florantha - yes, I would want to protect the range from traffic more than in that last layout. The suggestions of opening up the long wall on the left are interesting, I don't think they are right for our family. We do want to keep a table in the kitchen and upon reflection, I don't really want the kitchen completely open to the family room since a little separation is nice when friends are over and the kids are watching a movie in there. I do think that the thoughts are ideas that could inspire other readers in their own planning. I am leaning toward option C (last) in the original post, but I am a little hesitant about the fridge location. I like it along the back wall because it leaves the sides of the room more open, giving more of a feeling of connection to the family room and to the outside through the window on the right wall. The room is long and my idea was to place the bulky fridge to shorten the room, not narrow it. Placing the fridge on the back wall in the corner also allows room for a bigger (deeper) fridge without interfering with traffic in the room - I'd like to maximize my fridge space without going to the expense of a large built in. But I also know that it's preferable to have the fridge on the perimeter of the kitchen. The proposed location would not drive traffice through the prep and cooking area, but perhaps it's still a bad plan? Feedback would be appreciated. For Layout C, the shallow pantry on the left side of the room is 12" cupboards, the space from there to the island is 41", the island is 41" wide, and the space from the island to the cleanup sink is 48". I've pulled the counters on the back wall so that the counters would be 30". Sorry not to have added these dimensions to the drawings.

Your kitchen is similar in size to mine. I have doorways where both of your corners are and no wall where your pantries are, so our layout issues are different, but the space for an island is similar. Having the island would make navigation in a wheel chair more of a challenge, so that might be reason enough to not look further. My island is composed of 21" deep (vanity depth) cabinets on the side with the prep sink and 13" deep door cabinets (basically uppers on a toekick) on the back side. I store small appliances, outdoor plates and bowls and less often used kitchen tools there. The shallow cabinets are a dream for easy access to all those things I used to have to dig for. Not hunting at all. I could see that being a plus for your DH, in general, if not in an island. My cabinet depth is 34" and my counter top is about 37". My aisles are 37" on the main sink side an 40" on the cooktop side, reduced to 37 where the rangetop bumps out (it made DH happy). We had roughly the same space before. We couldn't really change the footprint, so mer made it more functional. We don't have a problem with the aisles, and before we redid the kitchen, the one place we did have an issue was where the island cooktop and sink (only sink then) were almost directly across form each other. If DH was helping prep or decided to "help" by doing dishes while I was cooking, it was a constant butt bump. Now those zones are separated and there is a prep sink on the opposite side of the island. By letting us work on both sides, and even the ends, of the island, we have the same width aisles, but it really opened up our kitchen. I have never cringed and wished for just a few more inches, but I have often been grateful that my prep sink is just a pivot and a step away from both the cooktop (draining, prep, etc) and the baking area (egg goo, bread dough, etc.). And I love, love, love the fact that we kept the original size island (or slightly smaller -- originally one big open box with a huge downdraft blower and a couple of drawers) and made it a highly effective workspace and efficient storage.

If I have a table, I want one I can walk all the way around and pull up extra chairs. A half counter/ half table just wouldn't work for ME, but others might love it. i would love to do the side window of my library (did street side), but I put very expensive custom Timberlane shutters on it, plus it is a 6 yr old Marvin window, so it's staying. Yes, it matches the rest of the windows on that side, but it would let more light into a dark northeast exposure. If I were younger, I'd change it.

doc5md, I hear what you are saying about the aisles. I was rather disappointed to see that. I think this KD was telling me what I wanted to hear rather than giving good design (according to all I have read on GW). I think the large island is very visually appealing, if our floor plan accommodates it. It is where I envision my family gathering and my kids doing their school projects. I want it to accommodate five people because I don't want a kitchen table in that location since we have a dining room table adjacent to the space and can use it when we need a regular table. I am not necessarily restricting us from other designs. However, we currently have a peninsula and I feel trapped when I am in my kitchen when my husband or kids are around. You know, one way in and one way out. Because of our walkway to our garage entrance, we can't do a true u-shape. beenzmail, we do need seating for five. I will send you a message because I would love to see your photos. We probably will end of making the fridge counter depth. I hate spending the money since our current fridge isn't that old, but we may have to take the plunge and sacrifice something else. We will be eliminating that table because we have another one in our dining room and don't feel the need for both. bethohio3, I have a fairly good idea of what the second sink would cost because of some other work we had done in our house about six months ago. We *may* be able to swing it but having a good idea of where this current design would fall price-wise, I am not sure it would trump (I am sick of that word, aren't you?) some of the other wish list items we have. But it is a possibility. Regarding "Other than the 2nd sink, what are your qualms about this plan?"... I think the long run of cabinets may be too long (and expensive). Also, the main sink would end of being one of the first things people see when they enter the front door. Unfortunately, in our household, dishes have the tendency to pile up and I would like to keep them out of sight as much as possible. Here is the order of importance for the things you mentioned: Efficient work zones large island Sink close to refrigerator and cooktop Large kitchen Single sink course411, we can't switch the range and cleanup sink because that would put the range under the window. Lily'smom...totally agree about the island and that is what I am trying to figure out. Is it time to scrap the big island and try to find another layout?