It'll look fine.

No...I do not care for the tight feeling of a 30" gas cooktop. Go with the 36"!!!!

I'll be the dissenting voice and say that the extra 6" of counter would mean more to me than the 6" on a cooktop but that's because I spend so much more time prepping and chopping than actually cooking and I do manage 4 pots on the stove at the same time on the 30".

Are you set on the wall ovens and cooktop and will not consider a range to get some counter back?

You need to distinguish between a cooktop and a rangetop (which is like just the top part of the range, without the oven).

For a 30" width, I would only get a rangetop, never a cooktop. A cooktop's knobs crowd the cooking surface too much for a 30" width. A 30" rangetop does not have that issue. Overall, my first choice would definitely be a 36" width, whether cooktop or rangetop. People sometimes say they wish they'd gone bigger than a 30" width. No one ever says, "shoot, I wish I had a 30" instead of a 36" width".

Dont forget that your hood needs to be 36" too if you choose the 36" width in a cooktop or rangetop.

http://www.ajmadison.com/ajmadison/images/large/DRT304-Large.jpg

FWIW, I have a 30" induction cooktop and it's perfectly fine. I have no interest in a 5th burner or more width. (and in my previous home I had a 36" 6-burner Viking cooktop, so I have something to compare this too).

Just one correction. The hood should be 6" wider than the cooktop/rangetop. So a 36" cooking surface should have a 42" hood.

I do most of my cooking on the top (lots of stir fries and sautes) and I have never felt the need for a 36" and have never felt crowded working on a 30" but I think that's a YMMV decision, no right or wrong. You should have at least 18" on each side for placing hot pots and to have enough clearance for safety. More is better. It sounds like you have plenty of counter. You'll be fine with a 36".

FWIW, you are only loosing 3 inches on each side, it will look fine. Functionality wise, it depends on which cooktop you choose.

I feel your dishwasher is way to close to the corner sink. I would think you would want to stand at the kitchen sink and load the dishwasher. it looks like the dishwasher draw will open up right into your standing area.

Stay with the 36" it will look fine.

Good call, Fred. You're right.

Are you stuck with your plumbing and gas lines where they are? If not would you be open to rearranging so your sink isn't stuck in the corner with your DW hitting you if you try and load it?

I'm curious about your table/island setup. I'm not really sure what I'm looking at. If you're interested in sharing, I'd love to get a better sense of that area.

Really good point Fred! That wouldn't be enough space to stand by the sink and load the DW. We'll have to do some shifting there.

@cpartist - we would definitely be open to switching the plumbing around, we're not particularly fond of the corner sink concept. But here's our dilemma - the only other place we could put it would be in the island - which we like - but we're thinking that the island is too small across (5') to have a sink in it. In our last kitchen, the sink was in the island across from the cooktop with 3' on either side of the sink as well. It was very convenient to have the sink located across from the cooktop, but we also had an island that was 9' long in that house.

Also, the corner where the sink is has two windows in it - would it be weird to have the windows there without the sink in front of them? We like having windows in the kitchen and don't really want to move windows.

Definitely open to ideas on the sink/dw placement-

Carrie B - we're doing an L shaped island with a built in bench in the inner part of the "L" with a freestanding table in front of that - attaching a picture that is similar to what we're going for, although slightly different shaped:

Oh, I love your idea for an island/banquette.

Personally, I would lose the wall ovens and put in a range so the range can move down and make room for the sink on that wall. I understand that you like the higher oven and, yes, it's more ergonomically correct that way, but I don't use my oven near as often as I use my sink. YMMV. Because of that, it would be more important to me to have good sink placement than to have the wall oven.

There's no rule that a sink must be under the windows. How about this? You could do it with or without a prep sink.

Yes they do crowd the cooktops because it looks nicer. Measure carefully or take cut outs of your largest pots with you and place them on the model stoves otherwise you'll likely end up with only being able to use two larger pots at the same time...or only your largest by itself. You may also want to consider whether all of the burners can go from highest BTU to lowest. Another poster decided she would be better off with a four burner cooktop so long as each burner went from high to low....

funkycamper - thanks for that idea! but it makes me realize that if we shift the kitchen sink along any of the outer countertops, i'm going to lose more upper cabinets. Only way to get around that would be to remove the windows and place upper cabs there, but i really don't want to get into the level of project where we've got to move windows, try to match vinyl siding, etc.

So it makes me see two options- either the kitchen sink goes in the corner with the windows, or it goes in the island; i don't think i want to spare the sacrifice the upper cabinet space to move it elsewhere.

