I'd certainly prioritize the windows being symmetrical - the cabs I wouldn't worry about. It's hard to say without layout dimensions but moving the oven over 6 inches looks like it would give more breathing room for the right window.

Thank you, lharpie! That's what I was thinking too-I didn't know the window would be so cramped until I saw the rendering, thank goodness for those. This is the layout with dimensions, ignore the island, there's a mistake on there. The cabinet guy took the windows next to the cooktop off until we could figure out what to do with them.

I wouldn't corner that upper cabinet but would cut it off at the end of the sink wall. My KD likes centering the stove with the island so not sure how that works for you. But I agree priority is to get symmetrical Windows.

Thanks smm5525, so you mean you'd just make the sink wall upper cabs go straight into the wall? I think the reason it's cornered like that is because originally I was going to try to fit small, like 12", upper cabinets on each side of the windows. But that would have meant 18" windows instead of 24" so I opted for the bigger windows. Does the corner look odd with nothing attached to it or is it an awkward space? Or maybe it would help the window wall?

I think it looks odd. My KD suggested I end it straight into wall. But then I found this idea that I need to discuss with her, extending the cabinet to counter.

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I'm doing all drawers in lower cabinets so I'm ok with giving up upper cabinets.

Agree with spice drawer and maybe 1 pull out for oils.

Looks like you have 18" + 9" = 27" between fridge and stove now. Add 6" and you have 33". You need at least 24" + 6" = 30, so at least that given you enough for the window + a touch of empty space on either side. Seems like that should work to me... Other options would be to also move the stove a few inches to the left so the window and counter space would be even on both sides of the stove - i.e. between corner cab and fridge if that makes sense. Although I also agree that I would nix the corner cab. Also, what are the aisles, especially fridge to island? Looks narrow in this rendition.

You aren't going to achieve symmetry on both the top and bottom, unless you keep the corner upper. If you let the uppers on the left die into the wall, then I'd suggest centering the hood and windows, which will give you an extra 12" on the bottom right. I drew some elevations on a grid to show the different options, and since it's recommended that a hood be 6" wider than the cooktop, I put a 42" hood in a three of the drawings. (Click to enlarge.)

Symmetry, top and bottom.--------------Symmetry on bottom.

My choice would be the bottom right, with 15" and 24" drawers, especially if you decide to use a 42" hood.

Symmetry for windows and hood, as everyone has said. That's what you'll notice, visually. I like the idea of letting the upper cab on the sink run die into the wall.

For the lowers, focus on functionality. To me that means drawers sized to your needs. Maybe a vertical cab for baking sheets or a pullout for oils etc. But first figure out, as much as you can, what you'll store where. (Measure your biggest pots.) Be sure to have a drawer for hot pads, and one for things like spoons and spatulas that you'll use at the stove.

I can't express how much I appreciate all of your help! I want to make sure I don't get any more confused than I already am...

emilyam819, I originally had 18" drawers on each side but thought they looked odd next to the 36" drawer, plus with it being so narrow it didn't seem like the drawers were deep enough to be functional like the 36". I planned on keeping cooking utensils in the top drawer of each and having slideouts in the cabinet part for mixing bowls and other baking tools. I planned on using one 9" base for oils and larger bottles and the other 9" base for cookie sheets and cutting boards. I have a 6" spice drawer base cab in the short end of the island right behind the cooktop, so hopefully that will be convenient enough.

lharpie, you're right, 27" on the right side of the cooktop isn't enough to fit the 30" window which is why the cabinet guy took the windows off the drawing, to show me that what I was suggesting wouldn't fit. So my two choices as I see them are to remove something on the bottom left or extend the wall 6", just trying to figure out which one I should do! I could also make the windows 18" with 6" of trim =24". The island is all jacked up in this rendering, but it has 48" of space on the cooktop side and the sink side.

mamagoose, thank you! The hood I'm looking at measures about 38.5" but 42" is a safe assumption. It definitely looks better for the cooktop to be moved over to the left. I give up on symmetry on the bottom since it would mean losing symmetry on the top, which I agree is way more important. I think the rendering kind of exaggerates the lack of symmetry whereas in real life it won't be noticeable at all. I had to sacrifice symmetry on both top and bottom on the sink side to have a 5" window centered on the front elevation, the cooktop side will be the same.

