Hi, Good to see some ideas going on this style of house. They are tricky to work with. I love the idea Lavender posted (Bob Vila). I can't open the pinterest link posted by rocky bird, can others open it? We are in the throws of building an addition on our split-foyer. We did add a little bit to the foyer, wish it could have been more. However, our foyer after the build is complete will only be a guest entrance. Our family will enter via the garage man door and into a generous sized mudroom. All family coats, shoes, knapsacks etc. will be in this basement mudroom. I don't even plan to give the kids a key to the front door, so they are forced to enter via the garage to the mudroom LOL. Here are my thoughts on split entry foyers for what is worth from a person who has ripped hers apart and is rebuilding it. 1) Avoid having family enter through front door and having their stuff dropped in that tiny foyer. Try for another family entrance (maybe through garage to basement level? or a side or back door) 2)Consider an extra wide staircase going up (ours is 4 and a half feet) and a narrower one going down (ours is 42 inches here). This way the larger staircase invites company to go up. Also with the wide staircase a person can sit on the stairs, and put shoes on, while another can pass by. 3)Consider putting an extra tall door (8 foot) for those foyers that typically are a floor and a half in height (12 feet). It fits the space better and lets extra light in if you have a transom above or glass in the door. In our case, the door draws more attention to itself as the garage protrudes and partially conceals the front door. 4)Consider beefing up and beautifying the exterior steps. Our new steps are concrete stringers, and soon to be installed stone risers/threads. The landing is also stone resting on a concrete platform 5)Put a forgiving flooring material on the interior steps so you can walk on it with boots, etc and it becomes an extensions of your foyer space in a way that a carpet can not. We will have hard wood steps. 6)Open up the wall between the living room and staircase wall. Also, endeavor to have the top of the stairs going down open to a railing. This way there is an illusion of more space I would love to hear your ideas on how to use trim to bring down the height of the ceilings in these tiny, tall ceiling spaces. I keep thinking something creative like chair rail or something might make the wall heights more in keeping with the tiny space. In other words, anything that makes the interior foyer space look less like an elevator shaft would be good. Best of luck all split-foyer owners. Carol

I have a very durable rug in my mudroom, it is rubber backed polypropylene. I live in Maine and we have an official 5th season-mud season. Plus it is fun- its called the pencil chicken! I saw a similar one( a different David Milliken rug design) in our town's music center- where people are tromping in and out all day in wet muddy boots and I fell in love. I can hose it off and it looks brand new!! Here is a link that might be useful: milliken rug

Thanks, deedles! Yeah, that stool on the fridge side will probably not work. I've wondered about the prep sink at the corner too, but buehl put it there to optimize the prep zone(s), and I think I remember rhome410 has hers there and it works for them IIRC. Do you think cutting off that corner of the pantry will direct traffic more into the cooking zone? People have a tendency to walk right into the kitchen, and that aisle between the stove and island is wider than btwn island and "fridge wall" so it's easier to go that way. People move toward the light from that window wall too so that's another draw thru the cooking zone. What you're making me think about is how much I want that view to the back of the house from the kitchen, how hard it would be to give that up. I guess I'm not all about function, at least not all the time.

"If you PAN SEAR a steak on a pro range, you have an oven directly beneath." Yes, if one has a pro range (or any range), your ovens are underneath. That setup works for some and not for others for a variety of reasons. My specific comment was about having a separate rangetop and wall ovens where the wall ovens were in a "baking zone" on the other side of the kitchen, which was really inconvenient a LOT of the time for US. "are these steaks a nightly meal with kids?" Well, we live on and raise cattle so we have steak a lot more than the typical consumer, At least once a week, including tonight :) "As with all other spaces, you plan for most of the time. You plan for the daily grind. " Yep, I totally agree and each of our daily grinds differs from others. My daily grind does not include me wanting to bend over farther than necessary to lift things (lower back and joint issues) so having a separate cooktop and ovens nearby is what is most ergonomic for me. But, there again, each has to design their kitchen for what works best for them, including the OP. I highly suggest she spend a considerable amount of time analyzing her own kitchen habits and design a kitchen based on that instead of worrying so much about symmetry. And I agree that the GE Monogram range is gorgeous. If I could be converted to a pro gas range it would be a strong contender, especially since a good friend of ours is a GE dealer and could get us a great price :)