I am not an expert by any means, but I think most of your plan looks good. I think the new garage entry and laundry is a much better use of space. You could expand the laundry room even further into the kitchen space, since it is such a large room, if that is something you want.

I think the island, as drawn, is way, way too big, and most of it would be unusable. If I am reading the plan correctly, it is 5'6" deep. It would be difficult to reach the center area, and to clean the counter surface. My island is only 36" deep, and I have to walk around it when I wipe down the counters. You wouldn't be able to reach to hand someone a drink or a plate from the cooking side to the seating side.

I think you could do a large island, or even two islands, because you have so much space to work with, but you should rethink the design and shape of the island.

What style is the house, and what style is planned for the kitchen?

I have a hard time describing the style of the house -- it is definitely pretty unique with lots of angled walls, recurring octagonal room shapes, multiple levels. An architect designed it for his personal home before we acquired it. From the outside it looks a little like a castle. The kitchen is currently almost all white with Corian counter tops and deteriorating white melamine-like cabinets. Although we like white kitchens we want a change and are thinking more about simple shaker style cabinets in a medium toned wood with likely quartz or perhaps soapstone counters. We're actually not very far along at all in figuring out the style or look we want but are trying to work out functional stuff first.

Your comments about the size of the island very much echo our own fears that it is just too big. It is indeed 5'6" wide, not even counting the counter area. Searching the forums for "large islands", we found at least a handful of people with islands this size who like them but also came across lots of comments about the difficulty of cleaning them, having to place seams in the counter top, and how a "continent-sized" island can be an overwhelming visual element.

Two islands is an interesting idea. I'll have to noodle around with that a bit and see if I can come up with something.

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

I really like the way you have opened up the walls between the kitchen and dining. I think that will make a huge impact. Cool shape to the house.

I was curious why you dislike entering directly into the kitchen from the garage. Seems much more convenient like when carrying groceries in from the car. It is a straight shot, instead of having to go through the laundry room and around the corner. I wouldn't like that personally, but maybe it is because my laundry room is not the most tidy room in the house. :-/

Yes, that island is a beast! Haha! I see where you are trying to go with the shape of the room, but as the last post mentioned, cleaning the center will take some big ole' orangutan arms.

I think you could rearrange the layout, so as to better follow the "ice, water, stone, fire" recommendation. Did you see that thread by marcolo? It a good one and funny too!

I don't know what to recommend right of the bat, but I will think more about it. Hopefully, some who are better at design will be able to help more than I can. :-)

Wow, what a great project. The angles make it really interesting, though probably more challenging in the design process.

I second the idea of two islands or one smaller island. And have you considered a larger prep sink? I know that would be high on my list if I had the room.

Also, as someone who is removing a kitchen desk, it seems like that would be a great spot for a wine/beverage area with an under counter refrigerator, which might free up some room in your refrigerator. And it's so conveniently located next to your dining room making it a great area for a wine or cocktail bar.

To be honest I think that some of our negativity about entering directly into the kitchen from the garage probably dates from when our kids were young and would dump everything onto that peninsula when they got home and it was forever a mess. Probably the more important reason (at least in our mind) for eliminating that door to the garage and diverting entry to the laundry room was to gain some real estate in the kitchen but whether that is really necessary is probably debatable. I suspect you're right that after a major Costco run we may wonder what we were thinking with the extra distance we're schlepping all those bags!

I'm looking for the marcolo thread now; sounds like good reading. I also just discovered the Kitchens FAQ section and am furiously educating myself about kitchen work zones, workflow, how to ask for kitchen layout help (whoops, should have read that before posting I guess. :). Lots of great stuff.

I really like your thoughts about the possibility of re-purposing the desk area into a wine/beverage/cocktail area. We really like wine (and actually built a wine cellar into the basement of the house a few years ago), and it would be great to have a place for decanted wines to rest, a place for keeping chilled bottles of white wine, etc.

Some of the reason for putting the desk space there was that newly available space after the walls come down didn't seem very well positioned for actual kitchen use so a writing desk/computer area seemed reasonable. I'm interested in hearing more about your own experience with a desk space in the kitchen and what led you to remove it.

If I have time after work this evening I am going to try to sketch out and post a few alternate down-sized or multiple island possibilities for people to comment on.

The ever-popular "Ice. Water. Stone. Fire." thread!

Looking for layout help? Memorize this first

If you're worried about a drop zone - design one in!

I would not want people coming in through my Laundry Room, even close friends and family. Having my dirty laundry on display to all, even if it's neat, is not my idea of pleasant - nor would it be to your visitors. I've a friend who has a similar Garage entry/Laundry Room entrance and I feel uncomfortable going through the Laundry Room - but maybe that's just me...