I'm worried that losing the corner upper cabinet will make that side of the cooktop even longer, that's if I choose the option of adding 6" of length to the wall. So maybe the best option with losing the corner upper cabinet would be NOT extending the wall 6" and moving the cooktop to the left instead...

I would extend the wall by 6" . I think that the bigger windows will give you a much more open look. I also like the idea of eliminating the angled wall cabinet. Others have commented in the past that cabinets like that are difficult to access. You may want to consider adding shelves into the corner. It might be a nice spot for cookbooks, etc.

On another note, I noticed that your DW is directly in your working path between the sink and cooktop. It is best to move it to the left of your sink to avoid a tripping, shin bumping hazard.

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I agree with Mama on the bottom right choice. (I usually agree with Mama. LOL)

Also I would do all drawers on the bottom. You'll get a lot more usable space than doors.

And I also think the corner cabinet is a waste and will look awkward. And I'm also planning in my kitchen to end my cabinet run into the wall like others have suggested. It can work just fine.

I just went through a similar layout issue. I ended up with the uppers going straight into the corner.

And I agree with cpartist. :) GW discussions--all drawer bases.

wilson853, good catch on the DW placement.

This is an alternate view by another person bidding the cabinets. This
used 25" of space for windows with 36" corner lower drawers instead of a
lazy Susan and I can't really tell what she used for the upper corner,
can you tell here? --skw27

It seems to line up with the 24" base + 18" drawers, so it must be 42". (On the overhead view it looks like a 24" corner, and 10.5" cabinet on the right? I wonder how it opens--if the corner opens separately, because 10.5" seems pretty narrow, unless it's a pull-out.)

If you decide to wrap that corner, you might want to skip the diagonal cabinet and use an EZ Reach corner. GW discussions--EZ Reach corners

If you're willing to void the corner, you'll need filler to make sure the drawers open past the hardware on each leg, so you could have a 24" drawer base on each side of the cooktop drawers, plus a 15" base beside the oven stack:

Thank you so much
again, everyone!! Ok, so no base cabinets, only drawers on the cooktop
wall. Annette, that rendering was super helpful, I'll have the upper
cabinets go straight into the wall. Here's my only issue with the
dishwasher being on the left side of the sink, it would be right next to the
refrigerator which would be a lot of stainless bunched together. I've
looked into a paneled dishwasher to avoid that but it seems like the
choices for panel ready dishwashers are very limited and pretty expensive for
the same type, or worse, quality unpaneled dishwasher. Right now on the left
side of the sink I have an 18" trash pullout base and a 15" drawer
base for utensils. If I put a 24" dishwasher there that gives
me 9" left between the fridge and sink-I could put a 9" base there
but then what would I put in it? Also, in thinking of the way my house
operates, cooking is done in one group of time then dishes are done in another
group of time, not at the same time. My husband and I don't cook at the
same time together right now, of course that's because our rental is 900 sq. ft
with the WORST kitchen setup ever...I digress!

Mama Goose, I'm sorry...I don't understand where I'd need fillers? Between the 24 and 36? And how much space would that take up? Is your drawing adding the extra 6" to that wall or still the original 162" total? Do you think there's any way to fit at least one 9" base cab next to the cooktop? I guess I had my heart set on that for getting to spices and oils and to stand up cookie sheets and cutting boards.

Skw27, I agree with you in the fridge and dishwasher together, visually it bugs me, too. I opted out of a house we looked at recently that was at he top of our budget, the dishwasher next to the fridge bugged me and I knew we wouldn't have funds left to renovate so I passed on the house!

However, I do think functionally you will really benefit from it on the left of sink and out of that triangle. My current kitchen is set up like this and while I feel like I do cleanup later, we do access the dishwasher during prep more than I realized once I started paying attention.

One option is to move the sink to the right and center the sink under the right window. I have that option in another plan we are considering. I saw it done on a reveal here and realized it really worked. I will look for the pic.

