OK...Lots to address, so diving right in:

What is through the doorway to the left of the espresso area?

For appearance, I would want to widen the upper cabinet unit to the left of the range so there was approx equal blank space between it and the hood as there is between the hood and the window. (Also want a dbl door above the micro, because the single is too wide.) The cabinet to the right of the window bothers me, because everything else on that wall has lots of space and it's crowded right up to the window frame. I usually like some blank wall between a cabinet and the window frame. You don't have that on the sink wall either, but it works, since both sides are that way.

If you would rather have the island at 4 ft, why not give more space between it and the range, rather than having a space between it and the dining room doorway? I wouldn't want a space that no one could fit through. It'd look like a mistake and probably be a pain. I'm usually for having the island close to the range, but without a prep sink in the island, the cook's likely prep space is to the right of the stove, leaving the island free for other helpers, so having a larger aisle is OK...That, and because you have 2 ovens and a freezer opening into it, makes a wider aisle preferable.

Glass doors are pretty, but not something I want to worry about cleaning all the time. So that is something you have to consider for yourself.

Is the pullout by the sink a trash pullout, and the 9"er in the island for baking trays? If so, I only see one other cabinet that has a pullout where there could be drawers (in the island). That seems reasonable if you want the flexibility. I have a few cabinets that are not drawers and I wish they'd been drawers...But I also have 2 that work fine as adjustable shelves, and wouldn't be any better (or worse) as drawers.

If you already have a counter height window, and are adding another, I don't know why you wouldn't want to make them both counter height. Have you see Mamadadapaige's or Erikanh's counter height windows? If you can, I highly recommend doing as they did and bumping your window behind the sink out about 6 inches (done with framing the window). Theirs look SO wonderful and I bet that they aren't covered with splashes from the sink like mine, and they have room for some pots with herbs or something, too.

I like it...it's a simple design that follows the normal workflow of prep/cook/cleanup. Do you know where you plan to put your dishes? Drawers? the few uppers you have?

One thing, though, the DW will be in the way b/w the refrigerator & the rest of the kitchen when open. Yes, you have approx a 44" aisle, but the door is somewhere around 30" tall....only leaving about 14" of aisle to get around it.

Your questions:

• Workflow: Workflow is generally:

  Groceries --> Pantry/Refrigerator --> Prep/Sink --> Cooking/Range/MW --> Serving (island/DR) --> Cleanup/Sink/DW

  The island is convenient to both cooking & prepping. It would be nice to have a prep sink in an island that big to increase its usefulness, but not absolutely necessary. Keep in mind, though, that your prep work will most likely occur on the perimeter rather than the island b/c that's where the water is (for cleaning/rinsing, etc.) Your kitchen is certainly big enough and the layout can support a prep sink.

  The more I think about it, the more I think a prep sink in the island across from the range would be a good idea...

Traffic: DR/Kitchen traffic is OK. The refrigerator is on the periphery near the DR so it can be used from both the kitchen & DR w/o kitchen workers and snackers getting in each others way.

But, where are the rest of the rooms? FR/LR? BRs? Garage/family entrance? Where will groceries be coming into the kitchen? Without more information, I can't say for certain traffic will/will not be an problem.
Symmetry: I think I will defer to others for this!
Width of island @ 4'9": How long are your arms? It might be an issue wiping the island off. If you can reach at least half-way across, then I would probably leave it so you have a nice big workspace. It'll be great for baking, homework, craft/school/science projects, gift wrapping, etc. If you keep the island at 4'9", what do you plan to do in the middle? You might consider tray/cutting board storage in that 9" or so.
Refrigerator: You have your refrigerator labeled as "integrated"...does that mean you won't need filler b/w the wall & the refrigerator to fully open the door? I'm doubtful....but perhaps others will chime in that have a similar setup. If you change the 2'3" wall to
CBNT: How deep is it? I think you could either way. The advantage of the drywalled version is that you can go all the way to the ceiling w/shelves while with a cabinet you're limited to the cabinet's height. I think either would work.
Drawers vs Pullouts: Personally, I prefer all drawers. I have one cabinet that I thought would be better as a pullout and I'm not happy with it. I needed close to full-height under the top drawer and thought a pullout would be better. Now, I think a drawer/pullout like a trash pullout w/a "hidden" pullout shelf above would have been better. Our cabinet is 27" wide and has 2 doors...so I have to open both doors all the way before I...

Cross posted w/Rhome410! I'm glad she addressed those items I "skipped"!

BTW...I also wanted to suggest that your range hood be at least 6" wider than your range and 24" deep...much better capture area!

One thing about the range wall...the hood looks small for the area. Maybe if it's 6" wider it will look better...

It looks like Buehl and I had some of the same thoughts, but I missed saying what I meant to about the "CBNT." I like the framed-in look, from both directions. To get it a tad wider, how about flat-framing the sides (at least on the dining room end)? Wouldn't look as hefty when facing that cabinet, but you'd still have the same idea, and give the same nice border for the kitchen cabinet run.

As long as the fridge door can open into the doorway far enough without binding on the wall, you might not need a filler, or much of one. Something to double check, though.

buehl - a drawer pull out something like below? I think that's a divider in there, but it could be left out and a slide out drawer put in. I saw this one and thought I might want one of them so I popped it into my idea folder. might have found it on gw!

@lmfoodie, what software did you use to layout the kitchen? Did you do it yourself or did a designer/architect?

