Fridge wall. Colors are wrong by the way. Cherry chocolate glaze cabinets. Stainless fridge.

Otherside, again colors wrong. And the molding above cabinets is all wrong. And will probably ditch table end of island and go with separate table, so it can be moved. Otherwise isalnd and table together is 84" and 72", which is massive! (Island end 42" wide, table end wasgoing to be 48" wide)

I would put the prep sink on the fridge side of the island, so you work fridge to sink to stove without having to walk around the island. That also allows the clean up sink to be used by a second person without interfering with the prep sink. Put the trash next to the sink on that side.

Thanks for the comment! Here was my thought for putting prep sink on that side. The fridge side is the main traffic flow from kitchen and family room into the dining room, so I was trying to minimize traffic there. I also thought in a dinner buffet type situation I could line all the food up on that side of the island. That doesn't happen terribly often at my house as I serve mostly sit down, but that was my thought. Also, the prep sink is to the left of the dishwasher (left if your back is towards dishwasher), so that the dishwasher can be open and you can still be working at both the prep sink and the main sink.

I do like your point about just pulling stuff straight from the fridge and being right at the prep sink though, I will have to mull this over some more.

I can't read your plans, but looking at the pictures, the main thing I see is that the clean-up zone (main sink and dishwasher) are in the wrong place. I know they're by the window, which is traditional, but they're still in the middle of your prep and cooking zones. I'd move the big sink and dishwasher to a more out-of-the way location, and somehow get the refrigerator, prep sink and range close together.

How do you intend to use the long counter to the left of the fridge? Could you use that to lay out a buffet? If so, then you could move the prep sink to the fridge side of the island, at or near the corner of the island. You could fill it with ice and stick cold drinks in it for parties.

Hard to tell aisle clearances exactly but it looks like you have just barely more than 36" between island and sink wall. That's tight, especially if you keep the prep sink there. NKBA guidelines call for 42" aisles for a one-butt kitchen (my wording, not theirs ;-) ) and 48" aisles for a two-butt kitchen. If your reason for having two sinks is to have the option of someone at the clean-up sink and someone at the prep sink, you need wider aisles than you have planned.

The other suggestion I have is to move the sink and DW down towards the table to give yourself more counter space between clean-up sink and range. You have oodles of counter in this plan but it's not where it would be most useful, IMO. You don't have to have a sink under a window but if that's your preference, add another window. Or move the window so that you don't have to give up upper cab storage.

What if you move the prep sink to the long counter, by the fridge? I would also move the second oven and microwave (stacked) to the area where you have the left pantry. This would give you a baking/snack area that isn't competing with your primary prep space on the island.

I like the seating on the island, but you might have more room if you curved it. Also, I would use the island as the buffet spot...it's what my mom does and it makes everything much more accessible. Something like this? :) {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Wed, Dec 4, 13 at 15:04

FYI -- The house we just sold has a rounded end island and we loved it. Great for entertaining and conversation. Much more friendly than our prior rectangle.

This is another kitchen that would be much better served by a peninsula instead of a crammed in island that's in the way.

The counter near fridge has a toaster oven on it, and generally collects clutter, has a phone, and charging plugs. I was planning to put an outlet in a drwaer to get our chargers off the counter, but was planning to keep toaster oven on counter.
I had originally put a rounded island on the end! Now I am leaning towards separating the table from the island, to keep the flow more flexible, but I wanted to make it a counterheight table to keep it social. We regularly sit down to dinner (5ofus) so I do want to keep a family table feel, wasnt sure how a rounded table attached to island would work for that.

I was going to put the microwave in one of the tall pantry cabinets. MW is used to reheat some meals, and popcorn, that's about it. I didnt think I needed a big built in microwave for that, although I do like the idea of having the second oven at a more convienient height.

I had also considered a larger window, to move the sink further from the corner, but cost wise I need to pull back somewhere!

Here are plans for cabinets/stuff

Waypoint cherry chocolate glaze, 750 doors (anyone have an opinion here? I was just going with what builder uses)
Main sink, kohler whitehaven, sugar cane
Prepsink, Blanco Performa single bowl (color TBD after countertop color)
Faucets, TBD, but really want a Kohler Karbon for main sink (but worried it may be to modern looking for farm sink and kitchen in general, I just really wanted the functionality)
Range, Lacanche Volnay, not sur eof color yet, tan or the super light greyish blue maybe, I cannot wait to have this range!!
Second oven, a GE SS convection
Fridge GE cafe, SS side by side
DW, GE cafe, SS (grrrr, the reason for the remodel)
Countertops, TBD, I love the look and feel of marble, but everyone is steering me towards granite. I want a pretty light color, since the cabinets are fairly dark.

