First off--I'd sure want more prep around the cooktop!

And if you ever want any help in the kitchen, you might have issues with the cooktop, sink, DW, and fridge so close together.

And downdrafts...well, you've probably been told...

fori - thanks for your input! I agree that the cooktop prep area could be more spacious...but we run up against the need to keep the aisles wide enough. I read somewhere that 12" is the minimum so I thought 15" would be ok...however...Do you have any specific suggestions about how to change the layout based on these concerns?

Anyone else out there? Sorry for my brief novel but I was hoping that the detail would be helpful. I'd really appreciate any other thoughts - Thanks!!

Where is the landing zone and prep zone for those wall ovens? The island?

Is the garbage just garbage, or garbage+recycling bins? If the latter, make it an 18" cabinet if you can. (Do you have a sink yet? Could you try a 33" sink base?)

Change the 15" 4 drawer + 12 inch corner-clip to a 24 inch 4 drawer for better use of storage space, but put a corner-clipped countertop above it. (You can't really fit much in those cabinets, and you have two of them!)

Your storage is not "zoned". Fridge is in one corner, pantry diagonally opposite. You'll be walking around that island a lot collecting ingredients.

Not sure of traffic patterns through the kitchen - could you label the doorways as to where they go and how heavily they are used?

No uppers?

where do people enter and leave the kitchen? What are most likely traffic patterns? How do groceries enter the kitchen? Where will they land? Do prepared foods, etc go to any patio or outdoor space sometimes?

It sounds like you have considered the issue of clearances/aisle widths, so I may not be asking any questions you have not already considered.... nevertheless, I would consider:

With only 36 inches between the sink and the cooktop, are you OK with not really having space for two cooks?

Will you really have enough clearance to open the undercounter fridge, if someone is sitting on that corner of the island?

Where is the landing space for hot items coming out of the oven?

Thanks for the responsiveness! Lots of good things to consider...here are my responses and follow up questions:

1. Ovens: the oven prep/landing is the island. The ovens are between a door and window, neither of which are moving (stone walls) so if the island is a really bad landing zone, it would mean moving the ovens...we have tried to think of how that could work but can't think of any other placement...is the island landing zone a "dealbreaker" in your minds?

2. Waste drawer: Will be trash only (no recycling) - 15" still make sense?

3. Clipped corners - Janet: thanks for the suggestion about switching to a 24" base with clipped counter - good idea! Do you think it would look odd/assymetrical to have clipped cabinet on one side of the opening and not the other?

4. Zones - I plan to use the 12" pullout next to the fridge as a "primary" pantry for most commonly used pantry items (the staples) and the 24" pantry in the opposite corner for bigger/less-used items. Would that address the cross-kitchen trips issue? Or am I just naive?! :)

5. Good suggestions on improving the drawing - I will put that on DH's "honeydew" list. In short, the door next to the ovens is the primary entrance (where groceries will be coming in). The opening adjacent to the 24" pantry leads into the Dining Room and the opening opposite the ovens leads to a hallway with closets/bookcases and the powder room.

7. Patio: no patio or outdoor eating space (yet). Down the road, hopefully a terrace accessed via the hallway mentioned above.

8. Sink/cooktop space: I'm not sure I 100% understand the question - do you mean that 36" is not enough space for 1 person to be at the sink and another to be at the cooktop? If so...hmmm...something to think/talk about with DH. Thanks!

9. Undercounter fridge clearance - GOOD QUESTION! Will have to investigate this one further. Thank you!

Keep 'em coming - I really appreciate the help!

I have 16" on each side of my island cooktop and I wish I had more (and that's one of the reasons why my cooktop is moving to the perimeter when we remodel). 12" is the minimum for one side only, not both sides. Perhaps what Kelly Morriseau, CKBD and blogger at Kitchen Sync has to say about the subject might help clarify things for you.

I also think you'll be unhappy with oven/landing area set-up. If people are sitting at the bar top and each side of the cooktop is filled with items destined for the cooktop (as mine often is), you'll have to walk across to the sink area with hot dishes. Rather inconvenient and possibly dangerous.

