Two parents? Five kids and six stools means that someone always stands.

How wide is the island? Big enough to prep on (you may want to consider a prep sink), not too big to slide plates across but big enough that hands won't get burned?

When they help empty the dishwasher do you know where the plates, glasses and cutlery will go and will that be somewhere other than exactly where dinner is being prepared?

I would prefer the window over the entire sink side unless it faces into the sun.

Hopefully others will chime in as there is something about that fridge area/upper cabinets around sink that, while attactively symmetrical seems wrong to me, I think that it is having almost ceiling height 24 inch deep 24 inch wide upper cabinets makes no sense as you can't put things on shelves that are over your head and use them conveniently. So to me, you might as well open the space between the fridge and the oven and gain more countertop prep area next to the sink and/or significantly reduce the depth on those cabinets so that you have some prep area in front of them and items won't be lost at their very back and require you to use a stepladder in order to retrieve them. Although you should plan on an area to store a step ladder and a broom.

You will put your groceries on the island and open the fridge -- I think that the fridge is the wider of the two doors -- and take two steps around the larger size door to unload or open the door as wide as it will go so that it is not in your way which means that it will interfere with putting dry goods in the cabinet next to the refrigerator if that's where you're going to put dry goods ...or you could put the bags on the floor and lift the goods up into the fridge...perhaps the fridge doors should be reversed, moving the fridge to the left.

The stools are a good point....but no matter how many you have, I'd want to put one on each end, if at all possible. It's easier to talk to each other, if you're not all lined up :)

Also, I would swap the sink and cooktop. In fact, I'd make it a range and put the pantry where you have the ovens. Then, you can have windows on each side of the range and sink/clean up area on island. Safer and no hood over island!

Just a few ideas....

The windows are too big in this picture, but it's similar to your island. Just picture narrower windows with fridge on one side and pantry on the other.

Practical...thank you for helping me thing this thru....

6 stools...that was the biggest island we could get...I expect to be doing breakfast and lunches at island so I won't be sitting. Dinner will be at the dining table directly behind the island. We are considering doing a waterfall edge but I agree I would prefer to have seating for talking, however my husband likes the straight line look.

We are doing an induction cooktop for safety reasons.

I am also stumped with where dishes go...in the island drawer in front of dishwasher?

The updated plan has the window extend from left to right cabinet. The best addition is we are going to have a seamless counter top to the exterior for a pass thru to bbq and seating t keep crumbs outside!

Great tip on moving the fridge to the left!!! Also the cabinet above the fridge is now gone due height constraints.

Next to the fridge I was going to do an appliance garage but maybe that should be left of the sink instead and make it a pantry. Which is better design do you think?

lavender_lass I was tossing around the placement of the sink and cooktop b/c I didn't want the hood in the room. Ultimately I changed it around because I wanted to do an induction cooktop and I want to see my kids while Im cooking. I also decided on putting a accordion or slider door to make a pass through and counter to our bbq area. I like the window in that location for that reason. I also decided on the steam oven and that is why I put both ovens on the wall. I wonder about moving ovens to the far right and making the other two cabinets pantry with roll out drawers behind doors. What do you think?

I also wonder about where dishes and trash would go.....

I am too busy nursing my jealousy to offer anything constructive lol.

I love the long island, I agree a set for everyone only makes sense. Can you fit a stool tucked in on the other side? It would be handy for prepping.

I think you are getting some good advice above. Gorgeous!

We're in the middle of a major remodel of a MCM ourselves. My wife has done extensive research and pushed me into a hood that is all straight lines, no curves. Good luck with the project! Ours is original too and when we started on the kitchen we found big problems with supporting beams, mold damage, bad electrical. over $100k and 5 months later we're still in a rental.

OK I am not jealous anymore ;-P

YOU are a very important person and you need to have a seat at any table in your house!!! If that requires something other than a straight run I think you should insist upon it. Also, you may want to sit down to do some of your cooking while others are already snacking or eating.

The daily use dishes could certainly go in the island, I would take the time to figure out where they are going to go, as well as where the glasses, cutlery, coffee mugs in the coffee station and the pots and pans before committing to this plan.

If you are doing a pass through to the outside, you cannot put the stove on that wall because you will not be able to lean over something on or still hot and pass things through.

Lavender Lass... I am in love with kitchen in that picture… But what do you think they did with the fridge?

Sorry, I was unclear on which cabinet you were thinking for pantry and which for appliance garage.

Practigal- My guess...the fridge is on the right (just out of the picture) and across from that little glass cabinet on the left.

But - you will be prepping next to the sink...and the majority of people spend 70% or more time prepping and only 10% or less actually cooking. You don't stand in front of the food and watch it cook, do you?

As to induction, that's all well and good, but it has nothing to do with the scalding steam billowing out from a pot of boiling water or grease splattering while browning meat or similar. It's the hot food and related things (e.g., steam & grease) that are the greatest issue, not the type of cooking appliance you're using.

However, if you have:

(1) A good island hood that is properly sized and has strong
enough CFMs:

• At least 6" wider than the cooktop
• 27" deep
• 900 or so CFMs (preferably 900 at Medium to cut down on
  noise – the stronger a fan is, the lower the setting you need to use to be
  effective and the quieter it will be)
• Is mounted properly (no more than 30" above the
  cooking surface in most cases)

--and--

(2) Your island is at least 48" deep - with 24" b/w
the back of the cooking surface and the edge of the seating overhang

...then you should be OK. You'll still prep at the sink with
your back to everyone, but that may be OK with you.

Dish storage can easily be in drawers. You don't need uppers for dishes!

Island...is it 12' long! That's a long island! But, I guess it's no different than having a wall 12' long.

Is there room for seats on the ends, as Lavender suggested?

Seating measurements:

• 24" linear space per seat (some people are starting to suggest 30" per person b/c people are "bigger" today)

• At least 15" of clear knee/leg space for the seating overhang

Oh hey nice to see you Buehl working that incredible brain of yours! :-)

If you like the waterfall edge on the island, but also want that extra seating, what about something like this? Waterfall on one end? Of course, imagine the seats go to the far end.

I agree that the cooktop would be much better on the wall. Love the idea of the flanking windows!

It's hard to see the cabinets on the right well in the first picture, but I would try and stick with flat front drawers/doors if at all possible.