Oh, BTW. If it isn't obvious by looking at the orange picture there are a few challenges in designing around this space. Namely the windows. The window pictured actually goes down a few more inches below the counter (this annoys me, I see no way around it) and there is a second window pictured below.

There is also a fair amount of wasted space in the front half of the kitchen (also pictured below).

Can you post a few more photo's? Showing all doorways, endruns and adjacent rooms, hallways. Would really help to see the entire space.

I sure can.

The files are up loading to Flickr, and I'll post them tonight.

Thanks!

Looks like you already have a place for a table in the front end of the kitchen. What do you plan to do with this space?

Photos are useful but what we really need to see is a lay-out with dimensions. Photos require too much guessing on my part. For instance, looking at your photo, I estimated that you have about 96" between counters. Then I saw that you posted that your room is 12' wide and I realized that you have only 93" between counters and even less than that between appliances. Not that those 3" matter because at 93" or 96", your kitchen isn't wide enough to accommodate a skinny island, much less a kitchen table, not if you wish to have decent aisles.

NKBA recommended aisle width for a one-cook kitchen is 42" and 48" for a two-cook kitchen. You can go with as little as 36" for one aisle but it's not recommended to go with aisles narrower than that or even all your aisles at 36" because that makes for tight work spaces (open fridge, range or DW door and you block the aisle).

NKBA recommends 44" aisles around a table if you wish to walk behind diners and 36" aisles if you wish to squeeze behind diners. But you need to watch what appliances open into that space. You wouldn't - at least I wouldn't - want 36" between table and range, that would be unsafe. The kitchen in your inspiration pic is much wider than your kitchen. It's at least 40" wider, quite possibly more (as I wrote, photos require too much guessing).

But don't despair. Post your lay-out with dimensions (see instructions at the link below) and we may be able to find a way to help you achieve a look similar to your inspiration kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: New To Kitchens? Posting Pics? Read Me!

Curious, you have a corner breakfast nook, with what looks like a morgue drawer storage. Can you get a rectangle table and a couple of chairs? With the nook, do you need a table in the middle of your cooking/work zone area? Do you plan on changing the area of the kitchen? Earlier, you stated, you didn't want to push out the walls.

You need 60" of clearance around all sides of the table or island if you plan to work on the counters with someone seated. If you do island height, you could squeeze by with 54" aisles instead, or if no seating was planned on one side, then 42" aisles.

If you have a "standard" 36" x 36" square table, then you need 13" in the middle of your "U" (in all directions) to be able to have a table there. (17' overall width in all directions) If you do a island height table, then 12' of room (16' of overall width in all directions). If you do seating only on one side of that island, then 10' in the middle of the "U" (14' in all directions).

Depending on where the doorways and existing cabinets are located, you possibly have room for either a very small table with seating on one side, or better room for a small island with seating on one side. It looks like you already had a banquette in the space, which is often a magical room "stretcher" for those who want seating in a space since the table can crowd extremely close to the seating.

I think you need to take more pictures of the outside of the house and your gardens. This won't help with the kitchen design, but I'd like to see them!

Why the difference in ceiling heights? Did somebody build a new, lowered ceiling? Have you peeked?

What's up with those high shelves above the benches? I might be able to reach the bottom shelf standing on the bench, but maybe not.

PaintedLady, how about hauling a table and chairs in there to start defining and firming up up your own requirements? Start with it on the small side and place cardboards and/or plywood of various sizes on top. If a traffic problem would be solved with an oval, that'd tell you something. If you'd really like a wider table so you can set serving bowls on the table--or not--you have important information there. If you get tired of kicking a chair leg out of the way, really needing another foot 8" or so to make it work, ditto. And so on.

BTW, round tables can be really accommodating, easing transitions around (the chairs tend to be slid around the edge away from the traffic lanes), plus losing the corners that stick out into the way of careening cooks, and they always seem to offer room to pull up an extra chair or two. Ovals also are more traffic friendly than rectangles and squares.