Here's an idea (feel free to throw it out): move the DO to the opposite wall, next to the lazy Susan cab. To stick with a 30" oven, you'll need to go to a BCC not a lazy Susan corner cab. This would allow you to make the island longer, giving you more space on each side of the cooktop. It also gives you convenient landing spots for items going in and coming out of the ovens (either perimeter counter or island). You could keep the T-shaped island or go with a curved bar top behind the cooktop area. If you do the latter, you might have room to have more pantry cabs on the lower wall, plus you could widen the aisle between sink wall and island (I'm guessing it's about 42" now but you have a butt to butt space, so wider would be good).

What's the distance between floor and window sill? Are all but the one where you show your sink too low to allow for counter in front of them? Seems like a lost opportunity, especially since you like to bake.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Reader Asks: What space do I need on each side of cooktop?

Missed that you only have 36" between sink and cooktop. Definitely not enough since that's also where you have the DW. We have 39" between island and DW and when it's open, there's only 14" to move past the open door.

Lisa - wow, thank you - all good points and I really appreciate the specific suggestion to move the DO. We originally considered that, then threw it out, but I'm thinking that we really need to revisit and see how it could work. The oven landing zone on the island is problematic - thanks for sharing your experience with that and the space next to the cooktop...that helps me better understand the issues with it.

The 36" between sink and cooktop is definitely an issue, too, I can see....

As for the windows - we do only have one that is high enough for a counter underneath, so that is where I have placed the sink. Old houses...gotta love 'em!

LOTS to think about...good thing the weekend is almost here!

You're welcome.

Can you put a lower counter below the one window on the left wall? If it's the right height for a baking counter, say 33", that would make a nice baking center for you. If that's possible, here's another idea.

Move the DO to the lower end of the left wall with a pantry cab between it and the wall. Then add a lower counter below the window, spanning the distance between DO cabs and cabs on upper side of the left wall. Then turn the island perpendicular to its present position and shift it over to give you enough aisle space between perimeter cabs and island. Rhome has only 36" between prep area and cooktop and it works for her but most prefer 42". This eliminates the butt to butt problem of sink, DW and cooktop.

On the backside of the island, go with a raised curved counter with seating facing the baking center. This eliminates the in-a-row seating that makes conversation harder and also provids a buffer between seaters and cooktop activity (a pop-up downdraft helps with that, too). These changes mean that fridge traffic no longer crosses the work zones so you can eliminate the undercabinet fridge. You can increase to a 36" fridge if you need more room. Oh, one thing just popped out at me. You wrote that you're doing standard depth fridge but your plan shows a fridge with CD dimensions. A standard depth fridge will stick out several inches more than you show. You could take the money you would have spent on a fridge and undercab fridge and get a CD fridge instead and gain more aisle space. I'm talking stand alone, not built-in.

If the window doesn't allow for a 33" or 34" counter, you could still put one in front of it, just do a "floating" counter. A GWer did such a thing for her sink in an old house. Wish I could remember who it was.... It was clever and allowed her to put counter where one wouldn't think counter could go. Until I remember who it is, here's my recollection of how it works. She has cabinets up to the window sill, then open space in front of the window between lower cabs and counter. You could leave this clear or put baskets there for storage. The unfitted look would be appropriate for your old home's age. Heck, if this look works for you, you can go with standard height counters and have a really nice long counter run, perfect for baking prep.

In answers to your questions --

1. Yes, a 15 inch pull-out is fine for one bin. They make 15 inch two bins as well, but the bins are smallish.

2. IMHO, a 12 inch pull-out is pretty small as a primary pantry. Have you played with these at a kitchen showroom?

Also, I like the suggestion of putting some counters below or in front of a window --> you could get a landing zone that way perhaps. In addition to marking your doors, mark the distance-from-floor for your windows. Mark those aisle widths as well - I missed that, too.

Another question- Where are you storing your dishes? I don't see a handy spot for plates and glasses near the dishwasher?

Lisa and Janet - thanks for the follow up.

I need to have DH clean up this picture...alas, Lisa, the opening that you thought was a window on the "left wall" is an opening/doorway, not a window...so no creative floating countertop solution there. Sorry for any confusion on that.

I will make sure that we clarify the openings/windows and marking the distance-from-floor on the windows, along with the aisle widths.

As for the dishes - the upper cabinets aren't marked on this drawing either, but they would go above the dishwasher.

Thanks again for all of the help, this is exactly what we need! I will go back to the drawing board with these suggestions/questions in mind and hopefully have another version for input next week!