Aloha- Maybe you should post your plan, so people can see your layout. Personally, I like a landing space, close to the fridge. I need a place to set things down, as I'm taking them out of the fridge and I don't like to wander around with the milk, searching for my bowl of cereal (LOL) so how convenient is your fridge to a landing area? Are you using the island? Where will bowls and glasses be? Would the pantries work better in a different location? Just some things to think about...

Lavender, the lopsided way is functionally perfect with the landing space on the island directly across from the frig. Bowls and glass on the other side of island (by DW).

I don't think the problem is so much the pantry location as much as the refrigerator.

Ever since you commented about the "bling" missing in the kitchen, I've been trying to put accessories in etc because you're right, my kitchen had become so streamlined there was no "sizzle". I'm not a stainless steel fan (fingerprints & dents) but I may have to make the frig SS to give the kitchen some "fun". One (of many) reason we are remodeling now is because we HATE the refrigerator being the "centerpiece" of the entire kitchen. I guess we don't have to go to the opposite side of the pendulum and hide it away.

Well, stainless steel would jazz things up, if you go with wood or black cabinets. Are you still thinking about using white cabinets? If it's a bright white, a white fridge would almost blend in.

I think your 'wow' area is where you have the cooktop and vent/hood...mainly because it's between your two windows and that's such a focal point, of the entire room. The backsplash is going to be a way to make everything 'pop' too.

Do you have any idea what you want to use for backsplash and countertops, yet? Sometimes, if you know you LOVE a particular granite or glass tile, then the other choices flow easily from that one decision. Like picking a fabric for a room...that gives you wall color, rug ideas, etc. A really wonderful backsplash tile might do the same thing. Just an idea :)

Aloha- Here's a link to a white kitchen with turquoise backsplash. Not exactly modern...but if you changed out the stools to chrome or white (maybe even turquoise?) make the island one level and added some cool (stainless?) hardware...if would be beautiful.

You could have stainless appliances...or just the range and hood, with fridge and dishwasher white. That would really make the range and backsplash be your 'wow' features. Another 'pop' with the pendants over the island and some great stools...I think this would be amazing. What do you think? Anything you like color wise, or looking more at wood cabinets?

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to turquoise and white kitchen

I have a landing area next to the frig and across the aisle from the frig on the island. I don't know about other people with the similar layout, but I never use the landing area next to the frig. I always end up using the landing area on the island.

Regarding bowls and plates near the frig: I have never had plates/bowls near the frig. I have always have had them near the table for table setting AND near the DW for putting them away. That happens to be the same spot in my kitchen because I made sure of that. This is a bit of walk from the frig. But I find that you can't have everything at a perfect location for ALL occassions. So you find a spot that works for 90% of the time.

I have been mulling over your house. What I see as the biggest detriment/jewel/gift/impediment because they are so prominent in your house is the angles: you have the octagonal windows and angled hallways. You have to give homage to these whether you like these or not. This is a part of your house that you cannot hide nor tear out without costing a huge amount of money. I think you can't hide these so have to really play them up, ie bay windows with window seats and banquette for example. I think you need to start from the part of the house that is permanent before you settle on details of things that are easy to fix.

Another thing that my gut feeling tells me is that your house will be much safer with transitional approach rather than a very modern decorating approach. You can still do a transitional kitchen that is sparse and minimal. The details have to give more of a nod to the elements of the house that you cannot fix. For example, your current house probably will look wonderful with crown molding in the kitchen. My guess is that the window moulding details are slightly on the traditional side rather than a simple flat squared molding or no molding of a modern house. Unless you are willing to go and redo all the trim and doors on the entire house, the open kitchen has to go with the door, window and trim of the existing house. If you have raised panel doors and mullioned windows in the house, it will be safer to put in a transitional kitchen because it creates cohesion. Even if you do the slab door cabs, I suggest that you create slightly traditional plan where the cabinets go to the ceiling with oversized crown mouling that matches the rest of the house. Obviously, the transitional approach is very common in America. The reason this is common is because most stock houses in America are built with traditional architectural elements: raised panel doors, mullioned windows, decorative trim etc.

Another huge consideration is the furniture you already own in the open concept kitchen. All of these things have to feel as if they all belong together. If you have the budget to go and buy all new furniture, this is not an issue. Otherwise, it is an important consideration. I had to budget for furniture when I did my kitchen because what I had did not work with my new kitchen. I actually had delayed the purchase of "good" furniture until I could do my kitchen...

Don't completely knock transitional until you have at least considered it.

If you have already considered these things I mentioned and know all this, please accept my apology for butting in.

Here are couple links to modern houses (with a nod to some transitional elements) I recently saw and I will comment what work for me and what does not..

http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/621-33rd-Ave-E-98112/home/139685

This house used alot of warm wood so the house does not project the coldness of a typical modern house. There are also elements of traditional approach that makes it easier on the eye, ie shake siding. There are Asian wood furniture that works really well with the wood windows and cabinets.

http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/149-34th-Ave-E-98112/home/141096

This was a stunningly gorgeous house with a terrible access. About 20 steps up. Everything in there was so well coordinated. I put it in there for you to see that Shaker cabinets can look terrific in a modern house. The kitchen looks way better than the picture. They have a lime stone counter.

http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3108-S-Dearborn-St-98144/home/141779

This house did NOT work for me. Especially the kitchen. At this price point, the SS frig screamed out; we ran out of money. The legs on the island was a huge detractor and ugly. The pottery barn style large dining table and chairs were not in keeping with the rest of the house nor with the other furniture in the house. If they wanted to go rustic, they needed to rustic with something like slab of fallen wood made into a table coupled with more streamed-lined chairs. The dining chairs were really awful looking in that room.

