Hi rosebay!

First and foremost, I would not open up that wall.

I have two questions: What is to the left of your kitchen, particularly at the end of the sink counter and beyond the pocket door? Are you interested in a range instead of a separate cooktop and oven? You'll gain counterspace with a range.

@benjesbride - hello! To the left is a small dining room and beyond is my laundry room. I will add an 8' bank of upper and lower cabinets with a utility sink to the left of the w/d. More pics attached! Thank you so very much for your advice. The range intrigues me. I used to have a dual fuel dacor and loved it, but I would probably increase to a 36" model to allow for a little more room in the oven. I'm really thinking that's a great idea!

@mama - good point about the venting. I think I will keep it closed. My shanghaimom has a gorgeous oven! And I agree about the cooktop - it's always a challenge with where to put things from the oven

I'd first consider putting the 24" pantry on the far end of the kitchen next to the refrigerator so the tall kitchen components are next to each other on one end and the kitchen is open to the dining room on the other end. In the drawing below, the pantry includes a microwave shelf. I'd also use a range instead of two separate appliances. I don't think you need to do anything beyond your existing footprint because I wouldn't want to compromise what looks to be a comfortable sized dining area.

I am not sure if you are already doing this, but I would remove the soffits, and take the cabinets up to the ceiling. Is it an 8' ceiling?

Edit: Never mind, I see you commented on this in your OP, but I missed it on the first read. I still want to know your ceiling height.

It looks like you have a fair sized pantry already with a good plan to configure the storage with the 8 foot run of uppers and lowers. I would delete a pantry from the galley area in favor of more counter space. A French door frig on the end with a slide-in 30" induction range like a Bosch Benchmark centered in the counter run. A large single bowl sink is very useful these days now that everyone uses a dishwasher. The other change that will really expand your work area is to space the lowers out from the wall with proper finishing end panels to get 28-30" deep counters on both sides of the kitchen. The extra depth won't be a problem given the width of your aisle space. It gives you a more island-like work space.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2339367/does-anyone-here-who-went-induction-regret-your-choice?n=105

Such helpful advice. This is really making a difference in my approach. @mamiller - yes, it is an 8' ceiling.

@dan - I didn't think I'd be able to squeeze laundry room cabinetry into my budget, but it's looking like I will be able to. I would then agree it would be better to have counterspace in the kitchen. Particularly intrigued with your idea to widen the counters - I don't know that I've ever seen that, but it sounds very nice. maybe I'd just go with an extra 3-4" to be on the safe side for aisle space.

So excited for all of the wonderful feedback - thank you to all!

Anita

Your kitchen looks like it has traffic through it to different rooms, right? I don't blame you for wanting to keep your aisle wider to allow for traffic. How about just doing a deeper counter on just the fridge/range side? Bring it out to the deepest you can make it to still be able open your fridge doors all the way. You want to be sure you can pull your produce drawers and shelves out for cleaning. This will make both fridge and range look more built-in as well You will need to ensure your range is set per manufacturer's recommendations for proper clearance as well. This might mean a small strip of counter behind the range to bring the range out a bit. Since your length of counter is actually a bit more limited on the range side, the extra depth will come in handy there.

Hi funkycamper, yes, it's a straight shot from the hallway, through the entry way, then kitchen to laundry room and out to the garage. So, the kitchen gets a lot of traffic. Good point about maintaining the aisle space as much as possible - limiting the wider counter to one side.

Gardenweb forums are amazing. Such great advice on every single response. I meet with 2nd contractor on Monday, so these comments will certainly help get to a better solution!

The more of a drawn up finished layout you can give him, while remaining flexible, the more likely you are to get a positive collaborative response.

Hit an appliance store for a refrigerator box. Cut it up and lay long pieces on your counters spaced out to give you a working in place idea of how much depth each side can handle.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2574247/30-inch-deep-counter-tops?n=15

And it might be better to just add, like 2" to each side, too. So play with the different options. I wouldn't go less than 54" in a corridor kitchen.

Do you have a floor plan of the whole first floor? I am wondering if adding a door or doorway somewhere else could help route traffic past the kitchen rather than through it.

Your pantry next to the washer/dryer: is that a pantry, or is that a mudroom? Will you need to share it w/ coats, etc?

1. If you don't need a separate pantry, I would reduce it from Benjesbride's layout, put in a 12" tall/pull-out, so that the fridge door can still open.

2. w/ such wide aisle: I would pull out the base cabinets on both walls, so that the countertops are ~30" deep/more usable.

Get a slider range, and put in a ~3"granite filler or whatever countertop material you're using.

3. I would put the MW in the pantry/laundry room, or under the counter to the Left of the range.

oops: Dan1888 already said all this.

I think you'll love having more counter space on either side of your stove. If you decide you do want an opening from kit into FR, maybe just the space between fridge and stove (as shown on your 3D drawing). You'd lose 1 cab but would be able to talk with anyone in the FR or hear the news/tv in the morning while making coffee or in evening while fixing dinner.

all drawers (as shown)= good

will you have drawers in laundry room lower cab space?

have you figured in an eating space for puppy? If you have plenty of cab space for everything (and can spare part of one) you could see about having an opening in the lower part of one of your end cabs for puppy dishes to 'live'.

I haven't read every word. Just want to say that you HAVE a 'pantry'. It's in your laundry room/back hallway, right off the kitchen. Clear the walls and make some closets. Voila! A Pantry!

Beware any combination appliance like the microwave/oven or microwave/exhaust fan. The oven and fan will go on for decades, but not the M/W. (Ask me how I know! LOL) You can cheaply replace a microwave, but not a *built-in* microwave.

Can you reach shelves in tall upper cabinets without a step-ladder? They look nice, but sometimes a soffit plus less-tall cabinets works just fine and is cheaper. If you need the 'dead storage' on the top shelves, taller makes sense.

Deeper countertops are a boon, leaving more room for countertop appliances (coffee maker, blender, toaster). I like drawers in my lower cabinets better than doors/shelves. I like under-cabinet lights. No 'working' countertop should be less than 18" wide. Avoid blocking your aisles with appliance doors -- fridge, dishwasher, oven door, etc.; stagger these where they are opposite one another. I prefer a double sink. One of my favorite things is the pull-out garbage/recycling bin at one side of my sink. Another is my stacked dishdrawers; one is adequate for two adults, running it once a day, and dishes don't 'wait' in the sink until there are enough to bother washing.

Nice pantry and laundry space! I have 28" deep counters on the fridge/range wall, so I agree with the above posts that the extra few inches are nice. Does your left side fridge door open fully? In the pics it looks as if it's against the wall.