What is the room above the kitchen--is that an entry? pantry? laundry?

It is a secondary access from the outside with a mud-room, pantry and laundry area.

Could you add measurements to the doorways? Will there be any windows in the nook?

Yup, maybe this sketch can give you some additional context. The nook will have 2 windows, one big one towards the front of the house, and one smaller one on the side. The hallway (with access to the kitchen) is 3 feet wide.

Is any of this new construction during this remodel? It looks like the family/kitchen/nook area might be an addition?

I would want to reroute some of the traffic through the kitchen by putting in another doorway between the great room and family room. I realize you'd lose about 3 feet of counter space by doing this but for me it would be a high priority for entertaining as well as everyday life.

Do you want seating at the island? If so, how many seats? If you want seating woudl you consider a peninsula with seating in the family room area facing into the kitchen? Are you willing to move the wall between the kitchen and mudroom (narrowing the mudroom) in order to get more width in the kitchen? Maybe this would come with a walk in pantry.

Just trying to get some ideas flowing .... you have a large house but a comparatively small space for the kitchen so trying to gauge how far you want to go to open it up.

We need more information - including accurate measurements of the Kitchen space (and any other space involved with the Kitchen). We also need to know more about you and your family and how you plant to use the space. I recommend reading the Layout Help FAQ - it discusses the information we need as well as describes how to post a floor plan for us to work with.

How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include?

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include

Some questions:

• Is your layout to-scale? If so, what is the scale? Are the general measurements interior (i.e., do not include wall thicknesses)? It would be very helpful if you labeled the dimensions instead of making us count boxes. We need the widths of each window/door/doorway/wall and the distances b/w each window/door/doorway/wall.

• What appliances are you planning?

• Do you really need both a Dining Room and a Nook right next to each other? Have you considered moving the Kitchen to the Nook to get it out of the corridor?

• Does the island have to have seating (adding yet a third "table" space)

• Were you thinking of having cabinets/appliances on both sides of the room with the island in the middle? If so, you need another 15" b/c that will be a busy aisle if the kitchen stays where it is:
  .
  25.5" perimeter counters + 48" aisle + 42" deep island + 54" aisle + 25.5" perimeter counters = 195" = 16'3"
  .
  If the 48" aisle is 45" (not what I recommend, especially in the current location), then only another foot is needed.
  .
  If you don't need cabinets/counters on both sides, then the 15' should be sufficient. (I'm assuming the 15' is the width and the 14' is the length b/w the FR and Nook.)

.

In addition, we have four Kitchen Design FAQ threads that will help you understand comments and questions you receive.

Kitchen Design FAQ threads

Kitchen work zones, what are they?

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638270/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they

Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638304/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc

How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where?

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638376/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage

Ice. Water. Stone. Fire (Looking for layout help? Memorize this first)

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first

.

What is the scope of the project? My immediate reaction is that your kitchen is in the wrong place and should be swapped with the nook.

Just chiming in to say I have a dish hutch like Buehl posted and I love it. It's opposite the DW and make dish unloading a snap, It's also close to the dining table.

I third the recommendation of swapping the nook and the kitchen. It is still easily accessible from the garage and having it as a connector between dining/nook and living room will drive the cook crazy I think. I am not a pro, just a kitchen dweller and I have had a kitchen that was a thoroughfare and that was the first thing I wanted to ditch. Constant traffic, more than just a minor annoyance. Plus I'd love that natural light in the kitchen. LOVE it.

Thanks for all the help and great tips! Buehl, I love your designs! We want to have the kitchen in the middle because every week we have friends over and the adults gravitate towards the nook while the kids gravitate towards the family room, so the kitchen acts as a buffer... We also like the views from the nook (awesome sunrises and beautiful hills).

What software are you using to draft these layouts? Maybe spreading the L shaped counters along the wall and moving the secondary storage (pantries, drawers, etc.) to the opposite wall. We could also move the dishwasher to the island.

As you also suggested, we could push the wall 1 foot towards the pantry/laundry area to get the extra space.

Tks again for all the great suggestions!