If you slide sink to the right, then dishwasher to left and then room for a base cabinet. If you have room you could make that dish storage drawers below and store glasses and mugs above, right near the fridge. Sliding sink to the right also gets it a bit further away from the sink in the island which will give more room for 2 to work if both want access to a sink.

Here is the pic from my other kitchen plan in the other house. It is a much smaller kitchen than what I think you have, but the sink and window placement is what I'm trying to show.

Here is the link to the GW members kitchen that inspired me to change my layout. I don't know if I'm allowed to post pics from others threads so I'll just add the link.

Dyhgardens kitchen

The filler is the 3" yellow strip. You might not need the whole 3", but because cabinets come in standard sizes, I made the drawer base 24". It could be a 15" drawer base and a 9" pull-out, with a 9" pull-out and a 30" drawer base on the other side:

If you haven't read the 'New to Kitchens' thread, you might want to look through it--there is a lot of good planning info included.

Thank you again, mamagoose, I'll go back to the drawing board with those ideas...I have looked through the New to Kitchens thread but will go through it again.

Annette, that's funny you passed on a whole house because of the dishwasher/fridge placement! I looked at the thread link you posted and read through the comments-she said the sink being off center didn't bother her as much as she thought it would but I think it would bother me tremendously, my plan was a 36" sink with 1" of window on each side. I think the sink/window issue would bother me more than the fridge/DW issue!

I agree on the stainless next to each other, but there have been several posters in the past that have said that one of the main reasons they were doing a kitchen reno was to move the DW so that it wasn't in the path between their clean-up and cooking zones. If it were me, I would put a 9" pullout between the frig and DW like this.

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I think a 9"'cabinet between dw and fridge could be extremely useful for cleaning products like picutred above or for cutting boards, since that is your prep area.

So funny how people interpret what someone has written :D.

Dyhgarden wrote,

I couldn't center my sink in the middle of two windows, so it's center under one window. It doesn't bother me like I thought it would.

I read that to mean that she thought it would bother her, but it ended up it that it doesn't bother her.

You read it that it doesn't bother her "as much" as she thought it would, but it still bothers her.

Wonder which she meant?

Thank you, Wilson853, those pictures were a really helpful visual...I'll switch the dishwasher and trash pullout. It seems like it would be better to have the trash closer to the prep and cooking zone anyway.

You're welcome. I think that's a very smart decision.

haha, Annette, I didn't even realize I said that!! That was me reading something then typing. You're right, her quote was that it doesn't bother her which means exactly that! My apologies, that's very different than what I typed.

This cabinet guy is going to HATE me by the time I'm done! That's ok, I'm gonna have a kick a$$ kitchen! I have time to work out the actual appliance details, like a paneled vs unpaneled DW, but have to figure out the layout and window placement ASAP. I truly appreciate everyone's time and input.

Ha, dont worry about him. Get YOUR perfect kitchen :)

This excerpt is from the 'zones' portion of buehl's thread, and goes into a little more detail about DW placement:

Cleanup Zone...works best when separated from the Prep &
Cooking Zones. This can be on the
opposite side of a one-sink kitchen from the Prep Zone or it could be in a
completely separate location (the latter usually only works well if you have
two sinks). Obviously, it also needs a
water source and the DW. When the
Prep and Cleanup Zones share a sink, the DW should be on the Cleanup Zone side
of the sink, not the Prep Zone side.

I like wilson853's suggestion of a pull-out to separate the fridge and DW, and if you plan to have your main prep on the island, you can put a trash pull-out on the cooktop end of the island, where it will be close enough to be shared by all zones. Where are you planning to store your dishes?

Yes, I like Wilson853's suggestion also, especially since seeing the picture of the fridge and DW closer together, it didn't bother me aesthetically. I figured the main prep would be to the right of the sink, following ice, water, stone, fire with the secondary/overflow prep being the island. I planned on keeping dishes in the upper cabinets to the right of the main sink but could also keep them in lower drawers next to the sink. I'll have a large sideboard in the dining room for serving pieces and nicer china. I'll also have a walk in pantry to the left of the fridge that I'll keep the KA mixer in and probably the Keurig too (my husband isn't loving that idea but there's a window in there and I think it will make for a nice coffee station). I don't like countertop clutter.