A combination of adjustable track lighting overhead and dimmable task lighting for the counter helps make this kitchen more appealing and more efficient.

eam44, thanks for the pics! I SO wish I could do that! Unfortunately we cannot add any more glass to the back of the house. Apparently the eagles don't like it and zoning laws protect them. Fortunately there are huge windows/glass doors in the dinette and living room. Also, we are slab on grade and moving that plumbing is not in the budget. So alas I"m stuck with it~ And wow, that corner window seat is stunning!!

Here's an idea: The counters and cabinets along the perimeter are all 3" deeper than standard: 28.5" deep counters 27" deep base cabinets 15" deep upper cabinets The deeper cabinets provide a lot more storage and the deeper counters provide more workspace. If your cabinetmaker does not offer 27" deep base cabinets, then simply pull standard depth base cabinets out 3" from the wall. Most, if not all, cabinetmakers offer 15" deep uppers. The Cleanup Zone and Dish Storage are near the Dining Room for ease of setting the table and cleaning off the table. They're also a direct shot from the Living Room. Dish Storage is in a 30" wide dish hutch. The upper cabinet goes from the counter up to the ceiling (or however high your uppers go). This gives you a lot of storage space for dishes, glasses, etc. With the deeper counters, the upper cabinet of the hutch is 15" deep so you can fit all your plates and platters. The two Prep Zones are separated from the Cleanup Zone, which allows you to have someone cleaning up while others are prepping/cooking. With two "primary" Prep Zones, you can have two people doing major prep work at the same time. It also provides you with a choice of where to prep - on the island or b/w the range and cleanup sink. As your toddler grows up, s/he will be helping in the Kitchen, so you will each have your own space! It also allows guests, etc., to help out during get togethers. With the prep sink offset, you have a wonderful expanse of workspace for large projects such as baking, cookie decorating, crafts, school/science projects, wrapping gifts, staging food during parties, etc. Both the MW drawer & wine cooler are on the sides of the island to keep people out of the main work zones. It really doesn't matter which side of the island they're on - you can switch them. I can argue for/against both arrangements. The refrigerator & freezer are on the periphery of the Kitchen for the same reason. The trash pullout is located so it's easily accessible from both Prep Zones, the Cooking Zone, and the Cleanup Zone as well as on the periphery. Small Appliances...There's a mixer lift for your stand mixer and the other small appliances can be stored in the 27" wide drawer bank across from the mixer lift. No appliance garage, but in all honesty, most people end up taking them out when they remodel b/c they take up too much counterspace and the what counterspace there is in front of the garage is useless b/c you don't want to block access. Better to store them where they can be easily accessed without having to move things around or even to shuffle appliances around in a smaller space inside a garage. With the drawers, they're all accessible without shuffling or taking up valuable counterspace. If there's room, you could also store them in the Pantry - 12" deep shelves hold the vast majority of standard small appliances. Cookbooks could be stored in the shelves of the 24" upper cabinet, if you'd like. I ended up storing mine in an upper cabinet next to my hood b/c I forgot to plan for them and that location is actually working out quite well! They're right were I need them! If you have dozens of cookbooks, they probably won't all fit, but you could at least store your most used cookbooks there on 1 or 2 shelves. I put in the Savigny range. It's still quite large, but at least you gained a few inches of workspace! The pantry is a reach-in, possibly step-in pantry with only 12" deep shelves. Built-in pantries are much more efficient and flexible storage if their shelves are not too deep - and they're less expensive! They provide a full view of what you have so there's no opening/closing drawers or roll out tray shelves looking for something Shelves can be adjustable for not only flexible storage initially, but if your needs change later, you can re-adjust them. If needed, you can store larger items on the floor. You have access to the entire space for storage - floor to ceiling. You can even use the side walls to hang a broom or mop. The "sweet spot" for pantry shelf depth is 12". Just about everything will fit on 12" deep shelves - cereal boxes, rolls of paper towels, cans, boxes, small appliances (food processors, mixers, blenders, breadmakers, standard size toaster ovens, toasters, waffle irons, etc.). The shallow depth doesn't allow you to store things too deep so things do not get lost. If you're concerned about organization, get bins or similar to organize smaller items on the shelves. The problem with 24" deep pantry cabinets is that they are not particularly flexible, things get lost in the back and in the "middle" of the roll out tray shelves (especially those above your chest), and if you're not quite sure where something is, you have to open/close multiple drawers/roll out tray shelves looking for the item. In addition, you only have "access" to the internal height of the pantry cabinet - usually quite a bit less than floor-to-ceiling b/c of toekick and limited cabinet heights available, Oh, and they're expensive. . Layout #1: . Layout #1 Zone Map: .

here's an updated floorplan *excuse my photoshop copy and paste* - smaller island - french doors for the reach in pantry (narrow and custom made to fit the existing door frame) - even cabinets on each side of the stove, counting for the window moulding near the sink (about 33" on each side of the stove) - the island has a front of 15" deep drawers and 15" deep for seating with legs on each end to support the countertops, 3 seats total at 25" of space for each My next question will be about the original butler's pantry, but we will cross that bridge when we get there....I'd love to hear your thoughts on this plan: this is our front shot of where the fridge would go for a better visual - it will be placed in its own alcove with a lower ceiling height than the rest of the kitchen at just 7'9" (because of the addition and the gables), which is just enough for a 72" tall fridge and a 15-20" cabinet on top. The rest of the kitchen is 9'5" tall. The fridge is a custom panel, french door 36" wide.