Would you be interested in moving the laundry to the closet across from the kids bathroom? Maybe you could steal even more space for the kitchen.

Why do the adults hangout in the nook instead of the dining room? If the kitchen was in the nook and open to the dining room would you use the dining room more? Do you want to use it more? Interesting that you have a spacious house and hang in the breakfast nook.

Here's one more idea.

Edit: for the trash I'm thinking something like beaglesdoitbetter's trash cab.

The peninsula overhang projects into the FR about 5".

If you have that many get-togethers, then I think it would be even more important to get the kitchen out of all that traffic! It would drive me nuts to constantly have people getting in the way and having to dodge non-cooks.

Please, don't take this the wrong way, but we need to know...do you cook in your kitchen? Many people do not - their kitchens are more for show than function so a situation like this would not be an issue b/c they don't really use it as a working kitchen. However, if you do cook, then I would think about the traffic - especially if you put an island in the middle of the kitchen. However, YMMV.

It would be very helpful if you answered the questions in my first post as well as those in the Layout Help thread - and if you could post a fully measured & labeled layout of the kitchen and Nook space (including missing windows!) If you have pictures of the current kitchen, that would help as well.

Do you have an island in your kitchen now? If not, then no one can sit there b/c there's no place for it..so, perhaps the reason the adults gravitate to the Nook is b/c your current setup with the kitchen in the middle of everything (and in the way) forces the move. After your remodel, things may not stay the same.

Common mistakes people make when they remodel:

(1) Thinking that everything will always be the same - the same habits, etc. Often when you make changes, habits change as well - for the better if positive changes are made.

(2) That an existing dysfunctional layout is fine b/c, often, they've adapted to it. Human beings are very adaptable and can generally make-do with anything - good or bad. But, why spend all the $$$ on a remodel and keep the old when you have the chance to make it so much better?

(3) Being too subjective/defensive about either what they have now or what they came up w/on their own and not being objective enough to see the true pros & cons.

(4) Finally, realizing that change is difficult - we tend to resist change, at least initially. (Related to #3 above.)

Keep in mind that if you have a corridor kitchen, all the tall items will need to go on the top wall with the range. If you just have a refrigerator, that won't be too bad, but if you add much more (e.g., pantry cabinets, wall ovens), you won't have enough room for the Cooking Zone.

Are you thinking of putting the cleanup sink in the island? If so, that will put your dirty dishes front and center/on display for all to see. It will also put the dirty dishes "in the face" of anyone sitting at the island. Finally, it will mean the dirty dishes will be in the way when trying to prepare a meal.

You might be able to squeeze everything on the 14' long top wall, but it will be a tight squeeze and you will have to skimp on landing and work space.

Note that you will not be able to put anything much deeper than 10.5" (including doors & handles) on the wall behind the island if you have seats there.

Would you consider two peninsulas instead of an island? They would then protect the working part of the kitchen from traffic, put seating on one or both ends of the kitchen, and would allow you to put full-depth items on the bottom wall. (I think it would better to have seating on just the FR end, though, b/c of traffic b/w the Mudroom and the rest of the house. Plus, you would have more room if you just had one peninsula with seating and either a short second peninsula or no peninsula b/w the Nook and kitchen - it would still protect the main working part of the kitchen.)

Another option would be the "L" + an island similar to what I put in the Nook above...the "L" would discourage traffic through the working part of the kitchen.

----------

Regarding taking a foot from the Laundry Room depth - I'm not sure you have enough space for that. Your Laundry Room is only 8' wide. If you figure a washer & dryer will take about 3' of the depth when closed and close to 4.5' of the depth when open, that only leaves you with 5.5' and 4' of aisle space, respectively - and I would not want anything less than that. Plus, you have a pantry somewhere in there... That's not recommended, btw. Food should be stored in a cool, dry, dark space and Laundry Rooms tend to be warm and humid when doing laundry. Be sure you have very, very good ventilation to overcome the heat & moisture.

If you really want a galley kitchen with an island, I recommend looking at Ina Garten's kitchen. There are many articles online where it is described in detail. Here is one from Food Network.

This kitchen from Brooklyn Limestone blog is lovely, too.