brianadarnell -> We are good with ideas that include the sink either in the island or on the wall. As I mentioned putting the sink in the island was our original plan but a lot of feedback we have received here has made us reconsider. If the sink is going to go on a wall there will NOT be a window, so you don't need to worry about that. No need for a beverage cooler or anything like that. All nice things to have I'm sure, but we are working within a limited budget as we are building a new house and are not wealthy people. This will be a very modest kitchen compared to most that are displayed here in the forum. The 10'8" does include the pantry door...it is 8' from the pantry entrance to the exterior wall, as currently drawn. Again, the pantry door can be moved, but as long as we are keeping a walk-in pantry we need a door somewhere along that wall. davidro1 -> I definitely know what you are talking about although haven't paid particular attention to any pictures they may have depicted that. I would say the main reason we haven't considered doing that is that we felt all that extra cabinetry would cost us too much. The walk-in is basically an open room with shelving and does lend itself to possibly storing some other items. The one thing I don't like about it, is the wasted area you need to actuall walk around in there. The other reason for the walk-in is because we wanted our small freezer upstairs. desertsteph -> Sounds similar to my most recent layout I drew up. Have a look at my other layout request thread and let me know if that is what you are talking about. I don't want to post my layout in this thread again as I might influence people's ideas. As for the OTR micro, I think it will work for us for now. We have one very young son (15 months) so it will be quite some time before he needs to use a microwave and we'll worry about that then. My wife and I will have no issue accessing it. I guess to a degree we cheaped out as we weren't ready to buy a fancy S/S hood and needed a microwave anyway. A remodel in 5-10 years is not out of the question for this kitchen, but at this time we are trying to keep costs low while still trying to get something functional and good looking.

@cpaartist - I am 100% sure that the porch was originally an outdoor porch - I opened up part of the wall in the laundry room and found the original wood siding and openings where windows originally were in the bedroom. Sadly they did a very poor job enclosing it. The back bedrooms were originally some kind of mechanical workshop - I haven't figured out exactly what type yet. There is a large barn door that runs along the exterior wall in the hall - they enclosed the wall and left a single door in behind the exterior barn door - I would like to restore that and have it open to a patio. There are a couple of houses in the neighborhood that are very similar to mine. I believe that the part of the living room with the fireplace was a later addition as well - the other houses don't have that. I love old houses with all their quirks and mysteries!

Thoughts on this drawing: - Is that half-bath 4 1/2 x 4 1/2? If so, it's too small. I strongly suggest you drop a tape measure in your purse, and every time you use a bathroom -- at the dentist's office, in your friend's house, where ever -- measure it. Develop a sense of "just right". I promise you, it won't be 4 1/2 x 4 1/2. Consider grandma using this space with a walker. If you go with a pedestal sink, it'll be a space-saver (and you don't need to store much in a half bath), but it'll still be too small. - Still on the half-bath ... go with an in-swing here. This door, as shown, can block your hall traffic. - While we're talking about doors, the pantry door will stay open most of the time, so I suggest a pocket door here ... if you're able to "park it" in the wall by the fridge. Why? Same reason as the half-bath: as shown, it's a traffic blocker, and with only a 3' walkway into the pantry, you don't really have room to comfortably "park the door" in that pantry entry. - I'd like to see a pass-through door between the pantry and the kitchen. Imagine how convenient it'd be to walk into the pantry, pick out your cans and "set them through" to the kitchen countertop rather than carrying them. - Beware of placing the freezer against a wall. Be sure you'll be able to open the door all the way. - Will you have a cabinet near the fridge in which you can store glassware? You know you want these things close together. - You have 4' between your island and your cabinet runs. I know this is what most people consider "just right", but I find it a little wide (then, again, I am small). Go down to Lowes with the aforementioned tape measure, and you'll see that most of their stuff is 3 1/2' apart. Decide for yourself whether you find this comfortable. - What's the cabinet between the sink and the dishwasher? - Your "serious cooking zone" seems to be angled towards the crook of the "L" ... as such, I'd be tempted to bump the dishwasher to the other side of the sink ... or to flip-flop the dishwasher and the sink. This would give you more storage /drawers in the spot where you'll cook most. - In a dream kitchen, in a kitchen this big, I'd want a bigger sink. Seriously, it's the most used appliance. Go big. - Where's your microwave? coffee pot? trash can? - I see you have a second reach-in pantry. Unless you have some very unusual needs, I don't see the point in BOTH large pantries. - I'd extend the mudroom wall so it "touches" the refrigerator space. This would hide the exterior door, and it would place the half bath and pantry door IN the mudroom. Can you swap the mudroom and the pantry? A mudroom would benefit from windows - and maybe you could even put a door to the back yard in there. Of course without seeing the rest of the plan, I have no idea if that would make sense. Yes! Mudroom on the corner would be nicer ... and windows in a pantry are a negative (light is the enemy of food storage). I spend A LOT of time in the kitchen ... So this is going to be a huge upgrade to me in terms of space. Since I do spend so much time there, I’d love to bring some beauty to the space too....namely the windows. Red flags ... a bigger kitchen is not automatically a better kitchen. What you want is an efficient, well-designed space. Who says this? A person with a very large but poorly laid-out kitchen. No one ever says, "This room has too much natural light." Love big windows in a kitchen. As far as appliances, I’ve never cooked with gas ... but I was leaning towards an induction range, 30 inches. I have only limited experience with gas, but I'm not overly impressed. I would also consider a cooktop with separate double wall ovens (we host large family dinners so an extra oven would be appreciated). I also considered a regular range with a separate wall oven on the wall with the reach-in-pantry. Just don’t know if that would look weird. I’ve never considered two dishwashers but I don’t hate the idea. Before you start adding in extra this and oversized that, consider that all these extra appliances drive up your space requirements ... especially since you've already said you want the large windows /thus will be giving up some upper cabinets. How often will these things really be used? Will they "earn their keep"? I doubt it. but maybe a 5 ft window is still good enough? A 5' window is nice, but it isn't going to give you the sweeping views /light that I think you were pining for earlier. Are all meals at the island? No love for your island seating. Take the family down to Waffle House for a meal and sit at the bar. Did you interact much? Did you enjoy this seating pattern? An island is a great place to sit while you work, and it's a great place for a child to sit ... but it's NOT a great place for family meals. I like this pantry /half bath layout better than the OP's original. I'd put a pegboard for storing cast iron pans and utensils on that blank pantry wall.

Ah. So there's approximately 18" more than your drawing suggests, I think. It's workable, for a 1 cook kitchen. You will be standing right in the corner at the range, so not comfy to have another person at the sink. Personally, I would rather have the fridge right of the sink & DW, or on the "bottom" wall where you have a narrow pantry or countertop. I'd prefer to have extra steps in fetching produce or putting dishes away, in order to have extra room in my prep zone. But design is full of tradeoffs, and we all have different priorities. Think about how you want to use the kitchen as a family, as your children grow older, to get a clear picture of which tradeoffs work best for you.