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As to schlepping groceries - with the exception of the refrigerator, it's not that much different with either garage entries when going to the pantry.

Think about moving the Laundry Room to the Shower Room, putting the Garage Door to the right of the Laundry Room, and building a Message/Command Center and/or some type of Mudroom

What's the size of your Garage? Could you steal some space from it to help create a Mudroom?

BTW...I'm not sure you'll be able to "officially" keep that Laundry Chute b/c it's a violation of Fire Codes (at least in our area) -- unless it's fireproofed (or whatever you have to do to it to pass Fire Code).

Loved the "Ice. Water. Stone. Fire." thread! Thanks for pointing me to it. I think our layout seems to be okay although it makes me want to be doubly certain the prep sink is large enough as ediblekitchen mentions (while also making sure the "stone" area next to it is also big enough).

Buehl, I totally hear what you're saying about having people enter the house through the laundry room, but with the chronic state of mess in our garage (motorcycles dripping oil, half rebuilt engines blocking the way, etc.) we try to avoid anyone but ourselves even going into the garage!

Seriously, though, we gave a lot of thought to the laundry room entry and ended up deciding to use it as the (albeit small) mudroom/drop zone on the way in. I'm probably misunderstanding your suggestion but the new laundry room is already taking over the shower room and the shower room by itself is too small to serve as the laundry room. We could combine that 4 ft wide hallway on the extreme left of the drawing with the shower room to create a decent laundry room but then we lose a valuable (but not absolutely essential) doorway to the front yard where our BBQ island is located. If we did that though we could definitely have a really nice Mudroom/Message Center space to enter the garage from and not intrude on the kitchen space.

My thoughts on two islands: I would do one square work island, with a large prep sink, close to the range & fridge, with seating on the far side. I would do another rectangular island close to the dining room, that could be used for buffet serving, and with a wine fridge and wine racks on the kitchen side.

You might post a layout of the upstairs and get suggestions about where you might fit in the washer/dryer up there. That is, ultimately, that is the most convenient location if you can afford it. We get a lot of people trying to fit a laundry room on the first floor because there's no space for it upstairs, but we have a lot of creative people here and so far have basically always found space upstairs where the home owner could never imagine it.

On kitchen desks... Our kitchen desk is going to be raised to counter height so we can use it as a wine and espresso machine area. We just found that it accumulated paperwork and since it faced a wall, we never actually used it as a desk. We'd rather sit at the bar with the iPad. I have already removed the bookshelves above it where I used to keep my cookbooks and I replaced with a pair of glass front cabinets for wine glasses. I keep my cookbooks in my office and bring out one if I am using it or access my own recipes on my iPad. So I am thinking about adding one of those outlets that has the USB plug built in.

I have a tiny kitchen where every bit of space counts, but I think even with tons of space, there's no room for something you don't use.

tcchaconas, what is your climate? It's cold where I live, and we need a place by the garage entrance for coats, mittens, boots and shoes. Even if I had a closet nearby, I would not want to take off my coat and shoes in the kitchen. The way you describe your garage usage, the laundry entry seems like a good deal. Let's face it, not every trip in from the gaagegoes to the kitchen!

I had a desk in a little nook in my kitchen - not built in exactly, but with cupboards above. In 20 years I never, ever sat at the desk - the kitchen table was a few steps away, so that's where I would sit to do bills, etc. The desk was always piled high with stuff. In my kitchen remodel, I eliminated the desk, but built in a couple of file drawers, plus small drawers and a cabinet for "desk" stuff: pens, scissors, tape, stapler, phone book, envelopes, calendar, etc. I also put two outlets in the cabinet, as a charging station. I love having all that stuff behind closed doors.

Before I invested funds and space into a built-in desk, I would seriously consider if I would really use it. When do you do desk-type activities now? Does it work for you? Do you think you would change those habits if you had a dedicated desk in the kitchen?

Now, about that island: Where do you eat most of your meals? How often do you sit down to eat together? How often do you use the dining room? I think that when you open up the dining room to the kitchen, it will seem natural to eat there - the huge island with lots of seating isn't necessary so close to the table. But I can see why you feel obligated to fill up some of the space that you have created by opening up the dining room.

Try a rectangular island in front of the range, that ends about where the wall angles. Perhaps two seats on the other side. I love the idea of a wine fridge and sideboard under the window, where you show the desk - that's your buffet space.