I was going to do the island cabinets in a cream, but decided since I was having so much trouble with current decisions, I didnt want to try and match a countertop to two different cabinet colors!

Where would you put a penisula? The wall with the main sink has french doors out to backyard, the table end of the island is open to familyroom, floor is all hardwood, so rooms are really one big room.

Thank you so much for all the feedback! I am feeling very stuck and need to make a decision. Will have to play with an arched table end again. My floors were torn up on Oct. 3rd, and I am sick of walking on subfloor and living in a torn up kitchen. As it is, it will still be January before anything happens, and that's of course dependent on me finalizing my cabinets! (Oh yeah, and I'm expecting 7 guests at Christmas, staying from 3-7 days, it will be memorable I'm sure, we just may eat out a lot more than usual!)

A peninsula from the sink side next to the DW would give you a lot of prep space, especially if you added a small sink at the end of it. Put the fridge almost directly across from it, and a pantry all the way to the right. The counter in between would act as landing space for both, and with a MW, it would be a good snack zone. That keeps the home's main traffic out of your actual work space, and it keeps the workspace well centralized instead of split where you have to walk so much to accomplish anything.

Quick sketch.

Wow, I think I like the penisula. It would make my lovely range much more visible in the room. I was kinda bummed that it was being hidden by the island. I thought I was close to ordering but will now be rethinking the whole thing. That part is a bummer.

The main problem I see with the penisula, is that there is no close landing zone near the range. (15" to the left, and then a wee bit on the right. Would have to walk it over to the penisula to set stuff down.)

Thanks again all!

Well, a 39" range is oversized for your kitchen, so if you dropped back to a 30", but did a nice one, that would make things more functional. Even with the 39", you still have the NBA recommended landing space to either side.

you have that whole corner near it. I have less space than you, but the corner being close and the counter and the corner sort of makes up for that and has a lot of landing space because of that.

How about moving the clean up to the upper wall. You'd have all the U just for prep and cooking. If you don't handwash a lot, the time spent in front of the wall would be much shorter than the time spent in prep and cooking. A part of the tall cab next to DW can be used for plate/glass storage, since you can store more in the U.

I think there'd be enough space behind cleanup (or bar leg of U can be shorter) for anyone coming for a snack, so fridge can stay as in the original layout. I'd prefer the U bit tighter (say 60-65") and move the prep sink closer to the corner.

edited to add glass/plate storage

This post was edited by sena01 on Sat, Dec 7, 13 at 5:55

prefer the island plan but reduce it's dimensions...particularly thedepth of rectangular storage end. Like lavender lass version with the curve end-just reduce some inches to get the scale right and yet be usable. Don't care for the peninsula plan at all.

My husband prefers the island. I just sent him to get plywood 44"x86" so we can prop it up and really see what our clearances around it would be. The old island was 36"x48" i think, but it was cheated towards the dishwasher, which made that side tight and left lots of room on the otherside.

I feel like I'll be losing storage space and accessibility with a peninsula. If we keep main sink and DW at window, I'd want a cabinet to the right of DW so I could stand on that side when DW is open and still reach cabinets above. Do I need 21" or 24" to stand comfortably? And that makes the run from range to peninsula even longer, which seems inefficient.

We do hand wash all pots, pans, knives, cutting boards, large prep bowls. It sure seems like a lot! But hubby does most of that so he'd be the one facing the wall!

Maybe put DW and main sink on peninsula, and prep sink under window. Or maybe once we layout plywood we'll like island clearances.

Thanks all, I will feel much better about final decision (whenever I make it) knowing I've explored so many different options!

My husband prefers the island. I just sent him to get plywood 44"x86" so we can prop it up and really see what our clearances around it would be. The old island was 36"x48" i think, but it was cheated towards the dishwasher, which made that side tight and left lots of room on the otherside.

I feel like I'll be losing storage space and accessibility with a peninsula. If we keep main sink and DW at window, I'd want a cabinet to the right of DW so I could stand on that side when DW is open and still reach cabinets above. Do I need 21" or 24" to stand comfortably? And that makes the run from range to peninsula even longer, which seems inefficient.

We do hand wash all pots, pans, knives, cutting boards, large prep bowls. It sure seems like a lot! But hubby does most of that so he'd be the one facing the wall!

Maybe put DW and main sink on peninsula, and prep sink under window. Or maybe once we layout plywood we'll like island clearances.

