Bmorepanic, I would have so many choices in that kitchen I might not be able to decide and would just sit there like a deer caught in the headlights. Thanks for the link. It was fun looking at those homes. Hi Beastbaby, I don't have any kids or grandkids. That would make it such an easy decision. I love open floor plans that have the island looking into the living room because they make me feel like the bartender in the middle of the action. It also seems so orderly to me (everything arranged in a row--fireplace parallel to island etc). But maybe breaking up the look is a good thing. I also think, this room is going to be empty most of the time so maybe I should be facing the view instead of an empty living room. With the walls being mainly windows, I'd of course be able to see outside even if I were facing the living room, it just wouldn't be quite as dramatic. I'm going to work and some choices over the weekend and I'll post them so you all have a better feel. You've done a great job helping me already!

What are you putting on the island...cooktop or sink (please tell me sink........)? While it's less than ideal to put a sink or cooktop in an island, the lesser of two evils is the sink in the island. If you're putting the cooktop in the island & it's b/c you want to visit with people while cooking...remember this:70% of your time spent in a kitchen is Prepping 20% is spent cleaning up 10% is spent cookingSo, what does it make sense to do on the island if you want to spend most of your time visiting while working in the kitchen? Prep. The least sense? Cooking. Now, safety...cooking is the worst thing to do in an island (or peninsula) unless you have at least 24" of countertop behind & on each side of the cooktop. Yes, it's more than NKBA states for non-seating (NKBA is silent on seating...which might mean it's a "no-no"); but from experience and common sense, 24" is better. [Think about someone spreading homework or the newspaper out on the island while you're cooking. Think about the steam from boiling water drifting over to the people sitting there. Think about how far grease splatters. Think about someone walking by or even running by while you're cooking...carrying papers, backpack, etc....and not being careful where they are in relation to the cooking surface.] Hopefully, all this is moot & it's the sink in the island...(even then, if you have seating at the island strive for 18" b/w the faucet and edge of the seating overhang to minimize visitors being splashed; 15" will work, but 18" is better). **** As to prep.... Unlike others, my prep area is driven by where my sink & cooktop are, not where there's a view or social interaction. I find the easiest and most natural place to prep is b/w my prep sink & cooktop...and that faces a wall. That area has about 40" of workspace (not counting the peninsula). If I need more room, I find myself working on the other side of the cooktop where there's about 5' of workspace b/c of the corner, even though there's no sink there and, again, it's mostly facing a wall. I have a peninsula on the other side of the prep sink that's across from the refrigerator w/about 30" of space, so it could be a logical place for prep. I also have my cleanup sink in front of a big bay window and the refrigerator is on that same run with 51" b/w them. However, 9 times out of 10, I prep b/w my cooktop & prep sink...and I have no problems with it. It's not like I can't visit with others while working there. They can sit at the peninsula and I can glance over to the right at them while I work or I can glance over to the left to see what's going on in the FR. To be honest, when I'm prepping, I prefer to keep my eyes on what I'm doing since so much of my prep work involves knives... All of this leaves the peninsula free for the kids to do homework or work on projects, or for me to setup my laptop when I'm working from home. It leaves the cleanup sink run clear for cleaning up only. No more conflicts! Would I change the location of anything b/c of this? Except for adding a trash pullout in the prep are, I wouldn't change anything else. It works great for us! [Well, maybe I'd change the location of the TV to where I wanted it in the first place but my DH thought he knew better...that way my DH wouldn't keep moving the stool to the "U" so he can be really close to the TV while eating breakfast. I keep biting my tongue to keep from saying "I told you so!"]

I don't have a disposal on my prep sink. I peel into it, but then scoop up the peels for the compost, or if it's too small for that I toss it into the clean-up sink. My meal prep has always been mostly veg, but with the new kitchen working so well I've found myself more willing to prepare meats. My sinks are at about the positions that Holligator's are, though the garbage is a pail I move around to suit myself. My clean-up counter is an inch and a half lower than my island prep counter. What I've been gravitating toward is handling raw meat and eggs at the clean-up sink, on the cooking side. I hadn't thought about it before, but I find that a lot easier than worrying about cross contamination in my main prep zone, and the lower counter is good for taller food (bird) or mixing bowl (eggs). Everyone handles their kitchen differently, and your lack of clean-up appliance leads me to think you don't have minions for other chores too. If so, the work stations aspect of zones is less important than the expediency of having everything within reach. How inconvenient would it be to have the clean-up separated and over by the window? The set-up you were talking about with one large central sink area can be excellent. You're basically making yourself a galley, which is very efficient. One thing I love about my prep-stove-cleanup triangle is that I can be prepping on the island and easily just pitch something--literally--into the clean-up sink from where I stand. I would have been happy with one sink, but I needed two large bowls, in that case, and didn't have enough contiguous linear counter for that. What I have works well too. But remember that zones are a way of mind and organization, as much as they are physically discrete localities. The more I've learned what works for other people in their kitchens, the more I've realized that optimal is still with the central functions at easy access points, with more specialized functions and storage radiating outward. So how far away from the action would the clean-up sink be? Even if you're hand washing the big items, what about the spoons and prep bowls and all the little pieces? Are you going to be carrying them a distance dripping on your clean floor to put them in the DW? Or is it just a few steps and having the separate zone gets them out of your way until you're ready to deal with them?

Hmmm. We don't really do formal sit-down meals. Although we sit down together to eat, we tend to make plates in the kitchen and take each plate to the DR. Although I have nice china (a set of 12, even), it's pretty much for looks and has really only been used 3-4 times over the span of a 13-year marriage. Our everyday dishes, glasses and "silverware" are all of the Costco-Phalzgraff-Target-earthenware variety because we tend to overload the DW, drop and chip with frequency and I want to be able to replace as needed. I can't really see myself or anyone else in my family carrying dishes on a tray (or storing said tray). Maybe it would be best to store the dishes near the DW to make clean up easier, and just make the longer walk for prep/snack? Nobody will be making snacks at the same time as cleanup, so I can't see anyone getting in the way of cleanup at that point, and when we do have formal holiday dinners (all parties are informal buffet/bbq style), we generally clean up dinner before serving dessert so that everyone has a chance to digest and chat before moving to the next course anyway.