I confirm that it makes way more sense to swap the frig and ovens. First, that will put all the cooking on one leg of the kitchen. Secondly, think about kitchen flow. You get your food, wash off veggies, load pots with water, etc; then go to cooking. If you kept the original layout, you going against the natural flow of a working kitchen. With the change, all food storage on one side, cooking on the other, and a natural flowing layout. One more thing, have him change all the lower cabinets (where you can) to drawers.

SWAP! As it is drawn now, you have to cross the cooking zone to get to the fridge as you'll be prepping in the space b/w sink and cooktop. You get a much better work flow going from where the food is stored in fridge and pantry on the left to the sink in the middle to cooktop on the right.

Side not, I much prefer 90 degree angled corners than the diagonals you have now. Those look dated to me and waste space.

For other specific feedback, you'd need to post a layout with measurements so we can see aisle width, etc.

I would also switch the sink and the DW.

Yes to Palimpsest's suggestion also.

Yes and no. It doesn't really work well either way. With the fridge where you have it, it's not near the sink for prep, and it's awkward access in general. Switch it, however, and you have a barrier island between the stove and the fridge.

I agree about getting rid of the diagonal corner cabinets. They give you a bit more storage, but they kind of prevent you from using a lot of the counter space.

Ditto and ditto.

I was actually thinking that you could get rid of the island entirely, solving the barrier island issue. It is a small island, in a small kitchen. There's adequate workspace for two cooks without it.

That said, I'm in the swap 'em camp. I could live with a barrier island between the fridge and stove but the fridge/sink thing is an issue for me.

Why is there a big ol wall between the oven cabinet and the rest of the cabinetry? Is this the 1950s? Just kidding.

Imagine what you do when you haul that 30 lb turkey out of the oven and forgot to get a trivet out. You really want to haul that steaming bird all the way around the island to plop it on the stove? Of course you don't--your husband does. :)

I think this plan can be improved upon and I think your architect can make it pretty but she doesn't cook much.

What are the clipped corners in the drawing? Are they real?

Why not just get a gorgeous range and put the fridge where the oven is now? Whatever is in the current fridge spot will be really isolated from the rest of the kitchen. Also completely agree with squaring off the corners! I fought for that in mine and lost that particular battle (you've got to lose some and DH was adamant). Put a kitchen desk where the fridge is now. Or go wild and ditch the island and run a penninsula from the space between the current cooktop and fridge.

yes. swap them. when you come home with groceries, you will want the refrig and the pantry to be near each other. otherwise, trips back and forth to unload.
kawh

My ideas:
Get a range instead of oven, use the space where the oven is currently on the drawing and build in access to the pantry. It looks like from the drawing that you have to go out of the kitchen through a door to get to the pantry?
Move the fridge to the left of where the oven currently is on the drawing which frees up counterspace over by the now range. I cannot tell if the drawing is to scale or get a feel for exactly how much space there is to do the above, but that is what I'd do. I'd also switch the dishwasher and sink IF you are right handed. If you are left handed, it is fine how it is.

I like bahacca's idea. If you get rid of the angled corners then you'll have plenty of room to put the fridge to the left of where the oven currently is. There are some gorgeous ranges out there. My dream is a Bertazzoni...I've settled for KitchenAid.

Maybe the OP really needs two ovens. I know I do. Maybe she/he doesn't. Just sayin'.

Update! I won - the frig has moved near the pantry. Plus the cabinets have been squared off as suggested.

The diagram isn't quite correct as we will have a cooktop and separate oven - with the oven in the top right corner (where the frig used to be). I want a separate oven to save my back!!

Now we are talking about whether we should remove the isalnd to remove the "blockage" issue - or maybe have something on wheels there - what do you think???

You really have more then ample prep space without the island; especially for two people. What is the 18" deep peninsula? Is that a knee wall or area for support post?

why remove the island ???

That's crazy - what are you folks gonna put in or do in the 10 feet of open space that'll be left - play hockey?

It'll look like you ran out of $$$ and forgot something, plus you'll lose landing space for groceries from the store and dishes from the dining room. It's also a natural for hors d'oeuvres or kitchen buffet.

I'd make it a tad longer actually - there is very generous clearance around all sides 42"-50+" so that's not an issue. If you wanted to "lighten" the room you could get a farmhouse table or a top on 4 legs to open up some sightlines.

I like that idea - a farmhouse table!

And the peninsula .. its a knee wall with a countertop - to put things coming and going from the dining area

I wouldn't want to lose the island, and agree with antss that you could even make it a little longer. Unless that 18" projection is a wall or peninsula or half-wall?? Or is it showing something else, e.g. a beam on the ceiling or something? If it's a floor-level projection, I'd strongly consider losing it in favor of a longer island. Then you could potentially even put a small prep sink in that island which would open up a lot more options re. sharing the kitchen together as dual cooks.

Either way, great job winning the battle of the fridge placement. It's much better your way. :-)

I'd lose the knee wall and lengthen the island in that direction by at least 3 feet. That would make your dining room feel bigger and give you more storage. It would also make the island more functional by being able to have a real countertop to spread out on if needed.

Ditto the suggestion to lose the knee wall and lengthen the island. More storage, and it'll feel more open also.

With a longer island, I would also suggest a prep sink on the right hand side near the bottom. Your fridge wouldn't be in the ideal location for that though. Hmm....