Thanks all, I will feel much better about final decision (whenever I make it) knowing I've explored so many different options!

I like the peninsula plan... 'feels' better to me. But, I like the idea of having a prep/cooking 'cockpit' all to myself, so fwiw. Also like the idea (stongly) of moving the sink to the straight run as Sena01 drew. That way people can get a drink, wash their hands, etc without ever getting in the way of the cook. And with the peninsula, you could set up your buffets on there which keeps the guests out of the kitchen proper while you do whatever last minute things need doing. I know that it makes me crazy when I'm trying to get last minute things done and everyone is standing in the kitchen in my way.

You're getting some good ideas for whichever way you go, though.

Hi GreenDesigns, I agree that a 39" range is kinda big. However, I currently have a 30" dual fuel GE Cafe range, and I dont like it. The ovens are really nice, but the range top will only let me use one large pan at a time. I often want to use a large (14") frypan and my large dutch oven at the same time, and it just doesnt fit! Also, the burner I use all the time has quit lighting, I have to use a lighter, and a burner I hardly even use, the black disk thing has started cracking and crumbling! I'm really disappointed since I thought the cafeline was considered somewhat high end, certainly not cheap. The 39" will get a lot of use in my kitchen, and cost wise, since the only thing comparable comes in a 48", the cost is close enough for me to go with the Volnay, Much nicer looking, smaller, and has the features I want (french top plus four burners). I looked at many ranges, they all seem to have those black disks (which I'm shy about since one of mine is crumbling).

I have considered adding 3" to that end wall just so I can put 15" uppers on either side of range, but that seems a silly expense for 3". I would consider not having any cabinet uppers at all, but I need them to hide the vent for the rangehood.

My husband prefers the island.

Maybe you can have the main sink on the island, if he keeps it clean all the time.

Assuming you have 15', with 1" counter overhang, island can be 34"(including o/h) with 48" aisles, or 40" with 42/48" aisles.

Ok, it is 15'-8" wall to wall. I now have a sheet of plywood on shelves cut to 42"x81" for the island. I am going to move oven from island to wall right of fridge, and put a microwave shelf in island. I have 52" clearance on the side facing fridge, and 42" clearance on the side facing exterior (current main sink) wall. Here is the island configuration I came up with.

While I like the additional room and work flow of putting main sink in the island and away from the range, i really like to do my prep work on the island, and I do think the dishes would be an eyesore. Maybe that would get them washed faster! But I doubt it.

Are all cushion close doors and drawers harder to pull open? Or did I just pull on some extra stiff versions? I was not thrilled with the extra effort to open them, although I guess I would get used to it.

Here is the latest from designer. Clearances around island are 50", 44", and 42". My question is, on the fridge wall, will the 27", 24", 27" cabinets look to tall and narrow? (It is 36" tall pantry, then 27", 24", 27" cabinets, then 36" fridge, then 33" oven cabinet) It seems to me wider would look less busy, but not sure how to make it fit.

Thank you!

Rendering of that wall, its not dead onthough so hard to tell.

Maybe some more renderings can help.

These 3 are 27-24-27

These are 21-36-21

I'm not sure how 42" aisle would feel when DW door is open. Maybe you should reconsider the size of the island.

regarding the verticals[fridge/ovens/pantry].....couldn't either the fridge or ovens swap with pantry. I'd want the appliances separated...both for looks and usage.

Wow, thanks senao1, those do help! And I am going to have them shrink island to 39". I'm not sure why he wants to keep it at 42". The extra 2-3 inches on the dishwasher side will be worth it.

I'm bothered by the two sinks opposite each other. Have you thought through your work zones? Where will you make coffee? Use a mixer or blender? Make sandwiches and salads? Can those things happen while someone else is washing pots, or stirring something on the cooktop? With all the wonderful space you have, I'm wondering why you don't put cooking on one wall and cleaning on the other with the island between? And is there any kitchen I don't think should have the same layout as mine? (I think I've only suggested it 3 times this weekend, apologies to all)

If you don't need the wall oven close to the range, I would do what herbflavor suggested and swap wall oven with the pantry. I'm not sure what you have on the left of that upper wall, but anyone coming from the right can clearly see if oven door is open and there'd be landing space next to the oven. I'm no expert but, maybe you can even decrease the aisle b/w the island and that wall to 48" and add that inches to the other aisle.

As to cushion close, mine are Blum and they open like any other door/drawer. When closing I push them just a little harder than a regular one. It's very easy to adapt, and one tends to forget to be gentle with other doors.