I know it's possible to pull up hardwood flooring, but I don't think it's easy and it might damage some of the boards or finish on them, so you would have to most likely reinstall and refinish. With your situation of having future construction plans with the home, I'm kind of thinking the plywood option isn't a bad idea, as it could be the underlament when you're ready to lay the hardwood flooring so you wouldn't have to remove it. I would think it would hold up fairly well for a few years with kids, pets, and construction, if you put decent poly on it. Franksmom, the paint sprayer we bought is called a Graco TrueCoat II Plus (250.00 at Lowes). It's not at all like the cheaper Wagner paint sprayers you see, it's made by one of the best companies that make professional paint sprayers. It's a handheld (no stand) airless paint sprayer so it has a paint container attached to the gun. Because it's an airless type and not an HVLP type of sprayer, you don't have to thin latex paints, you can use them right out of the paint can, so you have much thicker coats/coverage in one pass when sprayed on. It's easier to clean (IMHO) and you can work with smaller amounts of paint because it has the paint cup attached to the gun instead of of stand type where you have tubes that feed from large gallon or 5 gallon paint cans. There are different versions of the Graco Truecoat, we went with Truecoat II Plus because it has a flexible pump tube so you can tip the gun upwards or turn it sideways and the paint will still siphon to the sprayer (good for painting ceilings), and it offered an adjustable air pressure knob, so you can adjust the spray pressure for more control (a little less overspray) and for the thickness of the paint you're using. Also it is repairable, and you can buy parts for it, some of the older Truecoat models are not repairable. They do sell different tips you can buy for the sprayer to give you different spray size and for different thicknesses of materials (latex paint vs thin stain), they also make a larger container cup, a back pack attachment kit that can hold up to a gallon of paint so you don't have to use the container cup attachment and refill as often. You can also purchase more plastic bag cup liners so cleanup is easier. The cons to this sprayer are, it's heavy because the paint container is attached to the gun, you have to refill more often because it uses a smaller amount of paint at a time, and you get more overspray and go through paint much faster than you do with an HVLP sprayer because it's airless. The overspray will be decent so make sure you mask/cover things well when using. Clean up takes about 20-30 min and you have to make sure you take the time to do it properly, and masking/covering to protect from overspray can take some time, however the upside is you can paint 10 doors in about 10 min with it.

remodelfla: I only use the microwave to defrost (when I didn't have the sense to pull the item into the refrig a day in advance), or to reheat leftovers that I don't feel like using the oven, hob, or toaster to reheat. If it wasn't for those occasion where I am feeling lazy or needed to shave some prep time off things I wouldn't bother owning a microwave. You are right about the landing though, I only gave it about 16" of landing to the right, which is partially because I figured I can use the eating bar as more storage space if needed. The kitchen is huge already and I'm trying to shave space where I can. Worst case I can move items to the island maybe off the hob. I might yet add some space though, thank you. :) bmorepanic: I never thought about that, my top is only about 18" and I can see that being a major issue. I haven't owned a raised eating bar yet but think they are quite aesthetically appealing. The hob is going to be induction to ease some safety issues, but I may still make the bar level. To the prep sink, I have the kitchen divided into a cooking and a baking area atm. That way one person can be baking while the other is cooking. My SO is an amazing cook and quite often I will run into her in our current U-shape kitchen with about 50" between counter fronts even when we are working on opposite counters. So keeping the prep sink is expensive, but I really wanted to save people from having to share one sink or walk across the kitchen to add a little water to the mixer. Plus I have to have a water line to the ovens for their steam assist feature anyway. I'm hoping I don't need a disposal for the prep sink as the baking area shouldn't have anything that warrants one? And the trash cans I will be mounting with a false toe kick so they have more clearance. The pantry is best explained by the fact that my current pantry (which is a 24" that I installed large pullout baskets for) is so well organized that if it weren't for the fact I have to look to weave past various bottles and boxes to get at stuff in the back and lift them up enough, it is so well organized I know exactly where things are and wouldn't bother looking to grab. My hope is that by making thinner pantry pullouts that aren't baskets means things will never be wore than 2 wide and thus everything is just a matter of knowing what is where to have it at one pull and one grab. I will include a link of my storage map to example later. (it shows where pots, dishes, utensils, etc are going) I do need to rethink having countertop space near the pantry though, incase I need multiple items. I only use the mixer for baking, I hand whip anything I typically cook. So the mixer is in the baking area and the food proccessor is on the cooking side. Thinking about it now though, when baking I do use the food pro sometimes... that may become an issue. Lastly, the aisle. The mudroom located to the east has a hall on the side not connected to the kitchen that heads to the Powder room, laundry room, and then the great room. So hopefully only those needing to be in the kitchen will be travelling through the kitchen. Plus I like to be able to pivot and be able to reach the opposite counter when working, 48" is too much of a stretch. Thank you for all the feedback! I hope I get many more people as thoughtful as you. :D rhome410: All the swinging doors are pocket doors and all shelves are pull out in teh base cabinets (should have mentioned that earlier). I know it is much more expensive to do, but I plan to build the cabinets myself, so the only real concern is wasted space. But the kitchen is huge so I think I will still have plenty of storage despite the need for false walls. I may just yet move the prep sink to the island to exactly where you mentioned, the far right side. I figured for ease of plumbing it would be more practical to keep it near the steam assisted oven that needs a water line anyway though. (Any arguements for or against the two position possibilities?) As for the main swap you suggest and all the shifts it would entail. That is precisely the reason I made this thread. I have an alternate layout very similar to the one you suggest that I should probably through together in CAD instead of hand drawn and post it. I will try to get to that this afternoon when I get home. For storage, let me also post the storage diagram I have this afternoon as well. The dishes are all stored in the wall cabinets on teh south wall atm. I have been debating breaking my field of view to the great room with hanging cabinets across, but I really would prefer not to block the view with any more than the hood for the hob if I keep the hob there. (which is looking less likely thanks to all of the feedback) Thank you all again, please keep up the bombardment of good ideas!