Oooooh, I was hoping you folks would chime in! So to answer (and ask more questions)... to the west of the espresso nook is the living room; it is in fact our "living" room, with large TV, etc. Here is a wider shot of the first floor:

The door north of the kitchen is the one we will use; it's just off of the driveway. We are on a corner property; friends tend to come to both front and side doors equally.

Re: the windows, a bump-out wouldn't even be necessary because the walls are a foot thick (wished these stone walls insulated better, though!)

I would *love* a prep sink but am reluctant to give up the counter and underneath storage space for it.

Re: the hood and space around it, we could make it wider but would have to shift the range west a little so that the hood didn't overlap the window. We could also go with an under-cabinet hood and fill in the space adjacent to the west of it with a cabinet-would that look too cluttered?

The 24" cabinet to the east of the freezer was intended for the trash. We had seen a four-triangular-bin arrangement for that space, enough to house plastic bags and recyclables. I also might make it narrower (18"?) and make the pullout on the other side of the freezer wider, ideally to have baskets for potatoes and such.

I'm, um, petite (vertically challenged?), so it might bug me to have to walk around the island to clean. I like your idea to make the aisles a tad wider and the island a tad narrower. Currently, there are 9"-wide pullouts on the east and west ends of the island which could be narrowed (by how much?)

Re: the fridge, I checked the Thermador (and Bosch) column at the store. The door can either open ~120 degrees, or one can stick a pin in the hinge to stop it at 90 degrees. The hinge opens upon itself, so that the only necessary extra clearance on the side is for the thickness of the panel, about .75 inch. We had planned to leave ~3 inches to play with around the fridge and DW, just in case.

Now forgive me, but I'm a newbie with regard to super/lazy susans. How does the geometry work, exactly? For the base cabinet, would I need to give up the pullout to the left of the sink to fit in the susan? Could you possibly superimpose it on my diagram?

The "CBNT" cabinet is only about 11" deep. If it's made too narrow or too short, it starts to lose its usefulness for storage. Could you please explain what "flat-framing" is?

Not to further complicate this thread, but could you give me ideas for a color scheme? The floors will remain a natural stain 3"-wide plank oak floor throughout LR, DR, and K. Our dining table is a medium-tone wood. I tend to prefer simpler styles and neutral colors.

The software for the diagram is AutoCAD, drawn by my architect. I had a copy of it but it expired--I haven't renewed it because it's pricey! Not hard to learn, though.

Thanks! ...

Color scheme is a very personal thing. Have you collected pictures from magazines of kitchens that "speak" to you? If so, look at them to see where you appear to be leaning toward.

Are you a white kitchen person? (I'm not, but a lot of people here are)

Do you prefer stained wood? (I do)

If you haven't already, I suggest you take the "Sweeby Test" (see the "Read Me" thread). It may help you clarify what you want.

I, for example, have cherry cabinets w/mandarin stain & coffee glaze, black countertops, & beige tile floor. (No BS yet.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

Buehl, what a great kitchen you have!

I think I gravitate toward white, but it would need to blend with what's in the dining room, i.e. a lot of wood.

Another question, if I may: I am concerned that my choices of fridge (Bosch or Thermador column) and freezer drawers (SZ) will back me into a corner if anything goes wrong with them. These are the only sizes that fit into my layout. Would it be wiser to move the fridge over to where the "CBNT" is so that I can have a more standard size 36" built-in (even if this layout is less desirable??)

Flat framing is turning the framing studs sideways so that the wall they form is only a couple of inches deep instead of 4". This would make the framed sections around the shelf narrower, leaving more room for wider, and possibly deeper, shelves. So when looking at the shelf, you'd see a couple inches of sheetrock on the left side, then shelves, then a couple inches of sheetrock on the right side. If framed normally, you'd have at least 4" of sheetrock framing the shelves.

If I'm not explaining well, I can try to make a drawing to show.

Thank you!

What sizes are your refrigerator & freezer? I know they're 24' deep, but how wide? "Standard" widths for refrigerators today are 36", 42", and 48". If your refrigerator is one of those, then I think you'll be OK. If it's less, then you may want to think about at least making the alcove for the refrigerator 36" wide even if it means adding some filler.

One thing to note, though, is that cabinet-depth refrigerators, if you include the doors & handles, are really close to 30" deep. The carcass/box is usually 24" - 25" deep or so, then there's the 1/2" to 1" in the back for airflow + outlet + anti-tip device. Next add the door(s) & handles for 4" - 5" and you're close to 30". FWIW, my CDE refrigerator is 31" deep. The carcass is 26" from the back wall.

I don't think a refrigerator would fit in the "CBNT" area and it would be very inconvenient for the kitchen and especially the DR. I'd stick to keeping it in the kitchen area on the periphery where it's accessible to the kitchen & DR. (Although it would be more accessible to the FR in the CBNT area...)

Did you actually mean to put the fridge in the CBNT area as oriented, or replace the CBNT, all together, and put the fridge on that end of the stove run? If it's the latter, I could see having it there, but then would want to put a prep sink in the island.

Got the framing idea; thanks.

The fridge as currently positioned is 24" deep by 30" wide. We really can't go to 36" wide in that space adjacent to the dining room, unless I move the DW and/or make the sink much smaller.

In this design's previous incarnation, the fridge was facing the island at the end of the north cabinet run--36" wide, built-in--which would have left about 16" between fridge and range. Sooooo, neither scenario is ideal.

Which way to go? I considered doing a standard box fridge in a deeper cabinet run, but you can't panel those. Since the kitchen will be largely visible from the front door and dining room, I really didn't want a big hunk of stainless steel or plastic looming. This is making me crazy!!