Aloha, I don't remember your layout, but kaismom's sites mean I have to come back later on. Right now my thought is simply hope this fridge wall is out of most sight lines because fridges are almost always aesthetic negatives. (Although the price of a top-end trendy one occasionally manages to add some wow, if not real bling.)

This is all a way of saying that the fridge wall really, really is not where you want bling. Let it be a background that carries out your style quietly and attractively and keep the spotlight on the stars.

As for lopsided, if you walk an extra 2 steps to the fridge would it be so much? If yes, would going lopsided be something that'd bother you forever, or dwindle to almost nothing once you actually see and fall in love with your new kitchen? Your 2 choices are both winners, just slightly imperfect, so...toss a coin maybe and find out which you hope will come up? :)

Just thinking out loud here, so this may be off base, but what if instead of pull-out pantries, you had a four foot pantry with double doors? The two doors could coordinate with the rest of your cabinets, to de-emphasize the entire area, as Rosie suggests. OR, the doors could be designed to give visual weight to the doors to draw the eye away from the refrigerator?

LavenderLass - We are still on track to get black cabinets (I love white too but for the overall area, black is definately the way to go). We are getting Artic White corian so pretty much anything will go so I haven't put any thought into backsplashes - will these decisions ever end :) The picture was VERY helpful. I was thinking of hardy having a backsplash except for behind the stove but seeing your picture I'm thinking of extending it across the stove wall. Though there is hardly any backsplash area, a little goes a long way! I love turguise!

Kaismom - our landing area will be directly across if we put the frig to one side. It will be toward one end of the island if we center it (decent but not quite as good). My husband calls it the 80/20 rule for making decisions in placement convenience. It was interesting what you hearing what you thought some of the elements were in the house. We all get a picture of what someone will look like on the phone and so often it is so different IRL. I can understand where you might think what you did because there are definate traditional elements but the majority are more contemporary so we do have more options then many houses. I understand what you mean by staying true to the house because the more traditional things that we currently have stand out because they don't quite blend as well. I'm not going ultra modern. The first house reminded me most of our interior.

Rosie - as my DH and I were reading your answer together we both burst out laughing! His answer to these details is so often "let's flip a coin". Though I'm not a SS fan, it does add a sparkle to a room. I've thought of (and 3D'd the kitchen with a black refrigerator within the black cabinets and indeed it hides it. The problem though becomes 7' of totally black. When I put in SS it breaks the wall up and keeps the focus on the range wall. Sounds like this isn't quite fixable and we may just have to go with slightly less then perfect - but I had to ask before settling.

Kashmi, why would you want doors instead of pull-outs? The look would still be virtually the same.

I ended up measuring the distance from the frig to the cooktop and it would be a good 11' if I center the frig. Nine feet is pushing the limit but 11' is out of the question.

So now I know that the extra 2 feet is too much. Anyone have ideas of balancing the look???

After looking at your layout again, I also do like that this will require your fridge be kept pulled back into the "official" kitchen area. Really, it'll be nice.

It does sound like your best direction has to be a fridge in the same color as the cabinets, probably giving you that 7' stretch of black you're wondering about. A nice thing is that black steps back, and, let's face it, fridge and pantry doors aren't where you want attention to go anyway. As an alternative to black, have you considered doing that wall quietly and undramatically in your "wall" color or, more practically, your wall in a fridge-and-cabinet color?

What will be above them, BTW? Does this go to the ceiling or is there wall space above for some minor piece the eye might tend to skip to, missing the fridge position entirely?

Your kitchen's looking very good, BTW.

We have 3 tall cabs in a row, but one has the oven in it with an open cubby area above. It looks fine to have 2 30" wide tall cabs next to each other and your cabs will be narrower. Our oven cab is 24, so we end up with a 7 foot span. It looks just fine. It is not a focal point.
I'd so much rather go for function for your layout. I don't think the form will suffer from it either. I think the one downside of GW is we may overthink things. No one will be put off by a row of cabs and a fridge.

Roseie, thanks for the reassurance. I've very concerned that 7' of black is just too much. We plan on using large brushed nickel handles, so that will help in bring some "jewelry" to the cabinets. I was using black on the wall around the laundry door which would place the frig more in the "middle" of that wall. I've heard to try not to match the black so much as complement it. I was even thinking of using a wallpaper. I haven't looked at wallpaper for quite awhile, but I'm really trying to think outside the box. Above the cabinets we'll have about 20" of empty space. I've seen shelves with beautiful items accented there. That should help the blackness from a distance. It's when you're up close that it may still seem dark.

Dianalo. The beauty and curse of GW is that you think about the kitchen but agreed sometimes too much. I just don't want to be the one who is "put off" by the non symmetry of the pantry/frig wall.

I was so excited what we got done with the layout of the kitchen, but there is so much to decide even after that. I console myself with the fact that I'm lucky to even have the finacial ability to have a "new" kitchen. There are soooo many options and so often one isn't glaringly better. I'm very analytical so I reason that there must be a best decision for every aspect.