I like your cabinets, and if they are in good shape you might keep them, but I am not fond of the layout, particularly the stovetop in the island. Figuring out a good, workable layout requires more thought then a quick post, but this is what I would consider off the top of my head:) Since you have a nice number of cabinets, you could lose some of the uppers on the sink wall. Then the sink could move up or down that run of cabinets and a stovetop with hood on the same wall as the sink run but at least 3 to 4' away. I would add more windows to that wall if it would not look odd from outside. I am not sure that could happen, but I love in my own kitchen's sink / prep space / stove without having to cross an aisle. I also love that my island does not have anything in it and I can use the whole thing for prep or whatever. This is what I mean by moving the stove to the sink wall though it would be better if in this example, there was another foot between the sink and range. Another possibility would be to switch the stovetop and sink, though the stovetop should not be in front of the window. The only other thing I would want to change is the backsplash. That is a personal choice but I like a simpler subway tile with wood cabinets. I think you have a very pretty kitchen but I lean traditional and not modern. Before embarking on a very modern look be sure it will blend with the rest of the home. This is my wood kitchens idea book with both new and older, refreshed wood kitchens. Maybe you will see something that gives you some direction: https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens

@Eva N, what gorgeous yellow tile! So great you've decided to keep it. If you're still debating countertops, I'd personally go for white rather than soapstone in that space. It will keep with the brightness of the tile. Another option, which you may have seen on retrorenovations (I think people recommended that site on your original thread), would be to use white 4x4 square tile on the countertop, with black v-cap or box-cap edging. Tile countertops are making a comeback, they're cheaper than stone, and super durable, and would be true to the period of your kitchen. You can get inexpensive white field tile from Lowes/HD and then get the more specialized edging tiles from someplace else. For my 1920s kitchen, I found reasonably priced v- and box-cap trim tiles from B&W and Daltile (their Color Wheel and Semi-Glass & Matte collections are great for retro kitchens). Modern grouts are much more stain resistant and easier to keep clean than before, so I'm much less worried about the grout lines getting grimy. As for cabinets, repainting in all the same color would go a long way to covering up any mismatches in the style of the doors. Another option would be to decide which style you like better and replace the other doors/drawer faces with matching ones. (Personally, I love the white flat-front ones in your butler's pantry! They're what I'm putting in my retro 1920s kitchen.)