I would do a 36" in that space - you will have plenty of counter space, but really it depends on your cooking needs. I'm also used to tiny kitchens without much prep space, so yours still looks pretty luxurious from my perspective! We only have ~12" on one side of our cooktop, and still went with the 36". Induction is pretty good at doubling as countertop when not in use though. Agree with bringing your cookware to the stove - it was fun lugging a bunch of cast iron skillets in! I'm much happier with the 36" cooktop than any 30" range I've every used - now I only feel cramped when I want 3 12" skillets AND a large stock pot. On a 30" I always feel cramped with 2 12" skillets and the stock pot. I do like funkycampers layout, although would prefer the fridge and stove to not be so far apart. My parents have a corner sink next to a DW though and it works fine - I think the DW is just a little further out from the corner so there is room to maneuver. That would keep things closer together and the sink by the windows, although may cramp the passageway.

I am dealing with the same idea of losing upper cabinets with my new build. After all I'm so used to reaching up to get anything I need.

However with all drawers below, I think it would actually give you more options for storage, including using the island for storage and in this version you still have some good upper cabinets.

It gives you a 24" upper to the right of the sink and I can't see exactly how large an upper to the left but it's even a bit more on the left. Of course you could center the sink so each upper is equal if you prefer. It also gives you a small upper to the left of the cooktop for storing your oils and/or spices. I'm assuming you'll be putting in a 42" hood?

Mine isn't exact as I couldn't see the exact measurements but just to give you an idea of what can be done. And it follows the work flow of Ice, Water, Stone, Fire and then back to cleanup whatever that is called. LOL.

Cpartist, I really like this layout you have come up with. The only drawback for me would be the fridge in the corner. Having the fridge there doesn't allow the door to open past 90 degrees as it would hit the wall. Unless it swings towards the dishwasher??

Just a few points. You don't need a window over the sink. Keep you corner windows and then do something like this for cabinets over the sink area. You're making this more complicated than it needs to be.

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cpartist and I both drew our fridges a few inches from the wall. I was anticipating that it would be understood that a cabinet would need to go there to allow the fridge door to swing fully open. I'm sure cpartist was, too. It's just hard to judge without good measurements and different fridges have different requirements for this. Having the door hinges on the left so the door swings toward sink/DW would not be recommended. Access would be clumsy.

The difference between our suggestions is the wall oven. I wouldn't do it. The functional aspects of a wall oven would outweigh the decrease in your kitchen's aesthetics. It will create a big, bulky cabinet at the end of that run which will make your kitchen feel smaller and be darker due to blocking the light from the windows (doors?) to the left of the wall oven as well as blocking the corner windows. It ruins your long sight lines. Of course, your priorities might be different. I love the way light plays in a room and light makes me happy. It would be a worthy trade-off to me.

May I suggest that if you must do a waist-height wall oven, that you don't take the cabinet to the ceiling. Maybe something similar to this shorter cabinet? It won't block all the light and won't be such a bulky hulk. See how the light still flows past the oven and creates an open visual line? So much nicer than a cabinet to the ceiling, imho.

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I did a wall oven but just in a base cabinet - no room elsewhere and I definitely needed the counter space. I really like having the pot storage in drawers under the cooktop, and the oven in a slightly less central location. Of course if you could buy a 36" induction range in the US I would have considered that....

no, i don't feel the need to have a window above the sink - i just didn't particularly like the corner sink. However, it doesn't bother me so much that i would trade upper cabinets to move it. Having realized that, i definitely would leave the sink in the corner and just shift the dishwasher over slightly to have enough room for loading. now mulling over oven ideas...

that's a really good thought lharpie - the oven in a slight less central location is a good thing in my opinion as well-

Functionally I *really* like it. Cost-wise I was a bit irate that you can buy a convection range for half the price of a convection wall oven, and there aren't any decent double ovens which would have probably been better for my needs. Cooktop options were much more awesome though.

I've had a corner sink with the DW next to it for 29 years. Honestly, it's not at all difficult to stand at the sink and load the dishwasher, in fact it's quite convenient in that the wet dishes from the sink never pass and drip over the floor. It's just a quarter turn and in the tines!

Sure, it may not be the absolute best layout situation, but when limited space dictates the placement, it's a certainly a functional option.

....and to answer the original question I'd go with the 36" cooktop hands down

If you plan on having two people using the stove at once regularly I would suggest going with 36" cooktop rather than a 30". Otherwise you both have to stand at an angle and it can be awkward.

Also, another vote for keeping most of the dishes and "upper cabinet stuff" in lower drawers and having fewer upper cabinets. I did the dish drawer thing after reading about on here and other sites, and seeing it in ikea display kitchens, and it really is much more convenient.