Can you post a floor plan of the adjacent spaces so we can get a feel for the traffic flow, etc?

I love my microwave drawer in my island. I wasn't really set on it, and would have put it in an upper if I'd had space, but I have lots of windows so limited upper cabinets, so I went with the drawer, and now I really like it! It is actually very convenient for melting butter, etc.

Seems to me like the sink over by the fridge is pretty isolated, so maybe not ideal for a "prep" sink but would be more of a bar/beverage sink. If that's the case, then I'd consider making that island bigger and looking for space for a prep sink . . . perhaps to the far right of the cooktop?? Hmmmm. If you post a full floor plan, I am sure the gurus would have fun giving you lots of great ideas.

Also, that's a whole lot of $$ and space in refrigeration space. If you go with a standard (big) refrigerator and put additional freezer space in the garage (or pantry if you have a large one), then you could redirect that $$ elsewhere.

With 10' ceilings, you can take the cabinets to the ceiling if you do "stacked cabinets". I love that look, so that's what I did. The top cabinets can be glass front for display (what I did, with lighting), or wood doors for more storage, or a mix of both.

I guess I do not have the whole floor plan on this computer. But here is a floor plan I drew up to use when discussing changes with the GC. It is of the kitchen, dining, great room area to help.
Thank you

This post was edited by kZim on Sun, Feb 1, 15 at 16:13

Do you have an overhead cab plan with measurements? It's impossible to say whether you have adequate aisles, whether you can go with a larger island, etc, without knowing what your clearances are.

Do you really need that much refrigerator/freezer space? You wrote that you entertain often so perhaps you do, but they do dominate that wall. Really assess your needs and see if you can shrink them to give you more counter for your beverage center, which looks chopped up with the bar sink in the middle. Also, if you intend this to be used when you entertain, you may be better off with the fridge/freezer columns closest to the cook top wall and moving the bar sink and beverage center towards the (assuming, can't read the above image very well) family room.

One last thought for now: I'd get rid of the walls at each end of the fridge run. You'd gain 9" more to use (assuming standard 4.5" thick walls) for counter and storage. And if you move the beverage center to the left end, it will no longer be hemmed in by a wall.

If the reason for the walls is to have a place for light switches, you can always install them into cab sides like this:

{{gwi:2139445}}

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by San Francisco Architects & Building Designers Rossington Architecture

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Millbrook Architects & Building Designers Crisp Architects

The KD showed us a display that had the fridges set up like that and I thought it looked great because I had not seen it before. It seemed like a good idea. Maybe not.

The drawers on the cook wall seem off to me. They are 3 stacked except under the stove top. Should they all be 2 stacked?
There are no walls on the end of the cabinet run. I did not realize until now they were on the design she did. That would affect the measurements. I thought the GC had it measured 36" 48" 36" (Freez-Counter-Refrig)
This is not exactly like my layout but it has separate towers:

{{gwi:2139447}}

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Williston Park Kitchen & Bath Designers Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly, Inc. (CKD, CBD, CR)

This post was edited by kZim on Sun, Feb 1, 15 at 21:14

If the stretch of counter between fridge and freezer is only 48" with a bar sink, you'll have very little counter on each side of the sink for your coffee maker, blender, etc. At a minimum, the sink will require at least a 15" cab and could be larger than that, depending on the sink you've chosen. That leaves you 33" for cabs on either side of it; split in half, that's only 16.5" of cabs and counter on each side. It looks good on paper but IRL, I don't think it's going to function very well. IMO, of course. Lose the sink and this wall will function much better. Again, IMO.

You really do not want your dishwasher in the path between fridge, cooktop and sink. It will be in the way if someone is trying to cook while another person wants to load or empty it. So, switch it to the other side of the sink.

I agree on the comments re consolidating the refrigeration and freeing up more counter for the bar sink. If you keep the dual set, make sure your fridge is the one closest to your sink and range because you will use it more.

If you really want to know how I think this kitchen would work best, it's - fridge/freezer, then range, then ovens on the current cooktop/oven wall, then prep sink only on island. The current fridge/freezer/bar sink wall will then hold only cleanup sink and DW and dish storage. If you really want to split the refrigeration, put the fridge on the cooktop wall and the freezer on the cleanup sink wall, or put the freezer in the pantry. You can see in the link some very pretty cleanup sinks on interior walls (ie, not under a window), and this way, your cleanup mess, drying dishes etc. are not front and center on your island. The island is the most valuable space for prep as well because of the depth of it, so it's much better to leave it for prep only.

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Image Search

tracie.erin:
You really turned this plan around into a different direction. I agree about the island is a valuable space and did not see a different way to arrange things so the clean-up sink would not be on the island. At your suggested arrangement, what side of the clean-up sink does the dishwasher go? and where would you put a microwave?

lisa:
I am not set on anything with this plan. I knew if I brought it here I would get some great feedback.

rzrun:
I know that freezer/frig wall would be pricy but the contractor loves the wall idea and I thought it must be the way to go.

Here are your suggestions in a plan layout. Do you like this better?

I haven't finished reading yet but I do think that a full freezer using up kitchen R.E. is space waste. I never accessed my freezer on a regular basis. It can be in a less usable space (like garage? basement?) or maybe pantry. I'd get things out of the fzr for the next few days/wk and put in the fzr part of the fridge.

More usable in the kitchen would be more counter space by the bar sink. Maybe the mw on that counter run.

The pic of space you added is too blurry for me to make out. Others might have better eyes. Most people do...

We do need measurements to help you with what and where etc. Measurements on the drawers by the stove are needed to determine if they are workable as shown. It does 'look' to me to be a bit cut up. Only you know what you will want to use those drawers for and if they will be wide/deep enough for those items. From what I 'see' I'd probably want a wider top drawer (rather shallow) for cooking utensils to the right. And maybe the same on the oven side of the stove for hot pads, trivets, boil over protection 'lids' etc.

going on measurement of your stove run and deducting for cook top and oven you're down to about 7' for counter area. Split that's maybe 3.5 per side. With drawers below a side divided then your drawers as shown are probably about 18" drawers. Check any you have in your kitchen now to see if that'd be wide enough for you. I have one that's about 17" and it'd be too small for me (in width - and if I was putting in new cabinets).

Also, going by your revised drawings with fridge on that run, you'd have even less space for counter on either side which also makes the drawers less than 18". Maybe 15".
Doesn't this put your fridge in your cook / prep space? IF putting the fridge in that space, I'd move the prep sink down to allow counter space to put things coming from fridge to be prepped.

With that size of a kitchen and that much counter top, you can surely have more than maybe 2.5' on either side of stove top. I'm feeling a crunch just typing it...
Some can't have more, their kitchen space doesn't allow for it, but yours does.

Tho, without knowing the width of the cook top, ovens and fridge this is just guess work.

Are you putting in framed or frameless cabinets?

On small homes shelayne posted pics of her 30" Ikea drawers opened. They're about 2/3 of the way down the thread. Take a look and see how much she has in it. She says (in a post after the pics) that she has some that are 24" and that they also hold a lot.

You can get a good idea from her pics to see what you might have /be able to put in the drawers on either side of your stove top area.

24" wide would be the smallest I'd want to go (if at all possible).

Here is a link that might be useful: Shelayne's 30