Will the TV be easily/comfortably viewable by anyone?

The biggest (only?) problem I see right off is the space for seating. If people are seated at your overhang, you won't be able to get in or out of the room...not without squeeeezing sideways. This being Thanksgiving makes me think of visitors chatting at the island while you're trying to get food and other things to the table. A person sitting in the position to the far left may even crowd your access to the fridge.

If you pull it back a foot, or do a combination of pulling it back and flattening the arch to reduce it by a foot, overall, I think it still wouldn't be optimum, but much better.

Also, I'd really encourage you to consider leaving the island at one level. That rise won't keep people from the other room from seeing the counters on the stove side of the room, and it just reduces what could be a wonderful, deep workspace. Maybe that DD will bring back grandchildren one day who will want to work on rolling out cookies with Grandma. :-) Meanwhile, there are baking projects, wrapping gifts, etc. that will be nicer to work on with a deep, roomy workspace.

Oh the island is going to be one level. I don't know why she drew it that way. DH was just talking about how nice it would be to have that flat huge workspace. Also the arch can definitely be flattened. By the way we are planning on using backless stools and not huge chair-like barstools. DH doesn't want the prep sink to be too far from the range. We were afraid that aisle space over 4 feet would be too much. By the way we are not going to have a pot filler but the prep sink will be fairly large and deep and we're thinking round unlike the one shown.

I actually have a 3 ft aisle between my rangetop and island/prep sink, and really wouldn't want it any further. A nice, efficient, turn back and forth.

Just to clarify, when I said, "Pull it back a foot", I meant the overhang...and I meant toward the range...so it's pulled back out of the doorway.

HUGE safety hazard having those cabinets come down NEXT to the range!!! You need at least 15" of open counter space front to back next to a range (especially one with such high BTUs) before you have cabinets coming down to the counter. Additionally, it looks a bit strange to not have the range centered on that wall and to have such a large open space at the top left.

Clearances are tight between the island and the fridge. And, that overhang you show will require some serious support, not just corbels underneath. YOu'll need to do some type of table stretchers and legs if you use that much overhang. Open shelving looks good, but it's a huge dust catcher and it's really more practical to have drawer space unless the shelving is readily adjustible and you take it out to clean regularly. Otherwise, the drawers that don't change height will provide just as much space, and they will pull out to bring the contents to you. Your drink fridge doesn't seem to be close to the family room or to an outside doorway, and those are the two primary routes to get a drink.

I think your pet dish area is great! I might see if you can add a pet food storage area close to the feeding area. Pull out bins work great for bulk storage. I'd put the pull out trash on the right side of the island so it could be easier accessed from the prep zone as well as the cleanup zone when you're scraping dishes.

I really like it!! I do agree w/RHome about the overhang and I was also going to suggest a narrower aisle b/w the range & island for a little more aisle space on the seat side of the island!

For the TV, will it be on a platform that pulls out and swivels? I think that would make it much more useful since it is off to the side. We considered putting a TV over our refrigerator but decided against it b/c we thought it would be too high to view comfortably and the size that would fit might be too small to see from across the kitchen...but, I think you have more room since you have 9' ceilings (we only have 8'). Don't forget to run power & cable lines up there!

Is it possible to either move the range & cabinets about 6" to the left or reduce two of the cabinets to 24"? When I look at the elevation drawings, the Laundry Room door looks very crowded by the wall cabinets on the range side. If you give it about 6" more "breathing room" I think it would look better... But, that's just my opinion.

One question, what kind of pets do you have? If cat(s) that area is probably big enough, but if dog(s), is there enough room in that alcove? BTW...I like the alcove. I wish we could have done something like that for our 2 dogs!

Good luck & Happy Thanksgiving!

I, too, had worried about the cabinets coming all the way down to the counter being so close. The BlueStar installation guide says that adjoining walls or cabinets need to be 6 inches from the stove. I think that can be arranged. Question about the location of the range: At present it is centered with the island and the opening. Wouldn't it look strange if it was off center? The area to the left of the range was purposely left "blank" so that we could display art and maybe eventually a flat screen TV. For now we are going to use the TV we have and just leave it above the refrigerator. There will be pocket doors on that cabinet. It does seem a little high but it's mostly just for listening rather than watching. The refrigerator will be a standard size one, not super tall like a built-in fridge.

Regarding the pet station, we have a cat and a westie (under 18 lbs) and plan to use the alcove for the filtered water station. Their food we don't leave out (because they eat each other's food if we do.) But the water thing is kind of bulky and I wanted it out of the way. As far as the drink fridge. It's mostly an overflow drink storage for beer and can drinks, just a second fridge. We will also have a bar with a beverage center next to the family room. Right now I have the island 4 feet from the range. If we make it only 3 feet will there be enough room for both of us to maneuver around there? I think I'd rather "thin" out the island. It doesn't have to be that fat. Originally I had thought that I might build some sort of storage under the overhang and actually use that space rather than just leave it propped up in an empty space. We'll definitely do that if we use a local cabinet builder, but if we do semi-custom I don't know what they might have that will do the job.

Right now we have 52 inches of clearance on both the dishwasher and refrigerator side of the island. That seems like that is enough to me especially since we don't have a big family that will constantly be running through. Would you sacrifice island space for more clearance?

