. The back shelves are 12" deep now. They work great for some things like the toaster oven and boxes of cereal, but I'm not crazy about how they work for canned goods when I only have one or two of something. If I have a dozen cans of the same thing, they're great because I know that all the cans front to back are the same thing. I keep wishing for more shelf frontage. I keep all the things I use frequently on the shelves I can reach easily, and extra inventory or ingredients I use less on the high shelves. The top shelf I've reserved for my vintage enameled fish poacher. Not my most practical purchase ever, but I like seeing it there.

To answer questions, yes we gutted and opened up this home. We want our family room just inside the front door as it functions well for watching children playing outside. (Rather than a formal living room, but we want to create a NICE space) The dining room has the fireplace and is open to the kitchen, which has an amazing 10’ island with a bar height side with 4 seats and then a counter height end for food prep. We’re loving the kitchen tho still waiting on light fixtures and backsplash. The flow is working well for us but the furniture placement and how to highlight the fireplace and it’s area is the challenge! Thank you BTW we DO have another room that would serve as the formal dining room but we don’t have that need at this time and are using it as a lovely home/mom office and playroom, so toys stay in there and not all over the house.