desertsteph and anenemity, excellent suggestion abut the range. I'll request to have it moved 1 foot to the left. The island is a pretty long one at about 8' so we thought a prep sink would make it more interesting. Plus we want an extra sink to cut fruit and snacks while someone might be doing the dishes in main sink. We'll consider the sink on the other end. Not a bad idea since it could be less crowded on that end. The stair way is the existing route to the garage. The garage is on a lower grade than the house. Around 4 feet down the stairs. Thanks for the ideas.

Re: MrsPete - Plenty of room for a nice kitchen, but this one could stand some polishing. We have another thread going in the Kitchen forum with recommendations to improve it. Link - I'd lose some of the many exterior doors -- replace them with banks of windows. Windows are cheaper to buy, more energy efficient, and easier/cheaper in terms of window treatments. They're also safer; that is, more difficult for a burglar to break through. And losing adjacent doors in favor of windows doesn't affect your function at all -- do you really need multiple doors so close together that you can touch them at the same time? We were aiming for indoor/outdoor flow. I agree that the current configuration is not working. We seem to be stuck at this point without first planning the outdoor areas, which would then aide in identifying the type of doors/windows to connect everything together. All of your reasons for windows are completely selling me toward that solution. Lately, I have been ooo'ing over the sliding doors (and pergola) used in a Farmhouse on show at http://truexcullins.com/ I don't love the staircase tower. That staircase will be a showstopper -- no question -- but why tuck it away in a corner? I'd flip it with the office so it could be visible /appreciated from the main living area. Imagine it decorated with Christmas lights and greenery -- it'd be a shame to have that over in a corner. I like your vision here. After spending a few hours at the site over the weekend, I believe the large magnolia in front of the main elevation may hide a bit of the tower as well. Switching it with the office would give the eastern (right on the drawing) elevation some interest. Our Kitchen table is full of plans and cutouts with all of the creative ideas from this forum at the moment... - Will your front door be your main point of entrance? If so, where are you leaving your wallet, keys, sunglasses? We will likely enter through the rear of the house 80% of the time. - With two opposite doors in the office "eaten up" by large doors, do you have space for appropriate furniture? Offices are used in so many ways, so only you know this answer. We're intending some hidden closet space for files and tech items (printer, router, etc.) in the room. The remainder should be a traditional desk with some color on the walls for a creative environment. - I don't love the fireplace's location. Will you have a TV? Where? Agreed. The fireplace is not working at the moment. We like the exterior contrast of a grey concrete fireplace against the white farmhouse hardy-board. It's not a must have. On the interior of the fireplace (it's a 2-way), we planned to have the TV directly over the mantle. TV is not too important to us, we're prioritizing the indoor/outdoor flow over it.

Thanks cpartist. L shape is still a consideration--do you think bare wall with large window and sliders will look "unfinished"? Like we couldn't afford the rest of the cabinets? :) Also not sure how inconvenient having microwave on one side of kitchen as part of oven wall and fridge on other. Comments? Sophie, I hear you but we're doing work ourselves and so far have been finding that opening up space and seeing how it "feels" has been helping drive the design. Hubby can do all the work and only limited by what he chooses to farm out. And honestly, old kitchen was so crappy and cramped that temp kitchen is aok for summertime living.

Love the idea with blocking the space! It is helpful! Sorry no experience with the refrigeration. In my ideal kitchen I am not sure which maker but I would do one stand up refrigerator and then another stand up freeze like I experienced as a volunteer in a small community kitchen/ restaurant. When it comes to depth you can always have the contractor pull the upper and lower cabinets farther from the wall and have a deeper counter. (and Yes I lived in a house for 9 years that had had this and it was fine.. it was not a lot more maybe 4"). Are you going to have a separate icemaker? Our last house had two of them in a huge french samsung. It was overkill. We hardly use any ice. Our present house with ice in the french freeze - we did not have the plumber connect it with the remodel as that is like number one issue with any frige. We have the good old fashioned trays and if party just go get a bag or two. As for the question: do you think it’s okay to have a kitchen eating space in view of the formal dining space? I think it is fine and it happens a lot in newer homes. I am not a fan of multiple eating spaces personally and encourage others to think of their dining room as a flex space (and say hey put in some built in bookshelves just in case it goes den or the kids need a workspace for projects with the table pad underneath). I suspect you have an older home? If I had your home I would put a divided light french door in-between maybe with water glass if you want to obscure.