Thanks so much for the ideas so far. Moving the trash pull out sounds like a viable option. DH definitely wants the open shelves for pot storage. I know it will be a mess most of the times and will probably get beat all to hell with him banging pots around, but in this case function wins out against form.

The island is a three seater. If you change the arc so it doesn't protrude quite so far and drag those columns back closer to the walls, it'll be ok.

The only time the stools would matter is if they were ginormous :)

You might take a breath and think about how you and dh operate at a range. I would have at least one calf a day because I wouldn't be able to sit something down temporarily at the side of the range and I would hit those cabinets with pot handles. Adding salt to the (by that time) veal would be those lift-up doors. To me, they just to guarantee that the little bit of counter to the sides of the range would be totally useless because whatever was resting there would need to be moved.

Everybody is different and it could work for you. If you think about changing it tho, a mitigation is to move the two tall units to the counter to the edges, make the base cabinets larger, center the range and fill the entire space with a craftsman type mantle made of wood trim with plaster over. Think of the craftsman fireplaces where the mantle is extended and becomes a plate shelf. The hood would be part of the mantle, but not the entire width. You could fill-in behind the range with a nice craftsman tile.

The other thing you asked about is the spacing between prep and range. This is really personal. People get cardboard boxes and site them according to the plan and walk thru making meals to make more knowledgeable guesses for spacing issues like these..

We have 5 feet and really like it. I'm tall and make big gestures and am very aware of others. I like the extra space because I don't have to worry about turning around with a hot pot and bumping into dh.

Rhome has 3 and likes that and frequently has multiple cooks... altho, they're mostly still short, but definitely growing... We're both right that the spacing is right.

As a side thought because of counter cabinets, you aren't going to be able to "store" all the cut stuff for a stir fry (as an example) beside the range, you'll need to pivot and reach to get everything.

OK...I have to have you know that though few of us will probably ever be referred to as 'tall,' 3 of my kids are to their adult height, and the next 2 are closing in. So not many are that 'short' any more...especially those cooking over 16K BTU gas flame and wielding knives for prep. ;-)

As a matter of fact, I just looked up and saw this scene...my 2 physically grown older daughters working at the stove together. Just to help you see how 3 ft aisle looks in use:

{{!gwi}}

The 15" clear counter space from front to back beside a range is needed in case you need to quickly set off a hot pot, or lay down a ladle, or do a quick chop of garlic to add to a saute pan. If you DO leave the design as is, please fireproof the cabinet sides. Yes, Bluestar says 6" of clearance, but that's to a fireproof surface like stainless or ceramic tile.

Forgot to say, I couldn't have those so near the cooktop either. (I always concentrate on the plan rather than elevations, so miss details like that in the first run-through.) It drives me crazy if there isn't room for pot handles and for reaching in from the side of the stove to the pots on the back burners without being too close to flames. I err on the side of extra room than possible crowding. They look very cool, but looks fade quickly when it's something that aggravates you. The only way I'd consider them in that location is if they were very shallow.

OK we don't have to have the garage cabinets to either side of the range. I just really wanted to be able to shut off the cooking things that DH usually leaves out beside of the stove like salts and oils, etc. The idea here was that while he was cooking the doors would be lifted up and pushed back out of the way then could be closed up when cooking's done. I do like the idea of "fireproofing" the sides of the cabinets with tile or something. As far as depth I think those cabinets were only going to be 12 inches. Wouldn't that be considered shallow? All other upper cabinets I've ever had were either 15 or 18 inches deep.

Decorative containers and adding a niche or ledge? Or make the top drawer slightly deeper so it fits his oil bottles and stuff.

Also, the last cabinet under the counter by the ref, if you did it as two drawers? Might it be enough for pet food bins?

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This holiday made me realize that I'm the tallest woman out of my sisters, nieces, and sisters in law. Thanks rhome.

If only I was willowy as well...

Always glad if I can help you out, Bmore. :-D

We also have 5' between the prep island and our rangetop, and would not want any less. It is very much a personal preference and you should do a mock-up as Bmore suggested so you can find the optimal distance for you.

I really like your overall layout. Besides the previously mentioned details, I think you should reconsider your trash pullout location- it is too far from the sink for dish scraping. Simply swapping it with the drawers on the other end of the island would correct that.

One more vote for clearing the counter next to the range. There are a lot of gorgeous options in the FKB for oils, tall stuff and creative storage next to the range, and I would encourage you to think about doing something different. I know this first hand because of a design error compounded by a construction error in my cabs. Here's the photo:

The bottom front of the side cabs was to be 17-18" from the counter top, but is only 10". When it was placed at the proper height I couldn't see in the bottom drawers (supposed to be only 3-4") and the lower shelf was too high to easily reach (I'm short) my most used stuff. But the worst end result is that the cutting surface is compromised. (The cabs were also supposed to be 6" taller, for more storage and taller lites.)

I'm still contemplating the best fix for my situation, but I can tell you that you will be happier, no matter how you and DH cook, with more space next to the range. Check out Gibby's kitchen for one type of range/cooktop framing.

Here is a link that might be useful: FKB