Now, to take advantage of your new-found space, I would love to see a little sitting area - a couple of comfy chairs and a small end table - in front of the window at the top of the dining room. With your angled exterior walls, you can orient the table in just about any direction, depanding on how best to maintain walkways to the sliding door.

I' not crazy about the fridge location - it's going to make that corner a bit of a cave. It's conveniently near the pantry, but looms a bit. I think I'd put it on the wall between sink and desk area, giving you an ice, water, stone, fire orientation; it would also help to define the kitchen form the dining area. As drawn, it sort of feels like you started at the fridge, started adding cabinets and counters, and didn't know when to stop. It would also offer a nice separation in case you wanted to do a different countertop in the dining room area.

And it frees up the corner by the pantry as a landing area, and allows you to make better use of the corner.

This is my first attempt at drawing a layout (besides my own kitchen that is) so please forgive my amateur attempt. :-)

I went with your decision to move your garage entry to the laundry/mudroom.

I wanted to keep it close to how you had it, with the sink centered under the window and the range on the longest wall. That does seem the only logical place for a 48" range with 60" hood.

Now, the fridge...the location is bugging me. I was trying for it on the left side of the sink to the get the IWSF working better, but then it is really far from the pantry. IDK, what are your thoughts?

Not sure which side of the island to put the prep sink either. I guess it would depend which side the fridge is on?

Well, I hope this will give you an idea to play with anyways. Of course, it is probably way off as to the scale, but you get the idea. :-)

Maybe an L island. I'm thinking 7-7 1/4 across the range would be a good size for prep, if you have room for it.

Before I got to the last post I was thinking of a way to reshape your island. Previous versions were not conversation friendly, the last one is. Also wondering if something more curved could be used but not sure if that would play well with the angled walls.

Definately put the desk at counter height so it can be a versatile space.

A thousand apologies for not responding yet to all these incredibly thought-provoking ideas and suggestions. When I'm home from work today I will try to plant myself in front of the computer with flying fingers on the keyboard!

I like the fridge where Rebunky placed it on the right.

Here's an example with two islands and a perimetershape somewhat similar to yours:

Mendon Kitchen · More Info

Mendon Kitchen · More Info

I love your angled walls and octagon shapes and think your kitchen/dining area is going to be incredible.

Since nobody uses your garage entrance except family, I think entering through laundry is just fine. Even if you are coming home from a Costco run because I would imagine that a lot of that Costco stuff is going into the pantry, right? So, really it's a straight shot. I would make the wall opposite w/d as a mini-mudroom type of set up.

Although, really, I do agree that it would be best to move W/D upstairs near bedrooms so do share your upstairs floor plan with us so we can help you do that. In our previous 2-story with bedrooms upstairs, we moved W/D to the master bath upstairs and it was, by far, the best thing we ever did in that house. Of course, if W/D are moved upstairs, that whole room would make a great mudroom and give you lots of landing space. Someday, a future family with kids will thank you for both changes.

I actually like your current fridge location but I think that's because I don't like the look of fridges and always want them off where they are less noticeable as long as they are still in a place that makes sense for ice-water-stone-fire. And I think it achieves that where it's at. But it would work fine on the other side if you choose. But, yes, please consider a smaller island with a larger prep sink with adequate counter on each side of the sink. In your original island plan, your sink was so close to the edge that you would have to put food to the right of the sink and then put it back where when done washing it. So much easier to have unwashed on one side, wash it, then clean food moves to the other side.

While I like the two island ideas much better than the huge continent-sized island you originally had, I question whether a second island is necessary. You have a LOT of counter space and really don't need a second island for buffet service, imho. Get rid of the desk, make it into a beverage center that would work for both coffee or drinks, and use that area for buffet service. If budget allows, I'd put another small beverage sink there to make coffee/tea/drink-mixing convenient, and a small beverage fridge and/or wine cooler. Or both. You have the room. If budget doesn't allow for all this now,I'd plumb and wire for it and add them later when money frees up.

Instead of the second island, I'd go for more comfortable seating as well. I totally agree with AnnKH that you have room for a sitting area and you should go for it. Our remodel is allowing for that and even though we're far from done (DIY takes time), those comfy loveseats are getting a lot of use. It so welcoming and I appreciate people sitting there to visit with me. It keeps them out of my work zone but close enough to chat.

If you search through threads here, most people dislike desks for all the reasons previously stated. I love the idea of including a file drawer and storage for office supplies and, really, with laptops and tablets, you can sit anywhere. I'd be sitting in one of those comfy chairs. :) Unless I needed space to spread out papers, then your island or dining room table will do nicely.

I really look forward to seeing your final plans and your reveal. I just love the space you're working with.